You simply cannot beat a plate of flavorful ramen noodles can you? Nope. Not possible. And I did say “plate,” as this type of ramen, This Ginger Miso Crunch Ramen, is actually served broth-less in the style of a Mazemen. So, it’s not a soup at all. Instead what we’ll create is a fast and easy, super garlicky noodle dish that comes together in a snap and is topped with candied bacon and fried eggs. Fresh chilies and some scallions are all you need to round things out.

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What is Mazemen (mazesoba)?

Mazemen, which means “mixed noodles” in Japanese, are served broth-less, though they do often come with a sauce of sorts, as well as flavorful oils and plenty of delicious toppings. I’ve expressed my lack of enthusiasm for soup before, so when I learned about Mazemen years ago I knew I had to give it a go. I don’t love the slurping, you know? I’m just messy, I dunno. So, this is definitely my speed.

Anyway, this soup-less style of ramen is incredibly delicious and versatile, too. There are many versions of Mazeman out there. So, I encourage you to read a little more about them and give them a go. Furthermore, there are entire Mazemen shops popping up in the States now, which is just cool. We love this.

What are the different types of Mazemen?

There are several different types of mazemen such as the Taiwanese mazesoba, abura-soba, the soup-less tantan men, and other very similar noodle dishes like Chinese Lo Mein and Korean Ja-ja-men. It’s all about the noodles in these dishes, since there’s no broth for them to hide in or to steal the show (as ramen broth tends to do).

Taiwan Mazesoba was invented in Nagoya, Japan, and is filled with incredible layered flavors thanks to the wealth of ingredients that are often employed. Today’s recipe is more in the style of the Mazesoba. This richly flavored regional dish is built from bouncy, tangled ramen noodles, an umami-rich sauce, and usually spiced ground pork and egg yolks are part of the picture as well.

In my version of Taiwan Mazesoba, we’re going to get a little playful with things and swap in bacon for the ground pork (we’ll candy that bacon, y’all). Instead of an egg yolk, some tasty fried eggs will go on top of these flavorful noodles, giving a decidedly strong nod to the breakfast table, too.

What you’ll need to make this broth-less ramen

For this Ginger Miso Crunch Ramen, we’ll use 5 little packs of ramen here, one of them being transformed into the crunchy topping that, I think, makes the dish. Just be sure to discard the flavor packets. We don’t need them. My flavor trick here is brought to us in part by a handy bottle of ginger salad dressing (I use Makoto). That stuff is insanely tasty, and I use it in and on so many things. You can use red or white miso, here.

INGREDIENTS

12 slices of bacon

½ cup brown sugar (approx.)

4 packets of ramen noodles, flavor packets discarded

Four or 5 tablespoons cooking oil, as needed

3 tablespoon butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 bunch scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated

2 tablespoons white or red miso

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

½ cup ginger salad dressing (such as Makoto) or 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled + minced

4 fried eggs

Serving Suggestion: chopped red chilis

How to make this Ginger Miso Crunch Mazesoba with Candied Bacon and Eggs

This Ginger Miso Crunch Mazemen recipe has a few moving parts, I’ll admit. But it’s just baking some bacon and frying some eggs. Then you boil ramen. Then you just make the sauce which takes less than 5 minutes. Trust me, this is VERY easy and basically impossible to screw up. It’s the BEST.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position. Cover a large baking sheet with foil.

Coat both sides of the bacon slices with brown sugar and lay them in a single layer on the pan. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 14 to 18 minutes depending on thickness. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Meanwhile, boil 4 packages of the ramen in a pot of water according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil to a large skillet set over medium heat. Break/bust up the remaining packet of ramen noodles until it’s all in smaller pieces/bits. Add those to the hot oil and toast until golden brown; about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer elsewhere for now.

Add another couple of tablespoons of oil and the butter to a large skillet, still over medium heat. Next, add the garlic, scallions, and miso and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, and ginger dressing (or fresh ginger) and stir to heat through and combine. Lastly, add the noodles and toss to coat. Taste and add more ginger dressing or soy sauce until it tastes really great to you. Cook for a few minutes to heat through, and then divide the noodles between four plates or bowls.

Top the noodles with some candied bacon, a fried egg, the toasted noodles, and the chopped scallion greens. Enjoy!