NEO: The World Ends With You: Salty Lemon Ramen

Jeff just finished his play through of NEO: The World Ends With You. I caught a lot of the story as he was playing but for sure missed a lot of the call back from the first game. This is a series that I’ve mostly absorbed by listening to Jeff talk about the first game and watching him play through pieces of the second one. After finishing the game, he did note that the second game requires a lot of knowledge from the first to really appreciate all of the story. Without that full knowledge, I still really enjoyed watching him play through the game. The music was always great and the visuals are always super interesting to look at. I mean I can just stare at all the food art in the game forever.

I’ve started doing more of a dive into the world of homemade Ramen last year. It all began with a lot of reading and some general research about all the different elements that make up a ramen. I highly recommend checking out the Way of Ramen Youtube channel for a lot of in depth information about ramen. I decided to try out the Salty Lemon Ramen. After reading the description and looking at the in-game image, I knew the direction I would be taking this would be a shio style ramen. Shio ramens gets its salty flavor primarily from salt rather than soy sauce or miso. Broth for shio ramen also tends to be much lighter in color which I felt was fitting for this particular recipe. I did not include scallops in the broth even though it is mentioned in the description. There are a few reasons, one being price and honestly I forgot the call out when making this recipe. This recipe will take you a few days to get done but all the effort is honestly worth it. This is going to take at least 24 hours, so please plan accordingly.

Dashi
2 kombu
2 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 cup niboshi
2 cups water
1 cup bonito

Place the kombu, shiitake mushrooms, niboshi, and water in a small pot. Let rest for 3 hours.

Place the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Right before the water comes to a boil, remove the kombu. Add the bonito flakes and simmer for ten minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard all those ingredients. Place the stock in an airtight container and allow to cool completely. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Broth
3 lbs chicken wings
1 lb chicken feet, toenails removed
6 chicken necks
6 garlic cloves
4 scallions, cut large pieces
1 onion, quartered
1 carrot
2 cups dashi
3 quarts water, plus more as it cooks

Place the chicken wings, feet, and necks in a large pot. Cover with enough water to just cover the chicken. Place over low heat and allow to come to a simmer. This should take about 1 hour. Allow this to simmer for 4 hours. As it cooks, remove any scum that forms at the top, but avoid moving the chicken too much, and add additional water as it reduces during the cooking time.

After the 4 hours have passed, add the garlic, scallions, onion, and carrot to the pot. Allow to simmer for another 2 hours. Continue to remove any scum that rises and add additional water as it reduces.

After the cook time has passed, carefully remove all the solid items from the broth. Add the dashi to the chicken broth and stir together. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to cool completely.

Place in the refrigerator overnight to allow the fat to solidify on the surface. The next day, remove the fat and set aside for the chicken oil. The broth can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Chicken Oil
fat reserved from the broth above
⅓ cup canola oil
3 chicken skins, cut into chunks
2 scallions, cut into large chunks
3 slices of ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
peel of 3 lemons

Place the reserved chicken fat, canola oil, chicken skins, scallion, ginger, and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on this and do not allow the oil to burn.

Place the lemon peels in a heatproof bowl. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the chicken oil into the bowl and allow the oil to infuse with the lemon peels. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to cool. This can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 month.

Tare
1 ½ cups water
1 kombu
½ cup broth
¼ cup niboshi
½ cup bonito flakes
¼ cup mirin
¼ cup sake
2 tsp monosodium glutamate
⅓ cup kosher salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp rice vinegar
juice of 3 lemons

Combine the water and kombu in a small pot. Cover and let rest overnight.

The next day, add ½ cup of the prepared broth to the pot and place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Right before the water comes to a boil, remove the kombu. Add the bonito flakes and niboshi. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard all those ingredients.

Place the broth back into the pot. Place over medium-low heat. Add mirin, sake, salt, monosodium glutamate, and sugar. Cook until everything has dissolved. Transfer to an airtight container and add the rice vinegar and lemon juice. The tare can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Toppings & Assembly
poached chicken breast, sliced
european style bacon, cooked
ramen noodles, cooked
tare
broth
chicken oil
1 onion, sliced into thick rings
lemon, sliced
menma
radish sprouts

The toppings you use for this ramen is completely up to you. For the protein, you can top this with either poached chicken breast or European style bacon, to match the look of the meat in the image. Either variant is delicious!

