Ivan Ramen

The most compelling ramen cookbook available, written by an American who beat the odds and earned genuine respect from Tokyo’s notoriously demanding ramen scene. Ivan Orkin’s book is half memoir, half cookbook, and that combination is what makes it work so well as a starting point. You understand not just how to make ramen, but why each decision matters.

Why Start Here

Most ramen cookbooks either oversimplify the process or assume you already know your way around a Japanese kitchen. Orkin does neither. He walks you through his signature Shio Ramen in painstaking detail, breaking the dish into its eight components: fat, shio tare, katsuobushi salt, double soup, toasted rye noodles, menma, pork belly chashu, and half-cooked egg. Each component gets its own explanation, so you learn the principles behind the bowl, not just a recipe to follow blindly.

What sets this book apart is the storytelling. Orkin grew up on Long Island, studied Japanese in college, and eventually opened a ramen shop in Tokyo. His outsider perspective means he explains things that a Japanese chef might take for granted. He tells you why the water matters, why you need to skim the broth obsessively, and what happens if you rush the tare. The recipes are demanding but honest about what they require.

Beyond the signature shio ramen, you get master recipes for the fundamental ramen types (shoyu, miso, tonkotsu) and several of Orkin’s most popular variations. The 44 recipes cover broths, noodles, toppings, and side dishes. It is a book you will return to repeatedly as your understanding deepens.

What to Expect

A 224-page hardcover that reads as much like a food memoir as a cookbook. The first half covers Orkin’s story and philosophy, the second half is recipes. Some ingredients require a trip to a well-stocked Asian market, but Orkin suggests substitutions where possible. The difficulty level is moderate: the techniques are not inherently complex, but they demand patience and attention to timing. Plan for a full afternoon the first time you attempt a complete bowl from scratch.