Sho Spaeth is the lead writer and editor at ChefSteps.com. He is also the author of Homemade Ramen, a James Beard Award–nominated cookbook.

Sho Spaeth

Shoyu ramen is the most classic style of ramen: A clear soup, stained caramel by a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/shoyu-tare">soy sauce tare</a>, with pools of glistening fat floating over a nest of <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/silky-ramen-noodles">slinky and slippery noodles</a>, crowned with a couple slices of <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/chashu">tender roast pork chashu</a>, a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/cured-ramen-eggs-you-can-t-stop-eating">marinated soft-boiled egg</a>, and a pile of sliced onions, it is as beautiful as it is delicious. This recipe offers a refined take on shoyu ramen, cribbing from the techniques and methods used at Iida Shoten, one of the top ramen spots in Tokyo, and Cafe Mochiko, one of the top ramen restaurants in the United States. It features a complex <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/ultimate-ramen-stock">“super soup” stock</a> with clear notes of pork, chicken, katsuobushi, and aromatic vegetables that makes for an incredible bowl of ramen. It’s rich, but light enough that you won’t need a nap after polishing off a bowl (yeah, we’re looking at you, tonkotsu), and it’s so tasty you’ll wonder why you’ve never had anything quite like it before.