Shio ramen (塩ラーメン, shio = salt) is ramen in its most refined form. Where tonkotsu clouds the bowl with emulsified fat and miso adds assertive fermented depth, shio stands apart through restraint: a broth so clear you can see the bottom of the bowl, yet layered with quiet, complex umami. A single spoonful and you understand why ramen historians trace the style back to Hakodate, Hokkaido’s port city, where cooks in the 1880s drew on fresh seafood, kelp, and a light hand with seasoning to create what many call Japan’s original ramen.
The challenge — and the reward — of shio ramen lies in that paradox: it must taste rich, but look pristine. This guide walks you through every stage, from blotching and blanching bones to building a balanced salt tare (塩タレ, shio tare), so you can achieve a restaurant-quality golden bowl at home.
- Why chintan (清湯) broth stays clear — and the one mistake that clouds it
- A balanced shio tare recipe using usukuchi soy sauce and kombu water
- How to make chicken or sesame oil (香味油, kōmi-abura) to finish the bowl
- Assembly order for a restaurant-quality result, plus topping ideas
- FAQ: substitutions, storing tare, and scaling for a crowd
What Is Shio Ramen?
Shio ramen belongs to the chintan family — broths that are kept deliberately clear rather than opaque (paitan, 白湯). The clarity is not cosmetic. A well-made chintan has a delicate mouthfeel that lets individual flavors — chicken, kelp, clams, dried scallop — register separately rather than merging into one opaque wall of richness.
The seasoning element is shio tare, a concentrated salt sauce that supplies most of the bowl’s saltiness and much of its umami. Unlike shoyu tare, which darkens the broth amber, shio tare keeps the soup pale gold or nearly transparent. That color signals freshness to a Japanese diner — clarity is a mark of skill, not simplicity.
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| Ramen Style | Broth Type | Key Seasoning | Broth Color | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shio | Chintan (clear) | Salt tare | Pale gold | ★★★☆☆ |
| Shoyu | Chintan | Soy tare (kaeshi) | Amber brown | ★★★☆☆ |
| Miso | Chintan or paitan | Miso blend | Brown–ochre | ★★★☆☆ |
| Tonkotsu | Paitan (opaque) | Salt or soy tare | Milky white | ★★★★★ |
| Abura Soba | None (dry) | Tare + flavored oil | N/A | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Tantan-men | Paitan (sesame) | Sesame + spicy miso | Beige–red | ★★★☆☆ |
Ingredients (2 Servings)
For the Chintan Broth
This recipe contains wheat (ramen noodles, soy sauce), chicken, and soy. The kombu is shellfish-free but shares production facilities in some brands — check your label if cooking for severe allergy sufferers. If you use dried scallops in the tare (optional), add shellfish to the allergen list.
- 800 g (1¾ lb) bone-in chicken pieces (backs, wings, or carcasses) — or an equal weight of chicken feet for extra collagen
- 1 liter (4¼ cups) cold water
- 1 piece kombu (昆布, dried kelp), about 10 cm (4 in)
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- 2 spring onions (green parts), roughly torn
- 1 tsp fine sea salt (for blanching water)
For the Shio Tare (makes ~120 ml / ½ cup — enough for 4–6 bowls)
- 100 ml (7 Tbsp) sake
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 Tbsp) cold water + 1 piece kombu (5 cm / 2 in) — combined as kombu water, steeped 30 min
- 1½ tsp fine sea salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp usukuchi soy sauce (薄口醤油, usukuchi shōyu — light-colored soy sauce; regular soy sauce will darken the broth)
For the Aroma Oil (香味油, kōmi-abura)
- Chicken oil option: 2 Tbsp chicken skin or fat trimmings + 3 Tbsp neutral oil (canola or sunflower); gently render over low heat 8–10 min, then strain
- Sesame oil option (quick): 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil — stir directly into each bowl at assembly
To Serve
- 160 g (5½ oz) fresh or dried ramen noodles — straight, thin noodles (around 1 mm / No. 26 gauge) suit shio ramen best
- Toppings: chashu pork, menma (bamboo shoots), nori, thin-sliced spring onion, ajitsuke tamago (seasoned soft-boiled egg)
Making Chintan Broth
Chintan (清湯) literally means “clear soup.” The name is the recipe: your entire goal is to extract maximum flavor without clouding the liquid. Fat and proteins cloud broth when agitated at a rolling boil; the two-stage approach below — blanch to purge impurities, then simmer barely below boiling — keeps the liquid brilliantly clear throughout.
Step 1 — Blanch the Bones
Place the chicken pieces in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a rapid boil and cook for 2 minutes — the water will turn grey and foam will rise. Drain and rinse every piece under cold running water, cleaning off any grey matter clinging to the joints. This step removes soluble proteins and blood compounds that would otherwise cloud the broth and produce off-flavors.
Starting the blanch in cold (not hot) water draws impurities out of the bones gradually. Adding bones to already-boiling water seals the surface before impurities can escape — the opposite of what you want here.
