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800 milliliters good fresh chicken stock

1 teaspoons dashi powder (hondashi) or 1 dashi sachet

4 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoons sake

1 tablespoons doubanjiang (chilli bean paste)

1 teaspoons caster sugar

1 teaspoons rice vinegar

4 tablespoons neutral oil

1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons chilli flakes (ichimi togarashi or gochugaru)

1 garlic clove

2 teaspoons yuzu juice

1 yuzu, zested (or 1 lemon plus half a lime)

2 large eggs

100 grams ready-made char siu or cooked pork slices (optional)

2 portions fresh ramen noodles

60 grams menma (seasoned bamboo shoots)

30 grams mizuna

1 white leek or fat spring onion

2 nori sheets

1 fresh red chilli

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1. Soft-boil the eggs: Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil. Lower in 2 large eggs and boil for exactly 6m 30s for a jammy yolk. Move them into iced water, peel, then halve. If you have the time, sit them in 2 tbsp of the tare loosened with 2 tbsp water for 20 to 30 minutes while you do everything else.

2. Make the ratan tare: In a small pan combine 4 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoons mirin, 1 tablespoons sake, 1 tablespoons doubanjiang (chilli bean paste), 1 teaspoons caster sugar and 1 teaspoons rice vinegar. Warm gently for 5 minutes to cook off the raw edge, then take off the heat.

3. Make the chilli oil: Gently warm 4 tablespoons neutral oil with 1 garlic clove (smashed) and a few slices cut from 1 white leek or fat spring onion until the aromatics turn pale gold, then strain them out. Put 2 tablespoons chilli flakes (ichimi togarashi or gochugaru) and 1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot oil over. It will sizzle and go deep red.

4. Heat the broth: Heat 800 milliliters good fresh chicken stock with 1 teaspoons dashi powder (hondashi) or 1 dashi sachet until steaming (not boiling hard). Taste it: it should be savoury but slightly under-seasoned, since the tare adds salt in the bowl. Keep it hot.

5. Prep the toppings: Shred the white of 1 white leek or fat spring onion into hair-thin threads and soak in cold water so they curl. Thinly slice 1 fresh red chilli. Have 100 grams ready-made char siu or cooked pork slices (optional), 60 grams menma (seasoned bamboo shoots), 30 grams mizuna, 2 nori sheets, the halved eggs and a little zest from 1 yuzu, zested (or 1 lemon plus half a lime) ready to go.

6. Assemble and serve: Warm the bowls with hot water then tip it out. Into each bowl put 2 to 3 tbsp tare, 1 to 2 tbsp chilli oil and 1 tsp 2 teaspoons yuzu juice. Boil 2 portions fresh ramen noodles for 2 to 3 minutes (check the packet), drain hard. Ladle about 400 ml hot broth into each bowl and stir, add the noodles, then arrange char siu, egg, menma, mizuna, leek threads, chilli and nori. Grate a little 1 yuzu, zested (or 1 lemon plus half a lime) over the top. Eat within 30 seconds.

One thing worth doing once: make a double or triple batch of the tare and chilli oil and keep them in jars in the fridge. Both last weeks. That turns future bowls into a ten-minute job, since the only fresh work left is the egg, noodles and toppings. It's the single biggest time-saver here, more than any individual shortcut.