📺 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!

Creamy Chicken Ramen
- Total Time: 5 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8
Description
Creamy chicken ramen (Tori Paitan) is easier to make than you think! Learn how to create deep, milky broth and juicy toppings at home!
Ingredients
For the Chicken Broth (Makes 6 to 8 servings)
- 4 to 5 lb organic/cage-free whole chicken
- 3 lb chicken feet
- 1 lb chicken back bones
- 1 cup sake
- 25 cups cold water
- 2 tbsp chicken powder
Shio Tare (Makes 6 to 8 servings)
- 1 oz kombu, dried kelp
- 1 bulb garlic, cut in half
- 2 oz ginger, sliced
- 1 large leek, cut in half, wash it through, prepared only white part
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup sake
- 3 cups cold water
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tsp msg, optional
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 4 to 8 tbsp gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes (optional)
Chicken Meatballs
- 2 remaining chicken breasts, removed skin
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pea-size
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp ground sesame seeds
- 1 egg
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Crispy Chicken Chashu
- 2 remaining chicken thighs and leg meat with skin on
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
Arrange a Bowl of Ramen (Makes 2 bowls with the ingredients listed below)
- 10 oz napa cabbage, cut into bite size
- 2 portions of fresh, frozen (5 oz each) or dried (3 oz each) ramen noodles
- 2 to 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 4 tbsp ground sesame seeds
- 2 ramen eggs
- yuzu kosho, optional
- Chili oil, optional
Instructions
- First thing’s first, let’s cut up our whole chicken!
Make sure to sharpen your knife to make the process easier!
With the chicken backbone side up, pull each wing away from the body, cut through the joint, and detach the wings completely.
Flip the chicken breast-side up. Pull each leg away from the body, then slice through the skin between the breast and drumstick. Bend each thighbone until it pops, then cut through to detach the legs completely. - To debone the breast meat, find the highest part of the breast. Using the tip of your knife, cut lengthwise into the highest part of the breast. Cut along one side of the breastbone and separate the meat from the bone. Repeat on the other side. Remove the skin and set it aside.
- To debone the leg and thigh, place them skin-side down. Make a shallow slice down the middle to open the meat and continue slicing along both sides of the bones. Once the bones are clearly exposed, slide your knife under the thigh bone and cut outward to detach it. Do the same for the leg bone. Carefully detach the joint between the thigh and leg bone without cutting through the meat or skin. Cover the leg meat with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Cut through the rib cage and then the shoulder joints to separate the breast bones from the backbones.
- Place the backbone, breastbone, wings, leg and thigh bones into a large pot, along with chicken feet and extra backbones. Pour in enough cold water to cover the bones and let them soak for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly one more time, then drain completely.
- Now, pour 25 cups of water and 1 cup of sake into the pot with the chicken and bring it to a boil over high heat. When it starts boiling, you’ll see lots of scum and dirty foam—skim it all off with a skimmer. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and let it simmer for 5 hours. After 3 hours, start smashing the bones with a potato masher every 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, let’s make the tare, the seasoning sauce for the ramen - In a pot, place all the ingredients for the tare and bring it to a boil over high heat. Let it boil hard for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
- Strain through a fine strainer and squeeze out all the juices from the vegetables. This is your shio tare (salt tare). If you want to make a spicy version, mix 4 tablespoons of gochugaru into half of the tare in a separate bowl.
- Let’s make the chicken meatballs:
Cut chicken breast into rough chunks and place them in a food processor with butter. Pulse 8 to 10 times, or until the chicken is finely ground and the butter is well incorporated. - Transfer the ground chicken to a mixing bowl and add garlic, ginger, starch, soy sauce, mirin, black pepper, egg, and ground sesame seeds. Mix well until the mixture becomes tacky. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Finishing the broth and assembling the ramen:
When the chicken broth has about 30 minutes left, start smashing the bones like you mean it! Then add 1 more cup of water and some chicken powder. Cover and let it finish cooking. - Strain the chicken broth through a colander, then again through a fine strainer. Pour the strained broth back into the now-clean pot (or a new pot) and bring it back to a boil.
- When the broth is boiling hard over high heat, drop in the chicken meatballs using a melon scoop. Stir gently to make sure the meatballs don’t stick to each other. When the soup starts boiling again, reduce the heat to low and keep it hot.
- High broil the chicken leg meat (skin-side up) on the middle rack for about 10 minutes, or until fully cooked. Slice into chashu-style pieces and set aside.
- Blanch napa cabbage in salted boiling water. In the same water, cook your ramen noodles according to the package directions. Drain well.
- Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of tare (depending on how salty you like your ramen) and hot chicken broth into each serving bowl. Add the noodles and stir so they’re evenly coated with the broth.
- Top each bowl with the blanched napa cabbage, chicken meatballs, chicken chashu, green onions, ground sesame seeds, and a ramen egg if desired. Add yuzukosho or chili to taste. Enjoy your creamy, flavorful chicken ramen!
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Category: Rice & Noodles
- Cuisine: Japanese
13 comments
Hi Seonkyoung!
I love your recipes! I’ve tried a few of them and they were delicious! I really want to try this chicken ramen recipe, but I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to chicken feet. I don’t think I can get past… those little feetsies. What should I do instead?
Thanks so much!
I used extra chicken wings instead of chicken feet. About 2lbs. It made a very similar flavor though not as creamy.
Hi Seonkyoung,
I’m making this right now and I’m really excited to try it tonight, it smells amazing! I have one question: In your photo story you say, “Also this is time to add chicken powder,” but the recipe at the bottom doesn’t list or explain the chicken powder. What is chicken powder and how much should be used?
Is there a brand name for this chicken powder that you are using, I’m looking in stores and can’t seem to find it?
Where can I find the noodles for this recipe?
Japanese market at frozen or refrigerator section will be the best option! If you don’t have local Japanese market, try the dried ramen noodles! It works as well!
Hello,
Thank you for this recipe. I would like to know how much stock I am to expect once the cooking is done. I want to ensure I have the correct mouth feel and taste to me as close to yours as possible.
Thank you for your answer.
Regards
The broth will make up to 6 to 8 servings. 🙂
Hi, I was wondering how big is your pot (8qt or 12qt)?
My pot doesn’t have the info and don’t remember what it was when I purchased. I guess around 10qt??
What kind of noodles do you recommend if I like my ramen noodles chewy and hard?
What brand of Ramen noodles do you use? Love all your recipes and videos!
We are about to have this recipe this evening. Can’t wait! Will definitely post a review. I’ve made the broth already and it’s delicious.