A good bowl of ramen is built in layers: broth, seasoning, noodles, and then the ramen toppings. The toppings are where a bowl becomes yours, and each one has a job: protein, richness, crunch, freshness, heat or acid.
Acid is the one most home cooks leave out, and it is why this list includes pickled shiitake. Ramen shops don't skip it. Many keep something pickled on the counter, like red ginger or spicy mustard greens, because a few sharp bites keep a rich broth from turning heavy halfway down the bowl.
Below are 24 of the best ramen toppings: the classics, more to try, what goes with each type of ramen, quick ways to make instant ramen better, and three bowls to build.
The classic ramen toppings
Chashu
Rolled, braised pork belly, sliced and laid across the bowl. The standard protein, and the reason a bowl with extra pork is called chashu-men. At home, tie a rolled pork belly, brown it, then simmer it slowly in soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, garlic and ginger for about two hours. The shortcut: thin slices of roast pork, seared in a hot pan just before serving.
Ajitama (ramen egg)
A soft-boiled egg with a jammy yolk, marinated overnight in soy and mirin. Boil the eggs for about six and a half minutes, cool them in ice water, peel, and leave them in a mix of soy sauce, mirin and water in the fridge overnight. Make six at a time.
Menma
Seasoned fermented bamboo shoots. Crunchy, a little sweet, a little funky, and a standard on soy-based shoyu ramen. It comes ready to use in jars and packets at most Asian grocery stores.
Nori
Sheets of toasted seaweed tucked against the side of the bowl. Add them at the very last second so they stay crisp, then dip them in the broth just before eating.
Scallions
Sliced thin and added raw, for freshness and bite. Many shops cut them into long, fine strands and soak them in ice water for a few minutes, which curls them and takes the edge off.
Bean sprouts
Crunch, often stir-fried with a little cabbage and garlic and piled high on miso ramen. For other bowls, blanch them for 30 seconds so they stay crisp.
Narutomaki
The fish cake with the pink swirl. More for looks than flavor, and the looks are the point. It is usually sold frozen; slice it thin and let the hot broth warm it through.
Corn and butter
The Sapporo miso ramen combination: sweet kernels and a pat of butter melting into the broth. Canned or frozen corn is fine, and a teaspoon of butter per bowl is plenty.
Something pickled
Beni shoga, thin strips of red pickled ginger, and takana, spicy pickled mustard greens, are classic table toppings for pork-bone tonkotsu ramen. Pickled shiitake does the same job and brings what those two don't: deep savory flavor. Shiitake is famous for its umami, and ours is pickled with tamari, so it tastes at home next to a soy-based broth. A few slices on top add sharpness and depth in one go, and a spoonful of the brine stirred in works like seasoning. One thing to know: the tamari means the brine contains soy.
"I thought the white shimeji would be my favorite but the shiitake surprised me the most. They have a salty, almost soy-like savory taste that works really well with rice."
— Nicole R., Golden Grove customer
For a richer miso or tonkotsu bowl, pickled black shimeji is the other jar to know: firm, chewy stems and dark caps that look striking against a pale broth. Once opened, either jar lives in the fridge, ready for the next bowl.
More ramen toppings worth trying
Kimchi
Sour, spicy and crunchy. Especially good in miso ramen. Add it at the end so it stays crunchy, and a spoonful of its juice in the broth adds heat.
Bok choy or spinach
Something green that holds up in hot broth. Halve baby bok choy lengthwise and blanch it for a minute, or wilt a handful of spinach straight in the bowl.
Mushrooms
Wood ear for crunch in tonkotsu, sautéed shiitake or enoki in a vegetarian bowl, and pickled black shimeji when you want something sharp.
Fried garlic or shallots
Crisp, a little sweet and deeply savory. Fry thin slices gently in oil until golden, or buy them ready-made in jars. Scatter them on just before serving so they stay crunchy.
Chili oil or chili crisp
Rayu or chili crisp, for heat and a slick of flavor across the top.
Black garlic oil
Mayu, the dark, bittersweet garlic oil from Kumamoto ramen. A few drops go a long way.
Toasted sesame seeds
Crush them between your fingers as they go on, so they release their oil.
Butter
A pat in miso or shoyu broth for richness.
Cheese
A slice of American cheese melts into a creamy broth. It sounds wrong, and it is a Korean favorite for a reason.
Tofu
Fried tofu puffs soak up broth like a sponge; cubes of silken tofu stay soft and mild. Either makes a bowl vegetarian, as long as the broth is too.
Shrimp or chicken
Poached shrimp or sliced chicken in place of pork.
Wakame
Soft, silky seaweed. Soak a pinch of the dried kind in water for five minutes and it swells to a handful. It suits light shio and shoyu bowls.
Garlic chives
Nira in Japanese. Flat, garlicky and green, cut into short lengths and stirred into the hot broth so they just wilt.