Step 2 — Gentle Simmer with Kombu
Return the cleaned chicken to a fresh pot. Add the kombu piece and cold water. Over medium heat, warm the liquid slowly until you can see wisps of steam and small bubbles starting to form at the bottom — about 75–80 °C (167–176 °F). Remove the kombu at this point, before the water reaches a rolling boil; kombu held above 85 °C (185 °F) releases slimy, bitter compounds that dull the broth’s brightness.
Add the ginger and spring onion greens. Reduce heat until the surface shows only a lazy shimmer — one or two small bubbles breaking every few seconds, around 85–90 °C (185–194 °F). A full boil at any stage will emulsify fat into the stock, turning it opaque. Simmer uncovered for 2–2½ hours, skimming any fat or foam that accumulates in the first 20 minutes.
Even a 30-second hard boil mid-cook will cloud the broth. If you see large rolling bubbles, remove the pot from heat immediately and let it settle before returning it to low heat. A haze that forms early can sometimes be rescued by straining through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth — but prevention is far easier.
Step 3 — Strain
Set a fine-mesh strainer over a clean pot or bowl. Pour the broth through slowly — never press or squeeze the solids, as this forces fat and fine particles through the mesh and clouds the liquid. Let gravity do the work. Discard the solids. The finished broth should be pale gold and translucent, almost luminous against the light. You should have roughly 600–700 ml (2½–3 cups) of broth for 2 servings; if you have more, simmer uncovered for a few extra minutes to concentrate flavor.
A 30-mesh stainless steel strainer — small enough to sit across a saucepan, fine enough to catch every particle that would cloud your chintan. Made in Japan and dishwasher safe.
Salt Tare (Shio Tare)
The tare is the soul of any ramen bowl — the concentrated seasoning paste or liquid that is added to the bowl before the broth is poured over it. For shio ramen, the tare must deliver saltiness and umami without adding any dark color. The light, kombu-forward recipe below achieves that balance.
Make Kombu Water First
Combine 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 Tbsp) cold water and the 5 cm kombu piece in a small bowl. Leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight. The cold-extraction method draws out glutamates (the umami compound) cleanly, without the bitterness that comes from boiling kombu. Remove the kombu before using.
Usukuchi (薄口) literally means “thin mouth” — it is paler and slightly saltier than standard koikuchi (濃口) soy sauce. A small amount adds amino acids and round umami without tinting the broth brown. Outside Japan, look for it in East Asian grocery stores under brands such as Higashimaru or Yamasa. In a pinch, substitute fish sauce at a 1:1 ratio for a different but compatible umami note.
Cook the Tare
Combine the sake and mirin in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 1–2 minutes to burn off alcohol (you will briefly see a low blue flame if you lean close with a lighter — this is normal). Add the kombu water and salt. Stir over low heat until the salt fully dissolves — about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the usukuchi soy sauce. Do not cook after adding soy sauce; you want its raw, fresh character to remain intact in the finished tare.
Cool completely before storing. The tare keeps refrigerated in an airtight jar for up to 2 weeks. Use 2–3 Tbsp of tare per bowl, adjusted to your salt preference. Add to the empty bowl first, then ladle hot broth over it — never add tare directly to a pot of broth, which makes individual seasoning impossible.
Different sea salts have different saltiness levels by volume (fine sea salt is saltier than flake salt by weight). Taste the tare after dissolving the salt and before adding soy sauce — it should taste aggressively salty on its own, since it will be diluted by roughly 350 ml (1½ cups) of broth per serving. If in doubt, start with 1¼ tsp salt and adjust upward.
Assembly and Toppings
The assembly sequence matters: tare goes in first, then aroma oil, then hot broth, then noodles, then toppings. This order ensures the tare disperses evenly through the broth rather than pooling at the bottom.
Assembling the Bowl
- Warm your bowl by filling it with boiling water for 30 seconds, then pouring it out. A cold bowl drops the broth temperature by several degrees the moment it makes contact.
- Add 2–3 Tbsp shio tare to the empty warm bowl.
- Add 1 tsp chicken oil or sesame oil.
- Ladle in 300–350 ml (1¼–1½ cups) of hot chintan broth — keep it just below boiling so it doesn’t agitate and cloud when it hits the tare.
- Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain thoroughly, shaking off excess water so it does not dilute your carefully made broth.
- Place noodles in the bowl and add toppings.
Shio ramen’s clean flavor works best with restrained toppings that don’t overpower it: thin-sliced chashu pork, menma (seasoned bamboo shoots), a sheet of nori, spring onion rings, and a halved ajitsuke tamago. Avoid heavy garnishes like ma yu (burnt garlic oil) or beni shōga (pickled ginger) which are better suited to tonkotsu.
Chicken Oil: The Easy Way
When you purchase skin-on chicken thighs for chashu or other recipes, save the skin and fat trimmings in the freezer. To make chicken oil: place about 2 Tbsp of skin/fat trimmings in a small saucepan with 3 Tbsp of neutral oil. Cook over the lowest heat for 8–10 minutes until the skin turns golden and crispy and the fat has fully rendered. Strain out the solids. The oil will be pale yellow and deeply savory. Store refrigerated for up to 1 week. Add 1 tsp per bowl at assembly.
