Ramen is a recent addition to Japanese cuisine. It is a soup and noodle dish, usually made with a stock and topped off with vegetables and meat. It originated from China, and the name is supposed to be a variation on some Chinese word (such as the Chinese 拉麺 [lamian] which means hand pulled noodles). No one is entirely sure. Still, it makes a hearty warm meal for the winter time, although it’s enjoyed all year round. The traditional way to serve ramen is in a large, preferably deep bowl, usually with things cooked seperately and then added together. The exception to this is tsukemen (つけめん) in which the soup and the toppings are served separately.
Japanese ramen is usually served in a restaurant, although street vendors still drag traditional carts around and sell them on the street. In a restaurant, you usually find a vending machine with the menu on it, you pay for the ramen and get given a ticket, which gets given to the cook. Sit down, watch the ramen soup and noodles being cooked before your eyes, sometimes even from scratch depending on the order. With a side order of gyouza or fried rice, it makes for a fantastic meal. Itadakimasu!
Ramen noodles are usually made fresh in the restaurant. Just like sushi rice, it takes a lot of time to master making the right kind of noodles, taking into account the consistency, length, shape and thickness. They are usually made out of water, wheat flour, salt and egg. Originally kansui (an alkeline mineral water) was used instead of egg and sometimes still is.
Each region and prefecture in Japan has its own way of preparing ramen, although it really boils down to the individual ramen vendor. Here are some of the different types of ramen:
Shio ramen (塩ラーメン)
Shio ramen (salt ramen) is a basic form of ramen. It has a clear broth and is much lighter than other ramen. Salt is used to flavour the stock, although tonkatsu (pork bone) is sometimes used as well. It usually contains either fish, pork or chicken, and vegetables such as bean sprouts, onions and cabbage. This ramen is the most like its Chinese counterpart, maotang (毛湯).
Tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン)
Tonkotsu ramen (pork bone) is a popular ramen type. Tonkotsu can be used as a stock for most types of ramen, although usually something else is added. Tonkotsu ramen is popular in Kyuushuu, and is usually made with a rich, oily soup. Because of the pork base, pork is often added as a topping. It is quite similar to the Chinese baitang (白湯).
Shouyu ramen (しょうゆラーメン)
Probably the most common ramen, shouyu ramen (soy sauce ramen) takes its name from the soy sauce used to flavour the base of the soup. Usually something like chicken stock or dashi stock is used, and salt and soy sauce added to give it body. This gives shouyu ramen its distinctive dark colour. Since the stock can be changed and since soy sauce is used in a lot of Japanese cooking, this makes shouyu ramen the most versatile ramen too. Most things are added to it, fish, chicken, pork, vegetables, you name it. A popular set of toppings are green onions, bean sprouts, sliced beef and boiled egg. Although it is a little salty with the soy sauce and the stock, the soup has quite a light flavour.
Miso ramen (味噌ラーメン)
Miso ramen is similar to tonkotsu ramen, but it uses miso paste to give it a strong, rich flavour that is perfect for a winter meal. It is quite new, only really becoming popular in the mid 1900’s. It’s very popular in Hokkaido (probably because it gets very cold up there!), although it’s now reached the mainstream in the ramen world too. It has a distinctive brown, oily look to it, and usually has sesame seeds scattered on top.
Other types of ramen include tsukemen ramen (つけめんラーメン) where the noodles and toppings are separated from the soup in order to dip them, spicy ramen where something like a miso ramen soup is given a firery flavour, and hiyashi ramen (ひやしラーメン) which is served cold.
During wartime came the invention of the instant noodle, a cheap imitation that uses dried noodles and powdered flavouring to create a quick snack. The most popular incarnations of this instant-style noodle are Cup Noodle and Pot Noodle (below).
Please, share your ramen experiences, different recipes, the best ramen places in Japan. I’d like to go on a ramen trail when I get out there again.
[Photographs from Biggestmenu.com, wikipedia and wikimedia, JulianBleecker's flickr page, Amie's picasa page and two unknown sources]
Dave Smith is an illustrator with great interest in Japan and Japanese culture. Find out more about Dave at