Spicy ground pork
Ground pork stir-fried with garlic, ginger, miso and chili until crisp at the edges. The classic topping for tantanmen, the spicy sesame ramen.
Lime or lemon
A squeeze cuts through a rich broth. It is the quickest way to add acid when there is nothing pickled in the fridge.
What toppings go with each type of ramen
- Shoyu (soy sauce): chashu, ajitama, menma, scallions, nori, narutomaki and pickled shiitake.
- Miso: corn and butter, bean sprouts, ground pork, kimchi, pickled black shimeji and chili oil.
- Tonkotsu (pork bone): chashu, ajitama, wood ear mushroom, red pickled ginger, black garlic oil and scallions.
- Shio (salt): keep it light. Chicken or shrimp, scallions, and a few slices of pickled shiitake without the brine.
- Vegetarian: tofu, bok choy, corn, sautéed mushrooms, pickled shiitake, sesame and chili oil. Check the broth and the seasoning too.
How to put a bowl together
- Warm the bowls with hot water while everything else heats. Ramen goes cold fast in a cold bowl.
- Put the seasoning, or tare, in the bottom of the bowl and pour the hot broth over it.
- Cook the noodles, drain them well, and fold them into the broth so they sit in a neat pile.
- Lay the toppings in sections on top: the protein and egg first, then the vegetables, then pickled shiitake.
- Finish with scallions and sesame, and tuck the nori against the side of the bowl last.
Serve it straight away. Noodles keep soaking up broth, and a bowl that waits five minutes is a different, softer meal.
Quick toppings for instant ramen
Instant noodles take the same toppings, just faster. Five that need little or no cooking:
- An egg. Crack it into the simmering broth for the last two or three minutes, or top the bowl with a fried one.
- Frozen spinach or peas. Drop them into the pot with the noodles.
- A slice of American cheese. Laid on top, it melts into a creamy broth.
- Leftover meat. Roast chicken, pork or steak, sliced thin.
- Pickled shiitake. The fastest way to make a packet broth taste like more than a packet. A few slices on top and a spoonful of brine stirred in.
How to add pickled shiitake to ramen
- Add it last. Lay it on top just before serving rather than simmering it in the broth. Heat softens it and dulls the brine.
- Season with the brine. Start with a teaspoon stirred into the bowl, taste, then add more. It brings salt and acid at once, so you may want a little less soy sauce or tare.
- Match the broth. Shoyu and miso are the natural partners. In a delicate salt-based shio broth, use a few slices and leave out the brine.
It is not only for ramen. Pickled shiitake is the jar we would most happily cook with, because its flavor survives contact with other things. Stir it through fried rice, fold it into scrambled eggs off the heat, tuck it into onigiri, or toss it with cold soba. There are more ideas in what to do with pickled mushrooms.
Three bowls to build
- Shoyu: chashu, ajitama, menma, scallions, nori and pickled shiitake.
- Miso: corn and butter, bean sprouts, ground pork, pickled black shimeji and a drizzle of chili oil.
- Weeknight instant: an egg cooked in the broth, frozen spinach, scallions, sesame seeds, and pickled shiitake with a spoonful of its brine.
Ramen topping questions
What do you put on top of ramen?
The classics are chashu pork, a soft-boiled ramen egg, menma, scallions, nori and narutomaki. Add corn and butter for miso ramen, and something pickled, like red ginger or pickled shiitake, for a sharp contrast to the rich broth.
How many toppings should ramen have?
Three to five. Pick a protein, an egg, something green, something crunchy and something sharp. Past that you stop tasting the broth.
What is the pink and white swirl in ramen?
Narutomaki, a cured fish cake. It is mild, and mostly there for looks.
Can you put pickled mushrooms in ramen?
Yes. Pickled shiitake suits soy and miso broths best. Add a few slices at the end rather than simmering them, and stir in a teaspoon of the brine to taste.
What is the egg in ramen called?
Ajitama, short for ajitsuke tamago: a soft-boiled egg marinated in soy sauce and mirin until the white turns light brown and the yolk stays jammy.
What vegetables go in ramen?
Scallions, bean sprouts, bok choy, spinach, corn, cabbage, wood ear mushroom and bamboo shoots. Pickled vegetables count too, and are the ones most home bowls leave out.
What can I add to ramen to make it better?
An egg, something green, a slice of cheese, leftover meat, and something sharp, like pickled shiitake or kimchi.
The short version
Protein, an egg, something green, something crunchy, and something pickled. The last one is the one most bowls are missing, and pickled shiitake covers it with savory depth to spare. To find out where that flavor comes from, read what a shiitake mushroom is.
Pickled shiitake comes in 2, 4 and 6-Packs, or mixed with black shimeji in a Build Your Variety Pack.