Chicken broth is highly perishable. Cool any unused broth to room temperature within 2 hours of cooking, then refrigerate within the same day. Use refrigerated broth within 3 days, or freeze in airtight containers for up to 1 month. Never leave broth at room temperature overnight.
FAQ
Q: My broth came out cloudy. Can I fix it?
A: Prevention is more effective than fixing, but if cloudiness is mild, try this: let the finished broth cool to around 60 °C (140 °F) and skim carefully, then strain again through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a damp coffee filter or cheesecloth — pour very slowly. Some clarity usually returns. If the broth is deeply opaque from a sustained hard boil, the fat is fully emulsified and the cloudiness is permanent — but the broth will still taste good as a shoyu or miso ramen base where color matters less.
Q: Can I use a whole chicken instead of backs and wings?
A: Yes. A whole chicken (about 1.2 kg / 2½ lb) works well. The yield is a little smaller per kilogram of bones since there is more meat, but the broth will be richer and can double as ingredient for another dish. Remove the breast meat after 1 hour (it will be fully cooked) and set aside for sandwiches or chashu; continue simmering the rest of the carcass.
Q: I can’t find usukuchi soy sauce. What should I use?
A: Fish sauce is the closest substitute in terms of salt content and umami depth (substitute 1:1). White soy sauce (白醤油, shiro shōyu) is even better if you can find it — lighter in color than usukuchi with a delicate, almost wheat-forward flavor. Regular koikuchi soy sauce works in a pinch but will give the broth a darker amber tone. Reduce the quantity to ½ tsp to limit color impact.
Q: How do I scale this recipe for 4 or more people?
A: Double everything proportionally. The tare recipe already makes enough for 4–6 bowls. For broth, use 1.5 kg (3¼ lb) of chicken bones and 1.8 liters (7½ cups) of water, which should yield about 1.3 liters (5½ cups) of finished broth after simmering. Because the tare is made separately, you can make a large batch of broth and tare on the weekend and assemble individual bowls through the week.
Recommended Items
The benchmark usukuchi soy sauce for clear broths and shio tare. Lighter in color than standard soy sauce but slightly saltier — a small amount adds clean umami without discoloring your golden broth. Higashimaru (ヒガシマル) is the most widely trusted brand among professional ramen cooks for light-colored seasoning.
Approx. ¥1,500–2,000 range for 3 bottles
A 30-mesh stainless steel strainer purpose-built for soup and stock work. Small enough to set across a medium saucepan or bowl, the fine mesh catches the tiny particles that cloud chintan broth. Smooth finish (no welds to trap residue) and dishwasher safe. Manufactured in Japan.
Approx. ¥1,500–2,000 range
A deep, wide-mouthed white porcelain ramen bowl that showcases the pale gold color of shio ramen to best effect. The 1,000 ml (34 fl oz) capacity handles generous servings with room for toppings. White porcelain retains heat longer than thinner ceramics, keeping the soup hot through the meal. Set of 3 — ideal for family cooking days.
Approx. ¥2,000–3,000 range for set of 3
Related Recipes & Further Reading
- Complete ramen guide: How to Make Ramen at Home — 11 Styles Compared (English) — covers all ramen styles, noodle types, and overseas ingredient swaps in one place
- Toppings: Ajitsuke Tamago (Seasoned Soft-Boiled Ramen Eggs) — the silky marinated egg that completes any shio bowl
- Protein: Chashu Pork Recipe — Tender Braised Pork Belly for Ramen — the classic rolled chashu works perfectly with shio’s delicate flavors
Recipe note: This recipe is an original compilation by the HowToCook.jp editorial team, developed from standard Japanese chintan-style cooking methods. Ingredient proportions and techniques are informed by well-established ramen references including RecipeTin Japan, Just One Cookbook, and Adam Liaw’s Ramen School series, all credited in Sources below. No single source recipe has been reproduced; all text and quantities are independently composed.
Sources & References
- Home-made Shio Ramen — RecipeTin Japan — detailed shio tare technique and kombu water extraction method
- Shio Ramen 塩ラーメン — Just One Cookbook — shio ramen broth components and seasoning ratios
- Ramen School 001: Basic Clear Ramen Broth — Adam Liaw — temperature control and clarity techniques for chintan stock
- Ramen School 004: Afuri-Style Yuzu Shio Ramen — Adam Liaw — salt tare construction and aroma oil for shio style
- Shio Ramen From Scratch — Sudachi Recipes — blanching technique and step-by-step broth method
- The Roots of Japanese Ramen? Shio (Salt) Ramen — Fun Japan — history of shio ramen and Hakodate origins
- Ramen: A Japanese Soul Food with a Long History — Nippon.com — regional variation overview and characteristic ingredients of Japanese ramen styles
情報の最終確認日 / Last verified: February 2026
