I’m going to tell you something that might surprise you: after all my years of making ramen, after 700,000+ gallons of stock, after training with Master Chef Nakamura at Sun Noodle’s Ramen Lab, the bowl I think you should make first isn’t tonkotsu. It’s not even my beloved Shoyu Chintan.
It’s Wontonmen.
Here’s why.
A bowl of wontonmen contains every single element you need to understand what makes ramen... ramen. You’ve got your stock. Your tare. Your protein. Your fat. Your noodles. Each component is distinct, each plays its role, and when they come together in that bowl, you will understand, in your mouth, not just your head what balance actually means.
And here’s the beautiful thing: this bowl is forgiving.
Unlike a crystal-clear chintan where every flaw screams at you, or a tonkotsu that demands 18+ hours of your attention and the patience of a saint, and very serious kitchen equipment, the chicken paitan-based wontonmen gives you room to learn. The creamy broth is lush enough to carry the shio tare without requiring perfection. The wontons are hands-on, which means you’re actually cooking, not just watching a pot. And the sake-poached chicken breast? It’s going to teach you restraint, something every cook needs to learn.
That gloriously golden bowl of ramen up there…. I made that bowl while staging (working for free to learn) at the famed Yardbird yakitori restaurant in Hong Kong. The chickens…..my god the chickens. Killed and cleaned 3 doors down, these chickens had fat so gold in color it made me sigh. I think this is one of the best bowls of ramen I have ever made. 30 cooks ate it unceremoniously in 10 minutes flat.
So let’s do this. Let me walk you through each element, why it matters, and how to make them all come together.
