📺 Watch How to Make This Creamy Chicken Ramen

Creamy Chicken Ramen Recipe – 2 Easy Ways! 🍜

This creamy chicken ramen—also known as Tori Paitan—is one of the trendiest styles of ramen in Japan right now, and trust me, you don’t want to miss it!
I know creamy chicken ramen can seem tricky to make, but don’t worry—I’m going to show you two easy and foolproof ways to make it right at home!

🔪 How to Make 

First things first—let’s break down our whole chicken!
A sharp knife will make the process much easier, so give yours a quick sharpen before you start!

With the chicken backbone facing up, pull each wing away from the body and cut through the joint to fully detach them.

With the chicken breast side facing up, pull each leg away from the body. Slice through the skin between the breast and thigh, then bend the thigh until the joint pops out. Cut through the joint to fully detach the legs.

To remove the breast meat, start at the highest point of the breast. Using the tip of your knife, cut lengthwise along one side of the breastbone, gently separating the meat from the bone as you go. Repeat on the other side. Remove the skin and set the meat aside.

To debone the leg and thigh, place them skin-side down. Make a shallow cut down the center to expose the bone, then carefully slice along both sides to reveal it fully. Slide your knife underneath the thigh bone and cut outward to release it. Repeat the process for the leg bone. Gently separate the joint between the thigh and leg bones, being careful not to cut through the meat or skin. Wrap the leg meat in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Next, cut through the rib cage and shoulder joints to separate the breast bones from the backbone.

Place the backbone, breast bone, wings, leg, and thigh bones into a large pot along with chicken feet and any extra backbones you have. Pour in enough cold water to fully cover the bones and let them soak for 30 minutes.

I know what you’re thinking—but trust me, this step is essential! If you want that rich, creamy broth like the ones served at legit tonkotsu or tori paitan shops in Japan, this is how they do it. Soaking helps pull out the blood and impurities for a cleaner, smoother broth.

Drain and rinse the bones once more under cold running water, then drain them completely.

Now, pour in 25 cups of water and 1 cup of sake into the pot with the chicken bones and bring it to a boil over high heat.
Once it starts boiling, you’ll notice lots of scum and foam rising to the top—skim it all off thoroughly. This step usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes and helps keep the broth clean and pure in flavor.

Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot, and let it simmer gently for 5 hours.
Try not to open the lid too often—let the magic happen undisturbed for the richest, creamiest chicken ramen broth.

Meanwhile, let’s make the tare — the seasoning sauce that gives ramen its soul!

Place kombu, garlic, ginger, the white part of a leek, salt, msg, sugar, water, and sake in a pot. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Once it hits a rolling boil, keep it going for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove from heat and let it cool slightly — this tare will deepen and round out the flavor of your creamy chicken ramen.

Drain the tare through a fine strainer into a clean bowl, squeezing out every last drop from the veggies — that’s where the flavor is! This is your shio tare (salt base sauce).

🔥 If you want to make a spicy version, simply divide the tare in half and stir 4 tablespoons of gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) into one portion. Now you’ve got both classic and spicy options for your creamy chicken ramen!

To make the chicken meatballs, cut the chicken breast into rough chunks and add them to a food processor along with the butter. Pulse 8 to 10 times, or until the chicken is finely ground and the butter is fully incorporated. The mixture should be smooth but not overprocessed.

Transfer the ground chicken mixture to a mixing bowl. Add garlic, ginger, starch, soy sauce, mirin, black pepper, egg, and ground sesame seeds. Mix everything together until well combined and slightly sticky. This will help the meatballs hold their shape and stay juicy when cooked.

To grind the sesame seeds (make sure they’re always toasted sesame seeds!), I used this little Japanese sesame grinder. It’s compact but works like magic—super easy and efficient for getting that fresh, nutty flavor right into the mix!

Mix everything together until the mixture becomes tacky and slightly sticky—that’s how you know it’s ready. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

After 3 hours of simmering, start smashing the bones with a potato masher every 30 minutes.
This helps release more collagen, marrow, and flavor into the broth for that thick, creamy texture we’re after.

When the chicken broth has just 30 minutes left, it’s time to really go in—smash those bones like you mean it! This helps release all the rich collagen and marrow that make the broth extra creamy. Then pour in 1 more cup of water, cover the pot, and let it finish simmering.

Drain the chicken broth through a large strainer first to remove the big pieces, then strain it once more using a fine mesh strainer for a silky-smooth, creamy broth.

Pour the strained chicken broth back into the now-clean pot (or a new one) and bring it back to a boil over medium-high heat.

When the broth starts to boil rapidly over high heat, use a melon scoop or small spoon to drop in the chicken meatballs one by one.

Now is also the time to add a bit of chicken powder for an extra boost of umami. It also deepens and extends the chicken flavor even more—making the broth taste like it simmered for a couple of days.

Give the broth a gentle stir to make sure the meatballs don’t stick together. Once the soup returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low and keep it warm.

High broil the chicken leg meat, skin side up, on the middle rack for about 10 minutes or until fully cooked through and the skin is nicely golden. Let it rest briefly, then slice into bite-sized pieces. Set aside for topping your creamy chicken ramen!

Blanch napa cabbage in salted boiling water for about 1 minute, just until tender. Remove and set aside. In the same pot of salted boiling water, cook ramen noodles according to the package instructions. Drain well and set aside.

Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of tare (adjust to your taste) and hot chicken broth into each serving bowl. Add the cooked noodles and gently stir to evenly coat them with the rich, flavorful broth.

Arrange the blanched napa cabbage, juicy chicken meatballs, sliced chicken chashu, green onions, ground toasted sesame seeds, and a ramen egg right on top of the noodles. Add a touch of yuzukosho or chili for a spicy kick, if you’d like. Enjoy while it’s piping hot!

 

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