The Science Behind a Perfect Ramen Noodle

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My Podcast: anchor.fm/wayoframen
This is part one of a two-part series on making ramen noodles at home. In this video, I'll talk about ways to design your perfect noodle and in the second video, I'll show you my current ramen noodle-making technique.
This video would not be possible without tremendous help from my buddy Mike Satinover aka Ramen Lord. I pretty much just repeated back everything he told me in our conversation. Please follow him and check out everything he's doing and feel free to ask him questions as well!
Mike's Instagram: / ramen__lord
Mike's Book: docs.google.com/document/d/1q...
Our Discussion on noodles will be uploaded to my podcast feed: anchor.fm/wayoframen
00:01 Intro
2:01 Core Noodle Ingredients
6:11 Adjuncts
10:50 Resting
Common Adjuncts:
Powdered Egg Whites: amzn.to/32lB3Wx
Vital Wheat Gluten: amzn.to/3x1J2pD
Tapioca Flour: amzn.to/3akLJsO
Rice Flour: amzn.to/3ebCsUX
Pasta Machine: amzn.to/3e4gweg

[@Frore]

I always love seeing more from you my man. I want to soak up your knowledge like a sponge.

[@WayofRamen]

This is Mike's knowledge. I'm just the conduit that it passes through haha

[@Frore]

@@WayofRamen yes, but you and your channel are filled with a lot of great things to learn. The new things you learn and share with us is always awesome to watch.

[@marekjiripotuznik2675]

you mean like a low hydration noodle soakes up ramen?

[@garrittstever2130]

Ryan is probably my favorite KZbinr. He's so genuine and always puts out great content. Keep doing what you're doing man.

[@WayofRamen]

Thank you! I' dont really consider myself a youtube, just a normal guy that is constantly surprised that anyone watches his videos.

[@waterisnotwet3902]

I just finished my noddles for tomorrow’s ramen haha but next time I’m gonna use what I learn in this video

[@WayofRamen]

hopefully you can get some ideas of things to try in your next batch!

[@waterisnotwet3902]

@@WayofRamen definitely!

[@Just_Varick]

Honestly I'm big dumb so I'm gonna stick to pre-packaged store bought ramen noodles. But for some reason I still like watching this kind of stuff lol.

[@WayofRamen]

Store bought noodles are honestly pretty good now days

[@misatsundere399]

Exactly how I feel!

[@HyperGirl81]

If you have a local Asian market you can buy fresh noodles in a bag in the refrigerator section. You could even buy a ton of stuff to make your own stock too!

[@TheAndersDanilet]

@@WayofRamen I couldn’t find any good noodles that I liked. So I just get the 99cent Instant Cup o Noodles, and use those noodles in my Ramen. Seriously, man! Your channel has been such a great help! By my 3rd or 4th attempt, my homemade Ramen tasted better than any Ramen I had in a restaurant. Keep it up!

[@TheAndersDanilet]

@@HyperGirl81 Asian Markets are the best place to find bones, pigs feet, chicken feet, anchovies and katsuobushi for the tare, etc. H Mart even has “tea bags” for dashi, with kombu, shiitake, and niboshi.

[@Illumiloni]

noodles are the one thing i find it hardest to get my head around when it comes to ramen. This is super helpful to understanding, thank you!!

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks very much for watching

[@bossman674]

I love when cooking and science find that beautiful intersection… always great content!

[@hisashijrauman3692]

In my experience I would age the noodle in the fridge for about 2-3 days and then let it come to room temperature before I use them. I find that ageing the noodles makes it more flavorful, and also gets rid of that kansui smell.

[@WayofRamen]

Yes resting is super important

[@laurafaria8305]

@@WayofRamen The colour of my noodles became a little bit dull, and darker after resting in the fridge for a day. Has that happened to you? They tasted great regardless and my ramen bowl was delicious (chicken chintan with shoyu mushroom tare, scally-gingy oil, ajitama and broth-blanched oyster mushroom)

[@areufkingkiddingme]

@@laurafaria8305 were the noodles in an airtight container?

