Ramen Deluxe is what happens when you decide a bowl of noodles needs a duvet. A thin, folded double-egg omelette gets draped over the whole surface of the broth, crisp sliced potatoes are tucked in at the side, and you break through the omelette with your chopsticks to find the noodles underneath. It is theatrical without being difficult.
The taste is comforting and mild-savoury: soft egg, salty broth, and the starchy crunch of pan-fried potato slices. It is a touch more involved than a plain ramen because you are managing three components, but nothing here needs skill you do not already have. Allow about 40 minutes. This is our home version of Ramen Deluxe at The Cozy Bowl — fancy enough to judge other noodles.
Why This Recipe Works
- The omelette is cooked as a flat sheet, not scrambled. Two eggs beaten with a splash of water and cooked low in a small pan give you a pliable blanket that will not tear when you lift it.
- Potatoes are par-boiled before frying. Raw slices go leathery on the outside before the middle softens. Six minutes in boiling water first means the fried slices are fluffy inside and genuinely crisp outside.
- The broth is kept simple on purpose. With an egg blanket and potatoes on top, a heavily spiced broth becomes muddled. A clean soy-and-chicken base lets each element read clearly.
- Everything is timed backwards from the omelette. Potatoes hold their crunch for a few minutes; the omelette does not want to sit at all. Cooking it last keeps the whole bowl at its best.
- The omelette is folded, not laid flat. A loose fold traps a pocket of steam and stays soft, while the edges touching the broth soak up flavour.
Ingredient Notes
Eggs. You need four large eggs in total, two per bowl. Room-temperature eggs beat more evenly and are less likely to set into rubbery patches. Free-range large eggs are what we use.
Potatoes. Maris Piper or King Edward. A floury potato fluffs up inside once par-boiled, which is what gives the contrast against the crisp surface. Waxy salad potatoes stay dense and are the wrong choice here.
Ramen noodles. Fresh or frozen ramen noodles are best. Dried straight-cut nests from the world food aisle are a good second choice.
Chicken stock. A fresh chilled stock or a good stock pot. Check its saltiness before you add soy sauce.
Light soy sauce. Light soy is for seasoning; dark soy is for colour and is much more molasses-like. Use light soy here and keep dark soy for the potatoes if you want a deeper colour on them.
Butter. A small knob whisked into the broth at the end and a little in the potato pan. It rounds out the salt and helps the potatoes brown.
Substitutions and Variations
Cheese in the omelette. Scatter 30 g of grated mild cheddar over the omelette just before you fold it. It turns the blanket into something much richer and closer in spirit to Ramen Supreme.
Add meat. Two or three slices of cooked chicken or beef under the omelette make this a fuller meal. Add them straight to the hot broth so they warm through.
Spicy Deluxe. Drizzle chilli oil over the omelette after plating rather than into the broth. You get heat on the first bite without losing the clean broth underneath.
Air-fried potatoes. After par-boiling, toss the slices in a tablespoon of oil and air-fry at 200°C for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking halfway. Slightly drier than pan-fried but far less messy.
Sweetcorn and pak choi. Both work well tucked around the edges and neither affects the timings.
We have not tested vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free versions of this recipe, so we are not able to describe any variation as suitable for those diets.
Step-by-Step Guidance
The full method is in the recipe card. These are the three moments that decide whether the bowl works.
Par-boiling and frying the potatoes
Cut the potatoes into rounds about 5 mm thick — thick enough to hold together, thin enough to crisp. Boil for 6 minutes from cold salted water, until a knife tip meets slight resistance in the centre. Drain and leave them in the colander for 5 minutes to steam dry; surface moisture is the enemy of crispness. Fry in a hot pan with oil and a little butter, in a single layer, without moving them for the first 3 minutes. You are looking for a deep golden crust, not a pale tan.
Making the omelette blanket
Beat two eggs with a tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt until completely uniform — no streaks of white. Use a 20 cm non-stick pan over a low-medium heat with the barest film of oil. Pour the egg in and tilt the pan so it covers the base. Leave it alone. When the surface has just lost its wet shine but is still slightly glossy, about 90 seconds to 2 minutes, it is done. Do not flip it and do not brown it — you want pale yellow and pliable. Slide it onto the bowl and fold the edges loosely over the noodles.
