Not too hard - I enjoy reading and researching approaches and then gradually finding my own path. It just takes time and a commitment to play around and refine. I think the best thing about cooking for yourself is that you can totally customize it to your preferences, plus nothing tastes better than something you worked hard on. Growing up I was always helping my mom in the kitchen and she always said ‘if you can read, you can cook’, which I still appreciate. Ultimately, if you can follow a recipe as a starting point nothing will be catastrophic. That said, I used twice as much kombu as what one recipe said to use and it still turned out fine. My broth is just chicken since my girlfriend doesn’t do pork, but honestly, I tried a pork based broth and wasn’t as into it.
Obligatory pic - my step-son Murphy at his grandma’s house with a new toy the day after Christmas.
EDIT: This is a super interesting and helpful overview of ramen: http://luckypeach.com/guides/a-guide-to-the-regional-ramen-of-japan/