[@laurafaria8305]

@@areufkingkiddingme yeah! wrapped in saran wrap too

[@DizzyBusy]

@@laurafaria8305 I've observed the same thing. I'm still alive, so I guess it's fine. The discolouration could be simple oxidation happening, despite the saran wrap

[@fabimshiga]

Oh man... that videos was so helpful!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge! Greetings from a brazilian ramen lover 🙌🏻

[@viceroy6oy]

this man's dedication is really commendable. keep it up fam!

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks man

[@tonyluiscomedy]

Man I had no idea there was so much to think about when it comes to making ramen noodles! How awesome that you made this video though. Extremely informative and super interesting. I'm sure to revisit this video to make my personal perfect noodle!

[@supertigger6660]

You're wearing a Matsudai t-shirt!! That's my mate's business what the hell hahaha!

[@WayofRamen]

James is a buddy! I also love Gary

[@rjpena4258]

sp-sp-SPONSORSHIP?

[@supertigger6660]

@@WayofRamen haha I guess the world of ramen is a small one! Love your channel man. So glad it’s thriving!

[@etherdog]

Brilliant explanations, Ryan! I think you hit all the marks extremely well! I would counter the the "hypothesis" of 'fridge v countertop resting as not attributable to air, but the rate of starch hydration.

[@LeCJosh]

Thank you so much for the video! Looking forward to the second part :)

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks for watching

[@albertozaffonato1325]

Great video, really well explained. Can't wait to see the next video.

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks for watching

[@BrianLeeKing1]

Thank you for taking the time to do these videos.

[@-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-__--]

Awesome stuff. I learned so much & I am hyped to read the ramen__lord book. I had no idea it was free!

[@WayofRamen]

Yeah mikes book is great! I tried to get him to at least allow donations but he didn't want to. Just wants to help people.

[@Leferdent]

Good video, really informative for someone starting out like myself. I'm looking forward to part 2.

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks for watching man!

[@dimashariadidarwin410]

Thank you for sharing, Ryan ! I just into learn about ramen and i have found this insightful explanation. 🙏

[@IdanShir]

Seeing the good ole Atlas 150 box in the background really gives the whole thing an inexplicable sense of camaraderie lol.

[@vfgoditachyyy8446]

I appreciate the content man. I really enjoy it

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks for watching

[@TheAndersDanilet]

Fantastic video. As usual!

[@burningrax5859]

Well executed video Ryan, I'm sure this is being posted now on the ramen server too :) this type of content will really help newcomers who are interested in making their own noods

[@sopatisserie1282]

Great video, I have been making Chinese ramen at home and sometimes they don't come out as I want. Now with your deep explaination, I'm sure I can analyse my problem more scientifically! Thanks

[@MikeSmith-ek6mc]

Looking forward to the next vlog. Thanks

[@kristopherwood7521]

Thanks for this video. I've scanned several ramen cookbooks and now of them explains noodles very well. I always want to know why something works as well as how to make it.

[@grimming184]

I really appreciate your videos. You inspired me to finally start making ramen after thinking about it for a long time. I actually just finished making the noodles for tomorrow's ramen before i saw the video. It was quite hard because the dough was just to low in hydration to work with my Atlas. I'm looking forward to your next video to see to see how i can improve my noodle making. Thank you!

[@WayofRamen]

usually just resting the dough will help out a lot. lower hydrations can be tricky but you just have to go slower.

[@grimming184]

@@WayofRamen Yep, i'll try it next time.

[@loki8883]

Awesome video. Very interesting

[@ThePotThickens]

Awesome. I’ve been waiting for this.

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks for watching!

[@mamabear52]

Great info

[@dArKp4th]

Awesome video! Can’t wait for the next. You, Ramenlord and Motoki Ramen Academy taught me a lot about ramen, thank you very much! I’m absolutely addicted to ramen now haha. Btw since you had an podcast with Motoki, do you know by any chance if he is alright? He hasn’t uploaded in a while and I don’t find any information if he stopped KZbin or whatsoever.

[@aishvaryaarora3102]

Awesome informative video!!!

