Coming Soon -> RAMEN SCHOOL

A 19 Episode & Recipe series on Traditional Ramen for curious home or professional cook that will give you the framework on how to master making great ramen at home. Printable recipes, and sourcing.

“Mankind is Noodlekind.” — Momofuku Ando

I’m teaching you how to make ramen. Real ramen. From scratch. This collection of recipes is about so much more than a simple bowl of ramen.

First off, ask yourself this: How old do you think Ramen (as a dish) is? The answer will surprise you; post WWII. Ramen didnt hit pop culture status in Japan until the 80’s. This dish originated from China, the Japanese called it “Shina Soba” or “Chinese Noodles,” and an entire cuisine was born out of it.

Do I make ramen at home all the time? No, do I make the recipes involved in making ramen all the time, YES. See learning the principles of traditional Japanese ramen doesn’t just make you a ramen cook, it makes you a BETTER COOK. The mastery in ramen is about umami and texture. Each bowl is creating a concert that lasts for 5 minutes.

Why? Because this food is about love. You don’t spend days making something that gets eaten in ten minutes for just anyone. You do it for people you care about. You do it for yourself on the hard days. You do it because when that bowl hits the table and someone closes their eyes on the first slurp, you feel something.

That’s what we’re chasing here.

WHAT THIS IS

A complete guide to the building blocks of traditional ramen. Not everything - that would take a lifetime. But the foundations. The stuff you actually need to know to make a serious bowl at home, and then make it your own.

This isn’t a recipe dump. Ramen isn’t a recipe, it’s a cuisine. It’s layers. It’s balance. It’s umami. Every element stands alone but works and plays together. Once you understand the pieces, you can build anything.

If you’re the kind of cook who wants to understand why something works, not just follow the steps, this is for you. Ramen is a rhythm. Once you feel it, you won’t need a recipe. You’ll need mileage.

So let’s get you some.

“Ramen takes stamina!” — Gorō

WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO LEARN

NOODLES

What makes a ramen noodle a ramen noodle. How to source them, cook them, and pair them with your broth.

STOCKS

• Chintan — clear chicken broth. Nowhere to hide.

• Paitan — creamy white chicken stock. Boiled hard to emulsify collagen.

• Tonkotsu — pork bone stock. The motherload. Long cook, deep umami.

• Dashi — kombu and katsuobushi. The backbone of Japanese cooking.

TARE (THE SOUL OF THE BOWL)

• Shoyu — soy-based seasoning

• Shio — salt-based tare. The most versatile of all.

• Miso — fermented and complex. Made in a wok, one bowl at a time.

AROMA OILS

• Chili Oil & Rayu — the Japanese version of chili crisp

• Garlic Oil & Mayu — black garlic oil. Deep, smoky, traditionally paired with tonkotsu.

TOPPINGS

• Ramen Eggs — soy-marinated, creamy yolk, the topping you’ll never stop making

• Koji Grilled Chicken — Japanese fermentation meets Southern flavor

• Braised Pork Belly — chashu. The signature ramen topping.

• Soboro — seasoned ground meat. A building block for multiple bowls.

FULL BOWL BUILDS

• Shoyu Ramen — the bowl to master first

• Miso Ramen — wok-emulsified, rich and complex

• Tonkotsu — the pork bone bowl. Where it all started.

• Tantanmen — spicy sesame. Proof that the building blocks can go anywhere.

• Tori Paitan — creamy chicken ramen. Lighter, just as deep.

• Mazemen — brothless ramen. Sauce + noodles. That’s it.

Obsessed Ramen School Curriculum

193KB ∙ PDF file

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“It has some solid, honest flavor... but it lacks pizzazz.”
— Gorō critiquing Tampopo’s ramen

Tantanmen

HOW THIS WORKS

Every episode is a recipe. Something you can actually make. Each recipe can be used outside of ramen as well.

I’ll be dropping the full recipes and technique breakdowns right here, and posting video for every episode on Instagram and TikTok. But this is where the real depth lives, the full instructions, the context, the stuff that turns you from someone who follows a recipe into someone who understands ramen.

I recommend you grab THE RAMEN BLUEPRINT as your workbook for the series, this will be helpful as you continue your journey in making ramen at home.

A FEW THINGS BEFORE WE START

One. There are no rules. The word “authentic”? Throw it out. I’m a middle-aged woman from Tennessee making ramen. I had the best burger of my life in Tokyo. Good is good. That’s all that matters. The building blocks are what matter.

Two. This is not hard. But it’s not easy either. This kind of cooking is about touch. You won’t make it once and have it, you will make it over and over again and master it.

Three. I’m not a wizard. I didn’t go to culinary school. I was a music agent until I was 42. I learned this by messing up, a lot, and then doing it again. And again. The only thing I have over you right now is mileage.

SUBSCRIBE

If you’re not already here, hit the button. This is where everything lives—the recipes, the deep dives, all of it.

Paid subscribers get the full Ramen School recipe library and entire OBSESSED recipe archive. The Ramen Blueprint (digital product not included in Substack subscription) is the visual guide.

Because when you make a bowl of ramen, real ramen - it takes love.

Ramen School. Class is in session.

—Sarah, aka MSG (Ms. Sarah Gavigan)

“For me, a perfect bowl of ramen is balanced—not too salty, not too fatty. The soup sparkles with the taste of its ingredients.” — Ivan Orkin