Heat a pot with water just before it boils. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes, until it has slightly softened. Remove and transfer to a plate with a paper towel to let them drain.

To set up a bowl of ramen, heat up 12 oz of broth. Take a bowl and place 2 tablespoons of tare and a ½ tablespoon of the chicken oil at the bottom. Add the broth. Place the cooked ramen noodles in the center. Top with the protein of your choice, lemon slices, onion, menma, and radish sprouts. Serve immediately.

Print Recipe

Salty Lemon Ramen

Recipe inspired by NEO: The World Ends With You

Course: Main Course

Keyword: Ramen, Soup

Servings: 6 bowls

Ingredients

Dashi

• 2 kombu
• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 cup niboshi
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup bonito

Broth

• 3 lbs chicken wings
• 1 lb chicken feet toenails removed
• 6 chicken necks
• 6 garlic cloves
• 4 scallions cut large pieces
• 1 onion quartered
• 1 carrot
• 2 cups dashi
• 3 quarts water plus more as it cooks

Chicken Oil

• Fat reserved from the broth above
• ⅓ cup canola oil
• 3 chicken skins cut into chunks
• 2 scallions cut into large chunks
• 2 slices of ginger
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• peel of 3 lemons

Tare

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 kombu
• ½ cup broth
• ½ cup bonito flakes
• ¼ cup niboshi
• ¼ cup mirin
• ¼ cup sake
• ⅓ cup kosher salt
• 2 tsp monosodium glutamate
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• juice of 3 lemons

Toppings & Assembly

• poached chicken breast sliced
• european style bacon cooked
• ramen noodles cooked
• tare
• broth
• chicken oil
• 1 onion sliced into thick rings
• lemon sliced
• menma
• radish sprouts

Instructions

Dashi

• Place the kombu, shiitake mushrooms, niboshi, and water in a small pot. Let rest for 3 hours.
• Place the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Right before the water comes to a boil, remove the kombu. Add the bonito flakes and simmer for ten minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard all those ingredients. Place the stock in an airtight container and allow to cool completely. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Broth

• Place the chicken wings, feet, and necks in a large pot. Cover with enough water to just cover the chicken. Place over low heat and allow to come to a simmer. This should take about 1 hour. Allow this to simmer for 4 hours. As it cooks, remove any scum that forms at the top, but avoid moving the chicken too much, and add additional water as it reduces during the cooking time.
• After the 4 hours have passed, add the garlic, scallions, onion, and carrot to the pot. Allow to simmer for another 2 hours. Continue to remove any scum that rises and add additional water as it reduces.
• After the cook time has passed, carefully remove all the solid items from the broth. Add the dashi to the chicken broth and stir together. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to cool completely.
• Place in the refrigerator overnight to allow the fat to solidify on the surface. The next day, remove the fat and set aside for the chicken oil. The broth can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Chicken Oil

• Place the reserved chicken fat, canola oil, chicken skins, scallion, ginger, and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on this and do not allow the oil to burn.
• Place the lemon peels in a heatproof bowl. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the chicken oil into the bowl and allow the oil to infuse with the lemon peels. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to cool. This can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 month.

Tare

• Combine the water and kombu in a small pot. Cover and let rest overnight.
• The next day, add ½ cup of the prepared broth to the pot and place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Right before the water comes to a boil, remove the kombu. Add the bonito flakes and niboshi. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard all those ingredients.
• Place the broth back into the pot. Place over medium-low heat. Add mirin, sake, salt, monosodium glutamate, and sugar. Cook until everything has dissolved.
• Transfer to an airtight container and add the rice vinegar and lemon juice. The tare can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Toppings & Assembly

• The toppings you use for this ramen is completely up to you. For the protein, you can top this with either poached chicken breast or european style bacon, to match the look of the meat in the image. Either variant is delicious!
• Heat a pot with water just before it boils. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes, until it has slightly softened. Remove and transfer to a plate with a paper towel to let them drain.
• To set up a bowl of ramen, heat up 12 oz of broth. Take a bowl and place 2 tablespoons of tare and a ½ tablespoon of the chicken oil at the bottom. Add the broth. Place the cooked ramen noodles in the center. Top with the protein of your choice, lemon slices, onion, menma, and radish sprouts. Serve immediately.

Note: This is an unofficial recipe and not approved by Square Enix.