Rich, creamy Ken's orignal chicken paitan at home without starting from bones and boiling stock all damn day. Ken’s Paitan Broth Starter does the heavy lifting—you build it out with a whole chicken and onion, finish the bowl with Ken’s OG Ramen Tare, and hit it with OG Chili Oil at the end.
Yield: About 5 bowls
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3–4 hours
Shop This Recipe
You’ll need:
- 1 × 64 oz Ken’s Paitan Broth Starter — [SHOP PAITAN BROTH STARTER]
- Ken’s OG Ramen Tare — about 5 oz total — [SHOP OG RAMEN TARE]
- Ken’s OG Chili Oil — for finishing — [SHOP OG CHILI OIL]
Ingredients
For the Paitan Broth
- 1 × 64 oz Ken’s Paitan Broth Starter
- 64 oz water
- 1 whole chicken, approximately 3½–4½ lb
- 1 whole yellow onion, peeled and halved
For the Ramen
- 20–25 oz fresh ramen noodles
- 5 oz Ken’s OG Ramen Tare
- Prepared Ken’s Shio Tori, for topping — [GET THE SHIO TORI RECIPE]
- Ken’s OG Chili Oil, to finish
Optional but Highly Recommended Toppings
- 8–10 oz mung bean sprouts
- Kikurage / wood-ear mushrooms
- 1 bunch scallions
- ½ small yellow or white onion
Make the Paitan Broth
Equipment
Use a 10-quart stockpot.
An 8-quart pot can work, but a 10-quart pot gives the broth enough room to boil aggressively without constantly threatening to destroy your stove.
You’ll also need:
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Large bowl or clean pot for straining
- Ladle
Step 1
Pour the entire 64 oz Ken’s Paitan Broth Starter into your stockpot.
Add 64 oz water.
Step 2
Add:
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 whole onion, peeled and cut in half
Bring everything to a full boil over high heat.
Step 3
Once boiling, leave the pot uncovered and maintain a strong, active boil.
Unlike a clear chicken stock, paitan benefits from agitation. The aggressive boiling helps emulsify the chicken fat, collagen and proteins into the broth, creating its rich, creamy texture.
Cook for approximately 3–4 hours.
Stir occasionally and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking or scorching.
As the chicken begins to break apart, you can gently move and break up the larger pieces with your spoon or ladle.
Step 4
Continue boiling until the broth has reduced back down to approximately:
64 oz / 2 quarts
The final volume matters more than the exact cooking time.
Every stove and pot evaporates differently, so use the clock as a guideline and the 64 oz final volume as your target.
Step 5
Remove the large pieces of chicken and onion.
Carefully strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot.
Discard the solids.
Keep the strained paitan broth hot while you prepare the noodles and toppings.
Prepare the Toppings
Ken’s Shio Tori
Prepare the chicken separately using our Shio Tori method.
[GET THE KEN’S SHIO TORI RECIPE →]
Pull or portion the chicken just before assembling the ramen.
Bean Sprouts
Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
Add the bean sprouts and blanch for approximately 3 seconds.
Drain immediately.
The sprouts should stay fresh and crunchy—not soft and watery.
Kikurage
Kikurage is Japanese wood-ear mushroom.
If using dried wood-ear mushrooms, rehydrate them according to the package instructions, drain well and slice them into thin strips.
If you can find prepared or pre-sliced kikurage at an Asian market, even better.
Scallions
Thinly slice the scallions.
Onion
Finely dice the onion.
You only need a small amount on each bowl. It should give the ramen a little fresh bite without overpowering the broth.
Noodles
We recommend a thin, straight fresh ramen noodle.
Good options include:
- Sun Noodle
- Myojo
- Fresh ramen noodles from H Mart
- Fresh ramen noodles from Whole Foods or another Japanese/Asian market
Use approximately 4–5 oz fresh noodles per bowl.
Cook the noodles according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Fresh ramen cooks quickly, so don't cook the noodles until you're ready to assemble and eat the bowl.
Assemble the Hell Paitan
For One Bowl
You’ll need:
- 1 oz Ken’s OG Ramen Tare
- Approximately 12 oz hot Paitan Broth
- 4–5 oz cooked fresh ramen noodles
- Ken’s Shio Tori
- Bean sprouts
- Kikurage
- Scallions
- Finely diced onion
- Ken’s OG Chili Oil
Step 1 — Tare
Add 1 oz Ken’s OG Ramen Tare directly to the bottom of a warmed ramen bowl.
Step 2 — Broth
Add approximately 12 oz piping-hot Paitan Broth.
Stir briefly so the tare is completely incorporated into the broth.
Step 3 — Noodles
Cook one portion of ramen according to the package instructions.
Drain the noodles thoroughly.
Immediately transfer them into the hot broth.
Use chopsticks to loosen and straighten the noodles in the bowl.
Step 4 — Shio Tori
Add a generous portion of Ken’s Shio Tori.
Step 5 — Toppings
Add:
- Blanched bean sprouts
- Kikurage
- Sliced scallions
- A small amount of finely diced onion
All of these toppings are optional, but together they give you the full bowl.
Step 6 — Finish
Finish with Ken’s OG Chili Oil to taste.
Serve immediately.
The Ken’s Setup
This bowl is built with:
Ken’s Paitan Broth Starter
Rich chicken paitan without the all-day stock production.
Ken’s OG Ramen Tare
The seasoning base that turns broth into ramen.
Ken’s OG Chili Oil
The final hit of chile, aroma and heat.
[SHOP THE HELL PAITAN SETUP →]
Related Recipe
Ken’s Shio Tori — Hand-Pulled Chicken Breast
[VIEW RECIPE →]
