Ramen Noodles

also called ramen noodles · ramen noodle · rāmen · 拉麺 · 中華麺 · chukamen · chuka men · alkaline noodles · kansui noodles · fresh ramen noodles · noodle dough for ramen

The table

38% hydration — the dough looks broken all the way through and that is correct.
5 g(1 tsp powdered alkaline salts)kansuidissolve the kansui and saltrub to a dry crumb 5 minpress into a slab, rest 1 hrsheet to 1.5 mm, rest 30 mincut, dust, rest 24 hr
5 g(1 tsp)fine sea salt
190 g(190 mL, cold)water
500 gbread flour
15 g(2 Tbs)vital wheat gluten
2 Tbs(20 g)potato starch
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.8 things to get out.

Pans and tools

Before anything else

2dissolve the kansui and salt

3rub to a dry crumb 5 min

goes in with what step 2 made

6cut, dust, rest 24 hr

goes in with what step 5 made

Cooking it

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
at least 1 day 1 hrtwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
5 minof the steps that give a time

One of the 5 steps never says how long it takes, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 1 day 2 hr.

  1. dissolve the kansui and salt

    not timedfrom the start

  2. rub to a dry crumb 5 min

    5 minneeds youfrom the start

  3. press into a slab, rest 1 hr

    1 hrwalk away5 min in

  4. sheet to 1.5 mm, rest 30 min

    30 minwalk away1 hr 5 min in

  5. cut, dust, rest 24 hr

    1 daywalk away1 hr 35 min in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them.

You'll need pasta roller

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Ramen Noodles
>> category: Noodles
>> tags: japanese, noodles, kansui, dough, make-ahead
>> counters: Ramen Shop
>> aka: ramen noodles, ramen noodle, rāmen, 拉麺, 中華麺, chukamen, chuka men, alkaline noodles, kansui noodles, fresh ramen noodles, noodle dough for ramen
>> pairs-with: tonkotsu-ramen, shoyu-ramen, shio-ramen, miso-ramen
>> servings: 4
>> time: 26 hr
>> step.1: 38% hydration — the dough looks broken all the way through and that is correct.
>> step.2: dissolve the kansui and salt
>> step.3: rub to a dry crumb 5 min
>> step.4: press into a slab, rest 1 hr
>> step.5: sheet to 1.5 mm, rest 30 min
>> step.6: cut, dust, rest 24 hr

38% hydration — the dough looks broken all the way through and that is correct. Nothing here will ever come together into a smooth ball, and trying to make it will give you a soft noodle.

Dissolve @kansui{5%g}(1 tsp powdered alkaline salts) and @fine sea salt{5%g}(1 tsp) in @water{190%g}(190 mL, cold) and stir until the liquid is clear. Kansui is what makes a ramen noodle yellow, springy and faintly slippery — without it this is a plain wheat noodle wearing the name.

Rub @&(~1)alkaline water{} into @bread flour{500%g} and @vital wheat gluten{15%g}(2 Tbs) with your fingertips ~knead{5%min}, until it is an even crumb the texture of damp sand with no dry flour left in the bowl.

Press @&(~1)crumb{} hard into a solid slab in a bag or under a rolling pin, then ~rest{1%hr}. The water has to travel; at this hydration it takes an hour, and the slab that was crumbly going in comes out cohesive.

Sheet @&(~1)rested dough{} through a #pasta roller{} in progressively thinner passes down to 1.5 mm, folding and re-rolling the first three passes, then ~rest{30%min} under a cloth.

Cut @&(~1)sheet{} into strands — 1.5 mm straight for tonkotsu, 2 mm wavy for shoyu, 3 mm for miso — toss them hard with @potato starch{2%Tbs}(20 g) so nothing sticks, nest them into 5-oz coils, and ~rest{24%hr} in the fridge. A day of rest lets the alkali work through and takes the raw-flour taste out; noodles cooked the same day taste of paste.