Ramen Atlas
Ramen styles, bowl by bowl
Tonkotsu to tsukemen, Sapporo miso to Kitakata shoyu: every style of ramen and what published recipes actually put in the bowl.
492 recipes from 145 sites in 8 languages. A bowl of ramen is built in layers, so this atlas compares them: the broth, the tare that seasons it, the aroma oil on top, the noodles and every topping. Each recipe is read line by line in its own language, and it counts toward a style only when its title or URL names that style. 253 name a style; the other 239 are plain ramen bowls, compared with every style to find the one they look most like.
Recipes
492
253 with a named style
Styles
18
29 named at least once
Sites
145
at most 19 from one
Languages
8
English, French, Japanese
Styles by family
Each style with at least 3 recipes, and what its recipes use far more often than ramen bowls in general.
By broth and tare
- Shoyu ramen19 recipesmenma 52% · chashu 47% · ajitama 36%
- Shio ramen10 recipesmenma 70% · tare made 30% · ajitama 50%
- Miso ramen38 recipesmiso 84% · cabbage 28% · sweet corn 28%
- Chicken paitan ramen7 recipeshomemade noodles 42% · chashu 85% · ajitama 42%
- Tonkotsu ramen14 recipeswood ear 35% · beni shoga 28% · lard or back fat 64%
Spicy, curry and meat-free
- Tantanmen27 recipessoy milk 48% · sesame paste 77% · doubanjiang 59%
- Curry ramen19 recipescurry 78% · coconut milk 31% · scallion 68%
- Spicy miso ramen9 recipesdoubanjiang 44% · miso 100% · tofu 33%
- Korean ramyeon12 recipeskimchi 33% · gochujang 41% · tofu 41%
- Vegan and vegetarian ramen27 recipestofu 33% · vegetable 74% · bok choy 37%
Regional Japanese styles
- Hakata ramen4 recipesbeni shoga 50% · wood ear 50% · pork bone 75%
- Sapporo miso ramen6 recipesbutter 83% · sweet corn 100% · lard or back fat 33%
- Kitakata ramen5 recipesnaruto 40% · menma 80% · chashu 60%
- Iekei ramen3 recipespork bone 100% · pork 100% · spinach 66%
- Tokushima ramen3 recipespork bone 66% · mirin 100% · pork 66%
Not enough recipes yet: Kurume (1), Kumamoto (1), Kagoshima (1), Asahikawa (2), Hakodate shio (1), Shirakawa (1), Tsubame-Sanjo (1), Jiro (1), Onomichi (2), Wakayama (2) and Taiwan ramen (1).
What each style is made of
Each cell is the share of a style's recipes that list the component, in percent; the darker, the more of them. The top row is every ramen in the atlas, named style or not.
| Style | Chicken | Vegetable | Seafood or dashi | Seasoning packet | Pork bone | Stock, unstated | Coconut milk | Beef broth | Soy milk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ramen bowls | 40 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| By broth and tare | |||||||||
| Shoyu19 recipes | 58 | 16 | 58 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Shio10 recipes | 70 | 30 | 50 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miso38 recipes | 39 | 26 | 16 | 21 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Chicken paitan7 recipes | 71 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tonkotsu14 recipes | 36 | 7 | 36 | 14 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Spicy, curry and meat-free | |||||||||
| Tantanmen27 recipes | 63 | 7 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 48 |
| Curry19 recipes | 47 | 11 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 16 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Spicy miso9 recipes | 33 | 67 | 33 | 22 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Korean ramyeon12 recipes | 33 | 25 | 0 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vegan27 recipes | 0 | 74 | 30 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 15 |
| Regional Japanese styles | |||||||||
| Hakata4 recipes | 0 | 25 | 75 | 0 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sapporo miso6 recipes | 83 | 0 | 33 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kitakata5 recipes | 60 | 20 | 60 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iekei3 recipes | 67 | 0 | 33 | 33 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tokushima3 recipes | 67 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Without soup, dipped or cold | |||||||||
| Hiyashi chuka13 recipes | 23 | 0 | 8 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tsukemen10 recipes | 70 | 20 | 40 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Abura soba13 recipes | 23 | 8 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
What sets each style apart
Components in at least a quarter of a style's recipes and at least twice as common as in ramen bowls overall, strongest first.
- Shoyu: menma (bamboo shoots) in 52% (12% overall), chashu in 47% (13% overall) and marinated egg (ajitama) in 36% (10% overall).
- Shio: menma (bamboo shoots) in 70% (12% overall), tare made in the recipe in 30% (6% overall) and marinated egg (ajitama) in 50% (10% overall).
- Miso: miso in 84% (24% overall), cabbage in 28% (9% overall) and sweet corn in 28% (10% overall).
- Chicken paitan: homemade noodles (kansui or baking soda) in 42% (4% overall), chashu in 85% (13% overall) and marinated egg (ajitama) in 42% (10% overall).
- Tonkotsu: wood ear mushroom (kikurage) in 35% (3% overall), pickled red ginger (beni shoga) in 28% (2% overall) and lard or back fat in 64% (6% overall).
- Tantanmen: soy milk in 48% (5% overall), sesame paste or tahini in 77% (8% overall) and chili bean paste (doubanjiang) in 59% (7% overall).
- Curry: curry roux, powder or paste in 78% (6% overall) and coconut milk in 31% (5% overall).
- Spicy miso: chili bean paste (doubanjiang) in 44% (7% overall), miso in 100% (24% overall) and tofu in 33% (8% overall).
