How To Make Tsukemen Dipping Noodles

For a long time, the conventional wisdom for enjoying ramen noodles was to prepare a big bowl of broth and noodles, top with tons of tasty add-ons, and dig in.

Tsukemen noodles are a newer style of ramen prepared in ramen shops worldwide, and thanks to recipes like our Tsukemen Dipping Noodle method, you can easily prepare them at home as well. 

Tsukemen ramen noodles are the distillation of ramen into two parts, perfectly cooked noodles and hyper-intense broth spiked with flavor. Garnishes for tsukemen can range, but it is a dish of cold noodles served with hot soup at its core.

What makes dipping ramen noodles so unique?

Tsukemen dipping ramen noodles can be one of the purest ramen expressions available. By dipping cold ramen noodles into hot broth, tsukemen ramen elevates the ramen experience by reducing and intensifying the flavor.

You can garnish your tsukemen noodles however you see fit, but the most critical parts of tsukemen noodles are the wildly flavorful tsukemen broth and perfectly cooked ramen noodles.

Tsukemen broth is more flavorful than your typical ramen broth, and it's meant to be a dipping sauce, not a soup-style broth. Served on the side and used to dunk or dip your noodles, the intense flavor of the broth seasons and heats the cold noodles to create a flavorful but lighter ramen experience.

Ramen noodles are made from flour, water, and a special chemical called culinary lye that overproduces the gluten structure producing slightly yellow, chewy, bouncy noodles.

Tsukumen ensures that every bite of noodles is perfectly chewy, flavorful, and delicious without overcooking the noodles along the way. Furthermore, you don't get that slightly "sloshy" feeling you can get after indulging in a giant bowl full of broth.

How to Make Tsukemen with instant ramen noodles!

Making tsukemen at home is super easy. Simply combine perfectly cooked ramen noodles with a small bowl of hyper flavorful tsukemen sauce and some simple veggies, and you've got the perfect at-home tsukemen experience. Here's our easy dipping noodle recipe.

Start with great ramen noodles.

To begin this delicious tsukemen recipe, you'll need a really great pack of ramen noodles.

Instant ramen noodles, especially ramen noodle cups, because you can keep the noodles al-dente and slightly chewy. The steamed ramen noodles that are a part of every pack of Mike's Mighty Good Ramen Noodles are far superior to the mass-produced fried ramen noodles found in most instant ramen.

Fried ramen has a greasier, more roasted flavor, while steamed noodles are lighter and much closer to fresh ramen noodles.

For this recipe, we recommend the Soy Sauce Instant Ramen Noodles from Mike's Mighty Good Ramen. The clean, pure shoyu flavor of these ramen broth base and the lightly steeped noodles make a perfect version of instant ramen tsukemen dipping noodles.

 

 

 

Prepare the Tsukemen Sauce.

To prepare the tsukemen dipping sauce/broth you need to mix together 3-4 tbsp of hot water with the ramen broth base packet.

Once the broth is dissolved, add 1 tsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tsp of mirin rice wine, and 1 tsp of dashi powder to the sauce.

Finally, you will add 1/2 a cup of water to the broth to adjust the flavor. At this point, you can give the broth a taste and adjust the flavor to your specific preferences.

Cook the noodles.

Cooking the noodles is the easy part of this recipe. Simply pour boiling water over the noodles in the ramen cup and allow them to steep for the appropriate amount of time.

Once the noodles are perfectly cooked, you can drain the water away and allow the noodles to cool before garnishing.

Garnish your perfectly cooked noodles.

Once the noodles have chilled, place them in a small bowl and add your toppings.

You can top it with whatever you enjoy most, from chashu or roasted chicken to nitamago eggs, sesame oil, or fish cake; the options are endless.

This recipe is super minimalistic and relies on the flavors of scallion, fresh ginger, and sesame seeds for a classic, clean palate.

To garnish your cold noodles, top them with a few teaspoons of sliced fresh ginger, a handful of scallions, and a tsp of toasted sesame seeds!

Swirl the noodles in the dipping sauce and slurp away.

Once the broth is ready, and the noodles are garnished, it's time to enjoy your noodles.

To enjoy tsukemen ramen, immerse each bite of noodles in the flavorful tsukemen sauce as you enjoy your bowl. It's probably best to keep a second pack of ramen on hand just in case; tsukemen ramen can be incredibly addictive!

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