Miso ramen
味噌ラーメン
Sapporo-style ramen: pork mince and vegetables tossed in a hot wok, boiled up with stock, over a miso tare and thick wavy noodles, topped with corn and butter.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 味噌ラーメン.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Miso ramen is Sapporo's bowl, and it is cooked differently from other ramen. Pork mince, garlic and ginger hit a very hot wok with lard, then bean sprouts, cabbage and onion go in and are tossed hard for a minute so the edges catch. The stock is poured straight into the wok to boil up with the vegetables, and the miso tare waits in the bowl. Thick, wavy, yellow noodles sit underneath; sweetcorn and a slice of butter go on top and melt in. Where shoyu ramen is clear and quiet, this is cloudy, rich and strong. Good bought chicken stock is fine here, because the miso and the wok carry the flavour.
What you'll need
17 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Miso tare
- Wok
- Bowls
Ingredients
Miso tare
Wok
- Lard, or vegetable oil30 ml
- Pork, minced200 g
- Bean sprouts, rinsed and drained well300 g
- Cabbage, cut in 3 cm pieces150 g
- Onion, thinly sliced1 small
- Chicken stock, low-salt1.6 l
Bowls
- Wheat noodles, thick, wavy, yellow fresh ramen noodles520 g
- Corn, tinned sweetcorn, drained160 g
- Butter, cold, in 4 slices40 g
- Spring onion, finely sliced2
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Mix the miso, sesame paste, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, mirin and chilli flakes into a thick tare. Divide it between four warmed bowls.
5 min
Step 2
Bring a large pot of water to the boil for the noodles, and warm the stock in a saucepan.
8 min
Step 3
Heat the wok until it smokes, add the lard and fry the pork mince, breaking it up, until it browns. Add the onion, cabbage and bean sprouts and toss hard over the highest heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the edges char but the sprouts still crunch.
4 min
Tip: Work in two batches if your burner is weak. Steamed sprouts are the thing to avoid.
Step 4
Pour the hot stock into the wok and let it boil hard with the vegetables for 1 minute. Meanwhile cook the noodles for the packet time, usually 2 to 3 minutes for thick fresh ones.
3 min
Step 5
Ladle a little of the stock into each bowl and whisk it into the tare, then add the rest of the stock. Lift the noodles with a spider, shake them dry and add to the bowls. Pile the pork and vegetables on top, then the corn, a slice of butter and spring onion. Serve at once.
3 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 601 kcal
- Protein
- 33.2 g
- Carbs
- 69.1 g
- Fat
- 22.4 g
- Saturated fat
- 8.9 g
- Fibre
- 7.9 g
- Sugar
- 11.5 g
- Sodium
- 2955 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Soy
- Wheat
- Milk
- Sesame
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Pork mince → Chicken mince or crumbled firm tofu
Chicken is lighter. Tofu makes it vegetarian if you also swap the stock and lard.
Thick wavy ramen noodles → Dried medium ramen or fresh egg noodles
Wavy noodles hold more of the cloudy broth. Straight ones work but feel thinner.
Tips
- Stir the butter in as you eat, not before. The first mouthfuls should taste of miso, the last of butter.
- A spoonful of chilli bean paste in the tare gives the spicy Sapporo version most shops also sell.
History & culture
Sapporo has a whole alley of it, Ramen Yokocho in Susukino, and Hokkaido winters explain the rest. A film of lard on top keeps the bowl hot to the last mouthful at minus ten. Corn and butter are there because the island farms both; the butter-corn bowl is the one visitors queue for and the one most home cooks copy.
Miso ramen is usually credited to Aji no Sanpei, a Sapporo shop whose owner served it in the mid-1950s; the story goes that a regular asked for noodles in his pork-miso soup. It went national in the 1960s, helped by Tokyo department-store food fairs and, from 1968, an instant miso noodle sold under the Sapporo name.
Quick version — Sapporo shops make their own pork-and-chicken stock and age their miso blends. This uses good bought chicken stock, which is honest for a weeknight because the wok-fried vegetables and a strong tare do most of the work. The wok technique is the real Sapporo method.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Miso ramen take?
40 min all in — 20 min prep, 20 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Soy, Wheat, Milk, Sesame. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Nut-free.
9 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Wok, Saucepan, Stockpot, Spider or strainer, Mixing bowl.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Miso — 120 g (a mix of red and white if you have both); Soy sauce — 1 tbsp. Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much miso?
120 g (a mix of red and white if you have both) of Miso.
How much soy sauce?
1 tbsp of Soy sauce.
How much mirin?
2 tbsp of Mirin.
What can I use instead?
Pork mince → Chicken mince or crumbled firm tofu. Chicken is lighter. Tofu makes it vegetarian if you also swap the stock and lard. Thick wavy ramen noodles → Dried medium ramen or fresh egg noodles. Wavy noodles hold more of the cloudy broth. Straight ones work but feel thinner.
Any tips from this recipe?
Stir the butter in as you eat, not before. The first mouthfuls should taste of miso, the last of butter. A spoonful of chilli bean paste in the tare gives the spicy Sapporo version most shops also sell.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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