Assembling in the right order
Warm bowls, then noodles, then broth poured around the edge, then the omelette draped over the top, then the potatoes pushed in at one side so they stay half out of the liquid. Garnish last. If the potatoes go in first they will be soft by the time you eat.
Professional Tips
- Steam-dry the potatoes. Five minutes in the colander after draining is the single biggest factor in how crisp they get.
- Do not salt the eggs too early. Salt added and left to sit draws water out of the egg and can make the omelette weep. Beat and cook within a couple of minutes.
- Low heat for the omelette, high heat for the potatoes. They want opposite things, which is why they need separate pans and separate attention.
- Keep the potatoes out of the broth. Prop them against the side of the bowl. Submerged, they turn to mush in under two minutes.
- Warm the bowls. The omelette sits on the surface and loses heat fast, so a cold bowl makes the whole thing tepid quickly.
- Serve straight away. This bowl has the shortest window of any ramen we make. Have people sitting down before you plate.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | Solution | Prevention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Omelette tears when lifting | Too thin, or cooked too hot and gone brittle | Patch it on the bowl; nobody will mind once folded | Two eggs per 20 cm pan, low-medium heat, no browning |
| Omelette rubbery | Overcooked or flipped | Serve as is and reduce the time next go | Remove while the surface is still slightly glossy |
| Potatoes soggy | Not steam-dried, pan overcrowded, or oil not hot enough | Return to a hot dry pan for 2 minutes | Dry 5 minutes, fry in a single layer in properly hot fat |
| Potatoes raw in the middle | Cut too thick or under-boiled | Finish in a 200°C oven for 5 minutes | 5 mm slices, boiled 6 minutes until knife meets slight resistance |
| Broth tastes thin next to the egg | Under-seasoned for a rich topping | Add soy a teaspoon at a time and a knob of butter | Season the broth slightly firmer than for a plain bowl |
| Bowl lukewarm by the second mouthful | Cold bowls and slow assembly | None once served | Pre-warm bowls and assemble in under a minute |
Serving Suggestions
There are already potatoes on the bowl, so keep sides light and sharp. A few Demon or Angel chicken wings add heat and something to pick up with your hands, and chicken bao buns work if you are feeding more than two. If you want more spice on the table rather than in the bowl, put out a small dish of Naga chilli potatoes to share.
Drinks-wise, something cold and creamy balances the egg well — a coconut cloud is a good match. Finish with chocolate fudge cake and custard if you are going all in, or see the rest of our ramen bowls.
Storage and Reheating
- Broth. Cools and refrigerates well in a sealed container, and reheats to a simmer with no loss of quality. It also freezes.
- Potatoes. Best fresh. Leftovers will soften in the fridge but crisp up again reasonably well in a hot dry frying pan or an air fryer at 200°C for 4 to 5 minutes. Do not microwave them.
- Omelette. Cook to order. A reheated egg omelette goes tough and watery and is not worth keeping.
- Noodles. Cook fresh. If you have cooked noodles left, oil them lightly, refrigerate, and dip in boiling water for 20 seconds to revive, accepting a softer chew.
- Freezing. Broth only.
Cool leftovers within two hours, keep them refrigerated and reheat until piping hot throughout. We have not carried out shelf-life testing on this recipe, so please use your own judgement on how long to keep things.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called a double egg omelette?
Two eggs go into each omelette, and there is one omelette per bowl. It gives you a sheet substantial enough to sit on top of the broth without collapsing into it.
Can I make the omelette in advance?
Not really. It stiffens as it cools and loses the softness that makes the dish. Cook it as the very last step.
Do I have to par-boil the potatoes?
If you want them crisp outside and fluffy inside, yes. You can fry raw slices, but they need a much lower heat for much longer and the result is chewier.
What if my non-stick pan is bigger than 20 cm?
Use three eggs for a 24 cm pan, or the sheet will be too thin to lift. Scale the water up to a tablespoon and a half.
Can I use pre-cooked potato slices from a packet?
