foodha for thought – menuism blog

Though of Chinese origin, it’s unclear how ramen was introduced to Japan.  The only thing that is known is that in the early Meiji period, ramen was originally called shina soba which translated to “Chinese soba.”  By 1900, the few Chinese restaurants in Japan had on their menu a simple ramen dish made of noodles, a few toppings and a broth flavored with salt and pork bones.  Ramen evolved after World War II when cheap American flour flooded the Japanese market.  Concurrently, Japanese troops were returning from China and East Asia and now familiar with Chinese cuisine, quite a few of the servicemen started opening even more Chinese restaurants.  Even with the emergence of more Chinese restaurants, ramen was still more of a special occasion food.

In 1958, taking advantage of the availability of the American flour, instand noodles were invented by Momofuku Ando, the Founder and Chairman of Nissin Foods.  This instant ramen was a hit and it was a dish that spread in popularity not just in Japan, but internationally as well.  Who couldn’t fall in love with a dish that people could make just by adding boiling water?

While instant ramen is currently prevelant in most pantries and dorm rooms a like, dare I say that instant ramen is just a mere shadow of the real thing.  So let’s learn more about ramen cooked the non-instant way.  First and foremost, although a wide variety of ramen exists in Japan, ramen can be generally categorized by its three main ingredients: noodles, soup and toppings.

Ramen noodles are  made from four basic ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water and kansui. They may be fat, thin, or even ribbon-like, as well as straight or wrinkled. It’s all about preference of the ramen noodle maker.

The soup is generally made from pork or chicken stock and combined with a variety of ingredients.  These ingredients could be any one or more of the following:  kelp, tuna flakes, dried baby sardines, beef bones and more and flavored with salt, miso or soy sauce.  The resulting combination is generally divided into four flavors (though these are sometimes mixed together to produce new, original variations):

- Shio (“salt”)  ramen is  made with a simple chicken broth that  is clear and almost transparent.

- Tonkotsu (“pork bone”) ramen has a thick broth made with crushed pork bones that have been boiled for hours.

- shoyu (“soy sauce”) ramen soup is made by adding a soy-based sauce to a stock usually made from chicken and various vegetables.

- Miso ramen is a relative newcomer, having reached national prominence around 1965. This uniquely Japanese ramen features a broth that combines chicken stock with a fermented soybean paste.

Standard toppings for ramen are boiled egg, fermented and pickled young bamboo, nori, spinach, finely chopped scallion and  traditionally a thinly sliced boiled pork. Other toppings may include stewed egg, bean sprouts, wakame, deep fried scallion, or kimchi. Hokkaido-style miso ramen is often topped with sweetcorn. In most cases, toppings are added after having been already cooked so as to not change the flavor of the soup.

Instant ramen is what I refer to as a starter ramen. It’s a good way to give ramen a test drive, but once you’ve had the real thing, you may never look at instant ramen the same way again.  Ready to check out real ramen for yourself?  If so, look below for some restaurants suggestions.

Goma Ichi Ramen
631 Keeaumoku Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 951-6666

Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gumi
8450 E Valley Blvd
Ste 103
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 572-8646

Halu
312 8th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 221-9165

Hashiguchi Jr.
3400 Around Lenox Rd NE # C520
Atlanta, GA 31132
(404) 841-9229

Yuzu
4130 SW 117th Avenue #H
Beaverton, OR 97005
(503) 350-1801