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ramen is a widely popular noodle soup
dish appreciated all over the world
although well known internationally in
its instant noodle form there is much
more to this cuisine item
than being a dorm room snack chinese in
origin
since making its way to japan ramen has
become one of the most popular foods in
the country
often inexpensive quickly served and
delicious
it's an excellent option for both luxury
and budget travelers alike
with multiple ramen restaurants called
la menia in just about every town
the dish has developed greatly since
coming to japan in recent years
some ramen shops have even been awarded
michelin stars
thousands of variations of ramen now
exist and there are also many
interesting regional varieties
however the basic elements of ramen are
fairly straightforward a broth base
long thin wheat noodles and some
combination of toppings
ramen is categorized according the style
of its base and the four most popular
types are
shoyu ramen with the soy sauce flavored
broth miso ramen made with soy bean
paste or miso
ramen a clear broth seasoned with salt
and tonkotsu ramen made with pork bones
before we go deeper into the details of
ramen its variations or how to eat it
first let's talk about the history of
ramen ramen is believed to be a
variation of the chinese lamian noodles
it is said that the very first reference
of the dish in japan was in the late
17th century when a chinese confucian
scholar
treated lord tokugawa mitsukuni to a
bowl of noodles in a broth
topped with vegetables and meat another
theory is that ramen got introduced to
japan in the mid-19th century
when japan opened its ports to the world
and the lamian noodles dish was cooked
and enjoyed by the chinese community
in yokohama chinatown a third theory
attributes the emergence of ramen in
japan to the chinese restaurant called
rairaiken which opened in 1910 in
asakusa
the dish grew in popularity and started
to spread around the country
most notably in sapporo hitakata
and fukuoka
after the great kanto earthquake in 1923
ramen started to be sold at street food
stalls
called yatai the next big date in the
history of ramen is in 1958
when the nishin foods company created
instant noodles
later instant noodles were developed
further with the creation of the cup
noodle in 1971
which removed the need for a bowl making
for an even more convenient way to eat
instant ramen
today instant noodles remain popular
worldwide and are offered in a wide
variety of flavors and sizes
there are even a cup noodles museum in
osaka and yokohama where you can choose
your own toppings and make your own
personal cup noodle
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ramen and its variations as we said
earlier
ramen consists of three key elements
broth
noodles and toppings there are many
combinations that can be found within
these three categories
which each ramen shop uses to make a
unique flavor and eating experience
the broth is usually based on either
pork salt
shoyu or soy sauce or miso
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the noodles are usually long and made of
wheat but they can be made in a range of
ways
anything from thin and curly to fat and
straight
at some ramen restaurants guests are
even asked for their preference on how
thick and firm the noodles are
lastly there is a large number of
ingredients that can be used as toppings
some popular ones are chashu meat
bamboo shoot or memma in japanese dried
seaweed or nori
leek a soft boiled egg and several
others
all these variables allow for millions
of combinations making one bowl of ramen
different from another
many regions in japan have their own
signature styles as well
such as sapporo ramen which uses a thick
miso broth and is topped with corn and
butter
in fukushima prefecture which has a
light shoyu base soup with thick and
wavy noodles
topped by green onions menma and chashu
pork
tokyo ramen which is so popular
nationwide it has become the
stereotypical shoyu ramen
in fukuoka prefecture which has a creamy
tonkotsu broth with thin noodles
customarily the best place to enjoy a
bowl in fukuoka is at one of fukuoka's
many food stalls or yatai in japanese
especially along the river on nakasu
island
onomichi ramen from hiroshima prefecture
which is made with a shoyu soup
flavored with dashi fish stock and local
seafood down in okinawa
the specialty is called okinawa soba
this variation has a salt-based soup
topped with green onions kamaboko soft
broiled pork
and fresh ginger
there are many other regional takes on
ramen but hopefully this gives you an
idea
one way to sample many of these regional
specialties all in one place without
traveling the whole country is at the
ramen museum in yokohama which allows
visitors to try various different bowls
from around japan
in the setting of tokyo in the 50s aside
from putting all the ingredients in the
same bowl
there's another form of ramen which is
served in a different way this is called
tsukimen
once served you dip the noodles into the
broth as you eat
how to eat ramen eating at a ramen shop
is always an interesting experience
although at a few shops you can still
order as you usually would many la menia
now have streamlined the process by
having customers order via vending
machine located at the entrance
after heading inside hand the tickets to
a staff member
getting a seat at the counter is always
a good opportunity to observe the chefs
in action preparing your bowl but of
course tables are fine too
in some shops you can ask for the way
you want your noodles to be cooked
either katame
which is al dente futsu which is normal
or yawarakame which is soft
sometimes you can also decide how fatty
your broth will be
going from asari or light to futsu
normal to kotteri which is thick once
the bowl is presented in front of you
here are the recommended steps to eating
ramen first
sample the broth then try out the
noodles
followed finally by eating the toppings
one thing that might surprise unaware
visitors
is that in japan ramen is usually eaten
by slurping the noodles
sometimes quite loudly this isn't
considered bad manners
on the contrary it's thought to be the
best way to eat ramen by slurping them
you allow the air to cool down the
noodles while also keeping them coated
in delicious broth
but don't worry if you can't or do not
want to slurp it's fine
after you finish all the noodles if you
are still hungry and have some broth
left in the bowl
some shops offer an extra serving of
noodle called kaidama for an additional
fee
also it's not impolite to not finish all
the soup in the bowl especially with
thicker broth like tonkotsu which has a
high amount of fat
since ramen is considered a type of fast
food in japan it's good manners to leave
as soon as you're finished
since people may be waiting for their
turn to eat budget wise
ramen is a cheap meal with a bowl
averaging around 600 to 1000 yen
over the years ramen has never ceased to
evolve and with recent variations such
as vegetarian
and halal ramen being developed it is
starting to appeal to an even broader
audience
it's exciting to wait and see what the
future holds for this unique dish
we hope this video will allow you to
experience appreciate
and enjoy ramen for yourself even more
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