[@WayofRamen]

Thank you for watching!

[@jrmint2]

This was fascinating! I do notice w pizza dough, the resting of dough in the fridge changes it's structure, there are enzymes that changes the starches to sugars and therefore the structure is different, at room temperature it would work faster, but the yeast would also work faster and ferment it. Thanks for sharing.

[@WayofRamen]

Yeah noodles is a very deep rabbit hole. I'm still only scratching the surface myself.

[@shamei7295]

Nice,it's like gaining more knowledge. I'll try making noodles someday.

[@filipinaswiss2001]

I learn a lot from your Videos, and I tried many of your video cooking.

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks very much for watching!

[@dianamayfield5615]

lol love your self-deprecating humor.

[@akaiappears]

Mike's ebook is fantastic. Hard recommend

[@daunnara]

lol i listened to your podcast first, and i thought you guys were talking about "add junks(added junks)"

[@WayofRamen]

Haha some would argue your first hearing is the correct one

[@thediydaddy2649]

Am almost making Ramen everyday now, but using a manual "Okazawa" noodle maker. The Rollers are bigger, with indirect crank, making them much stronger and capable of laminating the dough IF you have the strength for it. Currently making noodles at 29% hydration. The lovely part actually is, asides from being chewier is that they don't get soggy too fast either unlike the higher hydration noodles above 40%

[@thecowcowclash]

Brilliant as always

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks for watching!

[@thecowcowclash]

@@WayofRamen thanks for teaching and inspiring!

[@Pratzz1312]

I can't wait for part 2

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks, will be out as soon as I finish editing it!

[@darwineffendi3273]

so when you upload the second video? I totally cant wait

[@WayofRamen]

Soon as I edit it

[@e6th8b07]

Cool!!! I'll try using this next time I make ramen

[@WayofRamen]

Good luck!

[@zhao789]

Really good video Ryan. I would've liked to see you or Mike speak on whole wheat's effects on gluten development and texture!

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks man. Yup he talks about that in the conversation I put up as a podcast episode. Should be up by now on at least some places.

[@amoskoff2381]

I know more about its effect in bread making than in noodles, but my understanding is that the small particles of bran in whole wheat flour are quite stiff and sharp. When you work whole wheat into dough the sharp pieces of bran cut the through the gluten and prevent them from developing long strands. That’s why whole wheat bread tends to be denser; less gluten development means less elasticity so the dough can’t rise as much. Bran also doesn’t absorb water, so my guess would be you get a firmer noodle with more bite, but more brittle and not as stretchy.

[@apage1717]

After watching this I've more works to do to explains to my non-English speaking peoples. Everyone loves Ramen just not the ready to use in the package. Thankyou so much, I learned more from this clip.

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks for watching and sharing the info!

[@danad2912]

This has been so useful!! I'm interested in the different carbonates and how they affect texture differently, do you have any resources on exactly what is going on? I've never quite understood the differences in the alkali cation used in ramen but also other alkali's used in baking (eg. using sodium hydroxide for pretzels)

[@raijin7086]

ahaa im happy that i am staying up late worth it!!

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks very much for watching

[@Bobson_Dugnutt_Esq]

This is really cool. I'm going to be experiment with adding konjac powder to make a half-calorie noodle dough so these tips will help me figure out what "constants" to control.

[@WayofRamen]

Good luck with the experiment!

[@Maestro4862]

Thank you!

[@WayofRamen]

Thank you for watching!

[@antonc81]

Awesome!

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks man!

[@thistamndypo]

Hey man! Digging the uploads :) I'm on Oahu for the weekend, do you have any recs for ramen spots on the island? And what do you think about the taste and preparation of saimin vs Japanese ramens? I'm looking forward to trying tons of good food here. Keep up the great vids and take care.

[@heyasobi]

get ignored

[@ricefriedegg323]

Would it be possible for you to explain how when ever I see Chinese noodle recipes such as 油泼面 or 拉面，the oil used one resting the dough makes the dough stretchier and more elastic? as well as the lye water involved, thanks

[@WayofRamen]

I'm not really an expert in chinese noodles, i've never even tried to make them but it does seem like the process of hand pulling is much different than the ramen noodle process of extruding and cutting. I think chinese cooking demystified did a good episode on chinese noodles they might have a better idea.

