If you’re looking to up your instant ramen game with a luxurious and creamy broth, mayo ramen is the recipe for you! All you need is a pack of your favorite instant ramen, a squirt of kewpie mayo, minced garlic, and an egg.
You’ve got to try this!
There’s a Japanese ramen Tiktok hack that’s going viral: kewpie mayo in ramen. The kewpie mayo adds a rich and creamy flavor to the ramen broth and people are going wild over it, saying that it makes instant ramen taste just like long-simmered ramen broth from a legit ramen restaurant. So, if you’ve ever wondered, is mayo good in ramen, the resounding answer is yes!
Where is mayo ramen from?
Ramen and mayo is not a new thing – in Japan they even sell mayo flavored ramen. Not surprising, considering Japan is obsessed with Kewpie mayo. But recently, a squirt of mayo in instant ramen has been trending on Japanese Youtube and Tiktok.
What does mayo ramen taste like?
It tastes like instant ramen with a luxurious boost of umami and richness thanks to the kewpie mayo and garlic. Instead of your typical thin instant ramen broth, the kewpie mayo and egg help thicken and give body to the broth, making the soup cling to the noodles better.
Why it makes sense
Adding an extra bit of fat to ramen broth is classic in ramen making, usually in the form of aroma oil (that’s the little packet of fat you get in instant ramen seasoning) By boosting the fat content by using kewpie mayo, your instant ramen will instantly (LOL) become thicker and more flavorful. The kewpie adds complexity, mouthfeel, and a huge amount of flavor by helping the broth stick to the noodles as you pull them up.
How to make mayo ramen
- Make the sauce. In a large bowl, whisk together mayo, a raw egg, 1 clove garlic minced, and the seasoning packet from an instant ramen pack.
- Cook the instant ramen. Bring 2 cups of water up to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package time. When your timer goes off, remove from the heat.
- Add the hot water to the sauce. Pour the hot water into the sauce, swirling as you go – the hot water will cook the egg and emulsify it into a creamy soup.
- Add the noodles. Carefully add the noodles to the soup.
- Serve. Top with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds, as well as any other toppings you’d like. Enjoy immediately!
Mayo ramen ingredients
- ramen – this one is pretty simple, just grab your favorite instant ramen! More on the best ramen to pick, below.
- Kewpie mayo – the key to this magical ramen hack is kewpie mayo, a Japanese mayo. It’s rich creamy, and just a touch sweet.
- garlic – a bit of raw garlic in the sauce adds a hit of garlicky flavor. It’s cooked and mellowed out a bit by the hot soup, so it’s not raw when you eat the ramen, it ends up being just garlicky goodness.
What is kewpie mayo
Kewpie mayo is Japan’s favorite mayonnaise and salad dressing brand and you’ll pretty much find it in every Japanese household. It’s rich, yet light, and incredibly delicious. Kewpie mayo is so beloved in Japan that they even had specialty kewpie mayo cafes to celebrate all things kewpie. You can find it, in its signature squeeze bottle with a red flip top at most grocery stores these days, in the Asian aisle. The mayo itself is a bit more golden that your standard mayo and much more creamy and luxurious. Kewpie mayo is made with just egg yolks – as opposed to regular mayo which is made with whole eggs – and rice vinegar for a hint of sweetness. It’s absolutely addictive and we always have a bottle in the fridge.
Where to buy kewpie mayo
They sell kewpie mayo at all Asian grocery stores, in some major grocery stores, and online
Kewpie mayo substitutes
If you can’t find kewpie mayo but you absolutely want to make this ramen, you can sub regular mayo and add a bit of rice vinegar and sugar.
Kewpie mayo recipe:
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (Hellmann’s/Best Foods)
- 3/4 tsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sugar
Mix everything together until smooth.
The best instant ramen to use
For this particular ramen hack, you’ll want an instant ramen that comes with a soup base. Go for a Japanese brand if you can: Sapporo Ichiban makes a huge variety of flavors that are widely available. Nissan (Top Ramen), the original creator of instant ramen, is really popular too.
The original ramen mayo hack was made with Nissan Sapporo miso ramen, so if you can find that, you’re golden. It’s super common so you can probably find it quite easily and like most instant ramen it’s pretty cheap too.
Toppings for instant ramen
Everyone knows that toppings make ramen even better. Add some to make your bowl even more luxurious:
- toasted sesame seeds
- thinly sliced scallions
- ramen egg
- veggies
- seaweed
- corn
- cheese
- kimchi
- protein: tofu, sliced chicken, ground meats, sausage, bacon
Things to make with kewpie mayo
Now that you have a bottle of kewpie mayo, here are some other things you can make!
Mayo Ramen
Ingredients
- 1 package instant ramen miso or tonkotsu flavor preferred
- 1-2 tbsp kewpie mayo
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp green onions sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the seasoning packet from the instant ramen with the kewpie mayo, garlic, and egg until it comes together in a thick sauce.
- Cook the instant ramen in 2 cups of water according to the cook time on the package.
- Carefully pour the hot noodle water into the sauce, whisking as you go so it emulsifiers into a smooth, thick broth.
- Add the noodles to the soup, top with scallions and toasted sesame seeds and enjoy hot!
This is a game changer for instant ramen. So savory and rich. Awesomely delicious!
Oh gosh this was delicious and I am so full now. Thank you!
Hah! Prisoners have been adding mayo to ramen for years to create a deliciously creamy variant of the usual soup. It’s nice to know that someone else has caught on! I’m going to try this version, adding a few toppings as well!