You can, and it saves time. Pat them very dry and fry them hot and fast. They will not fluff up in the middle the way freshly boiled potatoes do.
How is this different from Ramen Supreme?
Deluxe drapes the omelette over the bowl. Supreme wraps the noodles inside a four-egg pancake with cheese and crispy onions, so it becomes a rolled dish rather than a soup bowl.
PrintRamen Deluxe: Ramen with a Double Egg Omelette and Crispy Potatoes
- Total Time40 minutes
- Yield2 bowls 1x
A clean soy and chicken ramen broth topped with a soft folded double-egg omelette and crisp pan-fried potato slices. Our home version of Ramen Deluxe at The Cozy Bowl.
Ingredients
For the crispy potatoes
- 300 g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5 mm rounds
- 1 tsp salt, for the cooking water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 10 g unsalted butter
- Fine sea salt and black pepper, to season
For the broth
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 15 g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 800 ml good chicken stock
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce, plus more to taste
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 10 g unsalted butter
For the omelette blankets
- 4 large free-range eggs
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 2 pinches fine sea salt
- 1 tsp vegetable oil, for the pan
To assemble
- 200 g fresh ramen noodles, or 140 g dried ramen nests
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- Chilli oil, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Put the potato rounds in a pan of cold water with 1 tsp salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 6 minutes, until a knife tip meets only slight resistance in the centre. Drain and leave in the colander for 5 minutes to steam dry.
- Fill your serving bowls with boiling water to warm them and set aside.
- Warm the sesame oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 60 to 90 seconds until fragrant but not browned. Add the stock, soy sauce and mirin, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the dried potato slices in a single layer and fry undisturbed for 3 minutes, then turn and fry for a further 3 to 4 minutes until deep golden and crisp on both sides. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper.
- Bring a separate pan of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Cook the noodles according to the packet but drain 30 seconds early. Shake the colander well.
- Lift the ginger and garlic out of the broth and discard. Taste and add more soy sauce a teaspoon at a time if needed. Whisk in the butter off the heat.
- Tip the water out of the warmed bowls, divide the noodles between them and ladle the hot broth around the edges.
- Beat 2 eggs with 1 tbsp cold water and a pinch of salt until completely uniform. Heat a 20 cm non-stick pan over a low-medium heat with a trace of oil. Pour in the egg, tilt to cover the base and cook undisturbed for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, until the surface has just lost its wet shine. Do not flip or brown it.
- Slide the omelette straight onto the first bowl and fold the edges loosely over the noodles. Repeat with the remaining 2 eggs for the second bowl.
- Tuck the crispy potatoes into one side of each bowl so they sit half out of the broth. Scatter over the spring onions and sesame seeds, add chilli oil if you like, and serve immediately.
Notes
Make ahead: The broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen. The potatoes can be par-boiled and refrigerated for a day, then fried when you need them. The omelettes must be cooked to order.
The mistake to avoid: Do not submerge the potatoes in the broth. Prop them against the side of the bowl or they will turn soft within two minutes.
Variations: Scatter 30 g grated cheddar over the omelette before folding, add 2 to 3 slices of cooked chicken or beef under the blanket, or air-fry the par-boiled potatoes at 200°C for 12 to 15 minutes instead of pan-frying.
Equipment: Three pans including a 20 cm non-stick frying pan, a colander, a sharp knife, a ladle and deep serving bowls.
Allergen note: Always check the label of every ingredient you use, as recipes and allergen information can change. People with food allergies or intolerances must also consider cross-contamination.
Take particular care with the eggs, the noodles (wheat, egg), soy sauce (soya, wheat), stock (celery, wheat), butter (milk), and sesame oil and seeds (sesame). Allergen information must be confirmed by The Cozy Bowl before it is relied upon.
This is a home recipe inspired by a dish or flavour available at The Cozy Bowl. It is not the restaurant’s exact commercial recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Japanese-inspired
Have a Go, Then Let Us Do the Washing Up
Three pans for one bowl of noodles is a fair bit of effort for a Tuesday. When you would rather someone else handled it, order Ramen Deluxe from The Cozy Bowl for delivery or collection, or find us at 172 Biscot Road in Luton.