[@NurmiSimo]

Have you tried adding potato starch into your dough? Korean hand-cut noodles use potato starch with AP flour and I think the texture is just lovely. It feels like it absorbs a lot of flavor from the broth too.

[@WayofRamen]

I've never tried it though it seems like it would perform similarly to rice flour though I could be wrong since I've never tried it.

[@karlmansson8319]

Really late to this party but I'm glad I found it! If I'm using whole eggs, or separated but wet egg white, do I count the egg towards the hydration?

[@lauriewsmith1]

Is there a way to make Kansui? It doesn't seem to be available anywhere I can find. Even on ebay or amazon.

[@Phantasmogorica]

"There are no rules in Ramen" Love the informational video. "Old" video but i love the ramen content lol

[@CodyHq1618]

Hey there! I notice you mentioned we roll in one direction to "aligned" the gluten? Why must we align the gluten? What does it do? Also ive seen in chinese lamian making they actually show that you should rotate 90 degrees in one direction after rolling and then repeating till it is thin which is different from what's discussed here. Hope someone is able to answer? Pretty curious on this!!

[@theclimbingchef]

How do you make curly ramen? Scrunch/crumple it?

[@PhilR870]

Can you make ramen with rice noodles, and without soy? I don’t eat wheat. You do such a good job in all the explanations

[@WayofRamen]

You can but it starts to get away from being ramen at a certain point

[@smartchucasi1412]

i remember u said it in one of your video about freeze the noodles for few hour if we live in a humid place,is it really a big difference than just rest in fridge?

[@WayofRamen]

It's not a bid deal I usually just divide the noodles into servings and put it right in the fridge

[@joaquingan2187]

If I have liquid kansui, how much should I add?

[@mangeshdeshmukh9588]

Hi, i ve just started a small business of making noodels. However, my noodels are not becoming elastic and become sticky when cooking, is it possible you can advise the required ingredients with the mixing proportions, i am using wheat flour, plam oil , corn starch and salt. Please help

[@bukchoiii]

Would kansui water be the same measurement as potassium carbonate?

[@qinhen5130]

I watch the second video before i watch the first one lol. I have a question so when i add adjuncts like tapioca flour to bread flour(main flour) do i swap out like 5 to 10% of total weight or i add 5 to 10% above the 100% of the bread flour.

[@WayofRamen]

Subtract the weight of the adjunct you're adding from the weight of the bread flour.

[@luther7541]

thanks

[@WayofRamen]

Thanks for watching!

[@smugcat6938]

I have a question about using fresh egg whites as an adjunct. i dont have access to egg white powder and I know when you're adding whole egg whites, you're also adding water. is there any way to adjust for how much water is replaced by the egg whites?

[@WayofRamen]

how i do it is i get a measuring cup on a scale, weigh the egg whites then pour water in until i get to the total amount of water i originally intended to use. egg whites are mostly water so this works well.

[@chefe2152]

I would love to see how effect would have arrowroot starch on the noodle!

[@VRietySociety]

5% rice flour and 1 egg white per 500g of bread flour at around 37% hydration is my go to.

[@crispyricecake780]

Great video!! This is probably a silly question, but what causes ramen noodles to be wavy vs straight?

[@WayofRamen]

You can make wavy noodles by just smashing them together.

[@crispyricecake780]

@@WayofRamen One of my life's greatest mysteries has just been solved. Thank you!!

[@danieltomchev4035]

Great video. I am really learning something here. Thank you. But what about the colour? What if you want really yellowish noodles? Will be egg yolk enough? Or oder clours maybe?!

[@danieltomchev4035]

Just watched the second video

[@danieltomchev4035]

😁😁

[@WayofRamen]

add a tiny tiny pinch of riboflavin. check out the follow up video to this one and i show how to do it. oops never mind didn't see your follow up coomments lol

[@woolfel]

I stopped making alkaline noodles at home since the regular italian style Imperia pasta maker sucks for ramen noodles. Instead I make hand pulled noodles, which are much more chewy than thin ramen noodles. It's got QQ factor that is amazing and goes with more types of noodle soups.

