What is shio ramen?
Shio means salt. In ramen it names the seasoning in the bowl: shio, shoyu with soy sauce, or miso. Shio ramen is the lightest and clearest of the three, and in Japan it is known above all from Hakodate on Hokkaido. Traditionally, you pour a chicken or pork broth onto a salt seasoning, the shio tare. This recipe skips the hours of bone broth: the dashi carries the flavor, and the salt goes straight into the pot.
This version and the other shio ramen
| Recipe | Topping | Choose it if you |
|---|---|---|
| Shio ramen with dashi and teriyaki salmon (this page) | Teriyaki salmon, egg, leafy greens, nori | like fish and want a dashi broth without bones |
| Shio ramen with miso chicken | Chicken with miso | want poultry instead of fish in the bowl |
| Shio ramen with mushrooms, soy egg, and nori | Mushrooms, marinated egg, nori | prefer mushrooms to meat or fish |
The dashi broth for ramen
For 1.5 liters, make dashi from about 30 g kombu and 30 g bonito flakes following the awase dashi recipe. Instant dashi is faster. The dosage is on the package, usually 1 tsp per 500 ml. You can read a comparison of the types in Dashi and dashi powder. Granules often contain salt, so add the salt for the broth in small steps.
The amount of salt
For 1.5 liters of broth, 15 to 20 g of salt is enough, a little over a heaped tablespoon. Stir in 10 g first, taste, and add the rest to your liking. The broth should taste strong, because the noodles absorb salt later. A splash of sake and a teaspoon of mirin round it out.
How to get the broth, salmon, and noodles right
- Keep the broth hot: Do not let the finished dashi boil hard for long. Bonito flakes and kombu then give off bitter notes.
- Glaze at the end: Pan-fry the salmon first without the marinade. Pour in the marinade for the last 2 minutes and let it reduce. Otherwise the sugar and mirin burn on the bottom of the pan. For a ready-made sauce to keep on hand, use the teriyaki sauce.
- Noodles last: Cook the noodles when the salmon and broth are done, and do not rinse them under cold water. Cold noodles cool the soup down.
- Warm the bowls: Fill the bowls with hot water and pour it out just before serving.
Assembling the bowls
Put the noodles in the bowl first and pour about 350 ml of broth over them. Place the salmon, halved eggs, and leafy greens side by side on the noodles and tuck the nori strips against the rim. Cook the eggs for 6 to 7 minutes, so the yolk stays jammy. For eggs in a soy marinade, plan a day ahead. Scallions and a few drops of sesame oil go on last.
Common mistakes
- Salmon placed in the broth: The glaze dissolves and turns the clear broth brown. Lay the salmon on the noodles so it sticks out of the soup.
- Too much salt at once: You can only rescue a broth that is too salty with more dashi.