- Korean ramyeon: kimchi in 33% (2% overall), gochujang in 41% (4% overall) and tofu in 41% (8% overall).
- Vegan: tofu in 33% (8% overall), vegetable or mushroom in 74% (20% overall) and bok choy in 37% (15% overall).
- Hakata: pickled red ginger (beni shoga) in 50% (2% overall), wood ear mushroom (kikurage) in 50% (3% overall) and pork bone (tonkotsu) in 75% (8% overall).
- Sapporo miso: butter in 83% (5% overall), sweet corn in 100% (10% overall) and lard or back fat in 33% (6% overall).
- Kitakata: naruto or kamaboko fish cake in 40% (3% overall), menma (bamboo shoots) in 80% (12% overall) and chashu in 60% (13% overall).
- Iekei: pork bone (tonkotsu) in 100% (8% overall), pork (other cuts) in 100% (15% overall) and spinach in 66% (10% overall).
- Tokushima: pork bone (tonkotsu) in 66% (8% overall), mirin in 100% (22% overall) and pork (other cuts) in 66% (15% overall).
- Hiyashi chuka: cucumber in 100% (3% overall), ham in 76% (2% overall) and pickled red ginger (beni shoga) in 46% (2% overall).
- Tsukemen: naruto or kamaboko fish cake in 30% (3% overall), fresh ramen noodles in 50% (8% overall) and marinated egg (ajitama) in 40% (10% overall).
- Abura soba: raw egg or yolk in 30% (1% overall), served without soup in 30% (1% overall) and chili bean paste (doubanjiang) in 38% (7% overall).
Across every ramen
The commonest of each kind among all 492 recipes. “Not stated” means the recipe names the part without saying which kind.
Broth base · named in 86%
- Chicken40% · 198
- Vegetable or mushroom20% · 101
- Seafood or dashi (kombu, bonito, niboshi)20% · 100
- Instant noodle seasoning packet17% · 84
- Pork bone (tonkotsu)8% · 41
- Stock, kind not stated5% · 27
Tare and seasoning · named in 88%
- Soy sauce (shoyu)74% · 367
- Miso24% · 122
- Mirin22% · 110
- Vinegar20% · 103
- Sesame paste or tahini8% · 43
- Chili bean paste (doubanjiang)7% · 39
Aroma oil · named in 58%
- Sesame oil44% · 221
- Chili oil (rayu)15% · 78
- Lard or back fat6% · 33
- Black garlic oil (mayu)1% · 9
- Chicken fat (chiyu)1% · 8
- Scallion oil<1% · 2
Noodles · named in 100%
- Ramen noodles, kind not stated46% · 227
- Instant noodles36% · 181
- Fresh ramen noodles8% · 43
- Dried ramen noodles7% · 35
- Other noodles (udon, soba, egg, rice, zoodles)4% · 23
- Homemade noodles (kansui or baking soda)4% · 21
Toppings · named in 98%
- Scallion or negi66% · 329
- Boiled or soft egg44% · 217
- Sesame seeds28% · 140
- Mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, shimeji)28% · 139
- Chili flakes or togarashi17% · 88
- Nori16% · 83
How it is served · named in 48%
- Served in soup47% · 234
- Served without soup1% · 7
- Tossed in a pan (stir-fried)1% · 6
239 recipes that name no style
Most recipes are just called ramen bowls. None of them is counted in a style above. Each is compared with every style's recipes, component by component, and 46 look clearly more like one style than like ramen bowls in general: Korean ramyeon 13, Curry 11, Vegan 5, Kitakata 3 and Iekei 2. The rest are the plain ramen most kitchens make.
All 492 recipes →Go deeper
Top sources
- 19ramenkaonashi.com
- 15dinnerbydennis.com
- 15kuechengoetter.de
- 15sudachirecipes.com
- 14pickledplum.com
- 12chefsimon.com
- 12marmiton.org
- 12norecipes.com
- 11bbcgoodfood.com
- 11cuisine.journaldesfemmes.fr
- 11cuisineaz.com
- 11delish.com
In 8 languages: English 290, French 66, Japanese 45, German 36, Dutch 27, Spanish 17, Italian 7, Portuguese 4. 145 sites in all.
How recipes are read
Every ingredient line is matched against a lexicon of 76 components in the page's own language, of the 8 the recipes are written in. Cooking methods come from the title, the lines and the method's sentences, which are read but not published.
The same part has one name however it is written: 鶏ガラ, chicken carcass and Hühnerbrühe are all a chicken broth base, and メンマ and bamboo shoots are both menma. Lines under a heading like “For the chashu” count toward the chashu, not the tare, and a generic name (noodles, stock) counts only when the recipe names no particular kind.
A page counts only when it is a bowl of ramen: noodles in the ingredient list and a broth to serve them in, unless its style is served without soup (abura soba, mazesoba, hiyashi chuka). Ramen eggs, chashu, broths and noodle doughs on their own are left out, and so are noodle stir-fries that borrow the name.
A recipe belongs to a style only when its title, or failing that its URL, uses one of the style's names. Nothing is assigned a style from its components; a recipe that names none is only described as looking like the style it is closest to. Of the 701 pages read, 209 were left out: 94 title is not a ramen, 49 no noodles in the ingredient list, 24 a noodle stir-fry, not a bowl of soup, 19 title names another dish, 17 no broth, soup or tare, 5 duplicates of other pages, and 1 too few ingredient lines. No site contributes more than 25 recipes.
Every recipe page links to the original, which is where the method is. Recipe Lab does not republish instructions or photos.