[@rts306]

I am trying to analyze the ingredients .... so, instead of adding vital gluten to APF, can’t we just use combination of APF and Bread flour (which many people have, instead of buying gluten)? If so, what proportions? Secondly, instead of dried egg white powder, can we add egg whites to the liquid since we are already using the egg yolks? I do like your video and instructions, thank you!

[@WayofRamen]

yes you can do both. for raw egg whites subtract the weight of the egg whites from the total amount of water and mix it into the kansui mix. mixing flours to get the protein content you want is also A-OK

[@oohlala444]

Way of Ramen: "... because I'm kind of an idiot..." Me: *Alex Jones JR Podcast flashbacks intensify*

[@WayofRamen]

I really wanted to use that clip because I think it's hilarious but I think I would get canceled if I did.

[@OmniXBro]

Bro, I was kinda hoping you'd get into the science of resting as well. Do you rest at soboro stage? Or do you pack the soboro tight then rest? Do you rest after rolling and cutting as well? Does it matter how long for each resting stage? Thanks for the lessons! 🤙

[@WayofRamen]

All those are chefs choice. The main thing is to let gluten relax pre cut and after cutting to help de-gas and equalize the gel starch.

[@DMKleinArts]

What does snappy mean? Been having trouble figuring what that is

[@danieldo6832]

I've only seen pork/chicken ramen, are there any involving beef? I'm quite interested to see if there are any that have beef or has it as an ingredient

[@WayofRamen]

there are but beef bones are harder to work with. i haven't really played with them too much but maybe I'll try in the future.

[@danieldo6832]

@@WayofRamen oh I wonder why that is. maybe bigger animal denser bones?

[@BARCASKILL]

Can you provide some tips for gluten free ramen? It would be greatly helpful!

[@timseguine2]

If I were trying it, I'd probably experiment with some mixture of egg whites, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum.

[@malik6896ify]

Maruchan bag noodle is really good

[@robertpoynton9923]

Does it have to be egg white powder? If not what would the ratio be and less water?

[@WayofRamen]

1 whole egg white for 500g flour

[@JovanKo314]

How do you figure out how to match noodles with soups? I've made bowls where the noodles just seems to stick out like a sore thumb, and doesn't seem to match the bowl. But I have no idea which quality the noodles didn't work to know how to adjust it.

[@WayofRamen]

It's usually related to the concept of karami, the soup sticking to the noodle. There are things you can do to adjust that like the thickness of the noodle or the hydration. You could also just be adding too much noodles which is throwing off the balance. Most noodles should be OK with most soups. Maybe if you can figure out what you don't like about it you can try to dial in to minimize those effects.

[@peterpavlovich]

@@WayofRamen Are you saying that the more hydrated the noodle, the less the soup will stick to it? Or vice-versa?

[@ingvildnilsen3883]

Last time I experimented with bread flour containing wheat bran and even with 42% hydration it crumbles completely. Actually even using 25% of this flour with my usual flour ruins everything Any idea what could make it work?

[@notyrparty]

Any ideas on how to make wheat-free ramen noodles? I'm allergic to wheat. All the gluten-free ramen videos use store bought rice ramen noodles. The best GF noodle I've found is from Gluten Free Meister out of Japan through Amazon, but those are really expensive..

[@theclimbingchef]

Haven't tried it but what about boiling rice vermicelli in water with baking soda? I found rice ramen just got goopy and terrible

[@georgestewart614]

It's difficult to get powdered egg whites in my area, if i were to add non powdered egg whites, at what stage in the process would i add them?

[@WayofRamen]

watch the taishoken mori soba video. there is a noodle recipe in there that uses whole egg and its fantastic

[@georgestewart614]

@@WayofRamen cheers man, i'll give it a look

[@charliekindall3314]

So I’ve been on a ramen binge this last month, got a sturdy noodle maker, made sodium carbonate, and have the some good quality glutenous flour. I’ve been having a problem making batches of 1kg or more though. Every time I go to roll the dough out after resting, I end up with broken sandlike flour everywhere. I’ve been using 38% hydration to make sure it’s a pretty versatile noodle for shoyu based soups, but it still seems like it just won’t bind. HELP!:(

[@FireFromUpNorth]

How long on average do you rest the noodles for? fridge vs counter?

[@Pavme]

Do you mean before kneading the dough and shaping it? If so I know it's about 30m

[@yapaul6226]

How about making Lao kaopiak using boiling water???

[@25porelcu]

You should talk about potassium carbonate replacements. While food grade baking soda is available everywhere for cheap you can really have a hard time buying potassium carbonate other than what they sell for aquariums. I'm currently using potassium chloride (available as sodiumless salt) and tweaking the ammount of salt and sodium carbonate in a recipe to get a composition that's pretty close to the original; but I'd like to learn more on this for sure.

[@WayofRamen]

Potassium bicarbonate can be used to make potassium carbonate in a similar way baking soda can be used to make sodium carbonate

[@25porelcu]

@@WayofRamen Haha yes, I thought about that but still no luck in my city.

[@bierbrauer11]

Whatever you do, don’t use buckwheat flour, ain’t no soba in ramen (unless you’re Jaime Oliver)

[@WayofRamen]

💯

[@HookTheMonster]

Where is part 2???

[@erenjaeger9902]

Tip: Use your Rasengan to knead the dough!

[@Pablonoblee]

When you talk about " X % of ..." You mean the total amount of dry ingredients or just the flour? For example: 1% of egg white. For 1kg of flour that would be 10gr. It's that correct?

[@WayofRamen]

Yes you're correct just the flour. That would be for egg white powder. For whole eggs for 1kg of flour you could use 2 egg whites that you would mix into the water.

[@dermawankusuma8933]

I wanna ask, what is AP flour?

[@WayofRamen]

All purpose flour

[@paulcarlton598]

Making ramen is a little intimidating if I look at Ramen Lord's book. I really want to make a good 豚骨 tonkotsu ramen but it appears I must study for a few months before attempting and I'll probably end up spending 5 years on it straight to get it right XD. I might be exaggerating but it seems pretty hard.

[@48956l]

Love this channel bro, and love seeing some island representation on my video feed! 🤙 You ever eat at Rai Rai Ramen in Kailua? It's what got me into it. Well that and the saimin packets everyone ate lol move love from the east side

[@WayofRamen]

Never tried, I'm on kauai and haven't been to Oahu since before covid

[@schneider90000]

Have you ever tried something like high gluten flour?

[@snoopyisadog23]

0:10 same brother

[@ws.hicks14]

Me, just got out of a sourdough rabbit hole after about 4 years. Also me, getting interested in fresh pasta: "This doesn't look like it will go that deep; might as well try it" _Go in tangent to hand pulled noodle for a way to make long pasta without instruments and arrives here_ Welp...

[@testdasi]

Way of Ramen: how to make ramen noodles and the science behind it. Me of Ramen: cook linguine in baking soda... >_

[@WayofRamen]

We all start somewhere

[@abhishekthakar5723]

can you make ramen noodles without pasta machine

[@WayofRamen]

Yes I have a video on the channel on how to do that. It's a pain though

[@seanwinter4784]

Completely Ramen novice here, over the past year I have been making tare, broth, oils, toppings etc, but haven't yet tried noodles because I can't work out the kansui. Where can I find more definition about what it is and how to make it? (also, great video)

[@karstenthurfjell-scholz6065]

There are some instructions out there - most of them suggest baking baking soda. If I got it right they use a mix of two ingredients in Japan as kansui.. maybe just find an online shop selling asia-food and skip the stress :) should be around 10 to 15$ for 100g (I found a product for that price ar least) which last for 20 times making noodles using 500g flour. If you think about all the time you spend to get everything right when making ramen it’s worth it in my opinion :)

[@user-bq9zn4ci3w]

❤