Noodles Part 1: Ramen

Shio Ramen with extra egg from Kamome-syokudo ( No. 5) at the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum

       There was time in my life when Ramen noodles were just those little square blocks of dried noodles with little packets of  thoroughly MSG-ed flavoring...Though that technically is "Ramen", once you have the REAL stuff, I promise you, you will never willingly go back to those little blocks. Well, maybe if you liked them more than I ever did. I still daydream about the first time I had the real deal in Vancouver, B.C. last year...it was by far one of my most memorable meals. It was a cold, rainy February night as we waited in line to get into Kintaro: Handmade Tonkotsu Ramen. Finally we were packed into the warmth inside, placed our orders with the lady at front and then we were assigned seats at chairs elbow to elbow with strangers. Soon after we were served up a huge bowl of piping hot, rich, porky broth that had been carefully tended to for several hours, swimming with handmade noodles and tender slices of roasted pork topped with extra pork fat, green onions, corn and a huge scoop of garlic....one word...eyes closed...Mmmm. I was instantly captivated at the culinary promise of my future home in Japan.
      Now after spending almost a year in Japan I have tasted many varieties of Ramen in which there are literally endless combinations of flavors. I'll bet you could spend each day eating a different bowl of Ramen and never have exactly the same combination...in your life. Maybe I'll actually do the math later...okay probably not. Instead, here's a little bit about Ramen.


History:
      Ramen (actually all noodles) originated in China nearly 4000 years ago...which means the Chinese were slurping down noodles well before Jesus was born!  Since there is no "L" sound in Japanese and the "R" sound is pronounced somewhere in between the English "L" and "D", a dish originally called something like "La-Mien" in China, is now referred to as Ramen. However, Ramen didn't become widespread in Japan until much later during the Meiji Period (1800's). After WWII, Ramen noodles became a much needed source of calories for the starving Japanese population, many of who had spent most of their lives eating only rice. Over time the Japanese carefully fostered the elements of Ramen and have created what is now a uniquely Japanese food. In fact, it's one of two official National dishes. Every area of Japan has it's own unique style of Ramen. In 1958, the founder of Japan's Nissin foods, Momofuku Ando, discovered the method for making instant Ramen noodles propelling their popularity all over the world. The instant variety has since become a Japanese Cultural Icon.

*I can't wait to visit the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama!

Noodles:
      The noodles are made of wheat flour, salt, water and kansui (a special water that contains both sodium and potassium carbonate). The minerals in kansui are what give Ramen noodles their signature yellowy color. There are several varieties of noodles, it varies by the people making them. They can be as thin as angel hair pasta, or much thicker than spagetti they can also they can be curly (wrinkled), or flat. It looks to be quite a feat of physical fitness just making these noodles in the traditional way! Here's a link to a cool video of some noodles being made up in Hakone Yumoto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c5kmVgYXHXk

4 Main types of Broth:

     The broth for Ramen is typically pork-based, but can be made with any combination of pork, chicken, vegetables, dried shitake mushrooms, konbu seaweed, katsuo boshi (dried skipjack tuna flakes), or niboshi (small dried sardines). Each broth is then seasoned to in one of the following ways.

Shio - "Salt" a lighter, often clear broth seasoned with salt. The noodles are often straight, but my favorite has large flat noodles. Common toppings include green onions, garlic, cabbage, beans sprouts and soft-boiled eggs.

Tonkotsu-"Pork bone" This stock has a rich, hearty pork flavor. The thick, creamy broth (almost like gravy or melted butter) is the result of a very long cooking process that allows the fat and collagen from pork bones to become suspended in the liquid. It takes at least 12 hours of cooking for this to happen, and some tonkotsu broths are cooked for up to 60 hours. Most often has thin flat or straight noodles. Common toppings are pickled ginger, green onions, sesame oil and of course cha-shiu (roasted pork belly).

Shoyu- "Soy Sauce" Since the main flavoring of this broth is soy sauce, it is often recognized by it's clear, brown color  this broth has a savory, salty, "umami" flavor. It often has curly (wrinkled) noodles. Common toppings are corn, nori (seaweed), menma (marinated bamboo shoots),

Miso- "fermented soybean paste" This is the "uniquely Japanese" type of Ramen originated up in Japan's North Island of Hokkaido. A Chicken, or fish based broth is seasoned with substantial amounts of miso paste making for a rich, thick and nutty soup. I have also seen sesame paste and peanuts included in some miso ramen. Common toppings are butter, corn, steamed greens (like spinach or bok choy).

In general:
 Ramen can be any combination of these broths, toppings and flavors. There are also several spicy variations that use spicy bean paste, spicy sesame oil, chili garlic or even a special hot sauce may be an option. Each shop will have a small array of toppings at your table so you can season your Ramen to suit your individual tastes. This is the line-up of additional seasonings at our regular Ramen joint.

Additional seasonings include: Sesame oil, white pepper, sesame seeds, chili bean paste,
ground garlic, pickled ginger and some pretty amazing hot sauce!

                           

                                 Special salt (Shio) Tonkatsu  Ramen from the above place.

Thick,  flat noodles...there are always WAY too many noodles for me...but look at that broth!

Thank goodness I have a noodle disposal system so I can mostly drink the delicious broth...

   Marcus and I recently took advantage of a free day while Ben was at school, so in the name of "research" we went to the Shin-Yokohama Raumen ( I don't know why they used this spelling) Museum. This place is really cool, it's an "eating amusement park" of sorts that takes you back to the year that Instant Ramen was invented, 1958 (the Showa Period). There are nine Ramen-yas from all different areas of Japan, each specializes in a different type of Ramen. Check out the link to their website below for more information. Here are pictures of what we tried:

We started at Shop No. 9 (Nidaime-genkostu-ya) a Tokyo style Shio Ramen place, but sadly I didn't get a picture before we tucked into this one...Hey, we were both really hungry....and it was really tasty. Their cha-shiu pork belly was exceptional, and I loved the way the green onions are chopped up really small so you can drink them up with the soup. This was our favorite by far. The others were just okay, but it was a very fun experience and we can't wait to go back and try out some other stuff.

Shio ramen, with flat noodles

From restaurant No. 4 (Taiho Ramen), on (L) Basic tonkotsu, and on (R)Spicy tonkotsu with Black garlic oil and fried garlic bits. I was greatful to find that each restaurant offers a small bowl for around 550 Yen (about $6) so you can have a good taste, but don't get too full so you can try a few other places.

From No. 5 ( Kamome-syukudo)
      We tried the ramen pictured at the very top of this post, but I saw this pork belly on the menu and had to try it...it had a little dollop of spicy chinese mustard on each slice and it was as delicious as it looks.

    Ramen has quickly become one of my ultimate comfort foods, there is nothing better to warm you up on a cold winter night or to nourish you when you are feeling a bit under the weather. To me it's just as fun to eat as it tastes good. There's a sweet satisfaction to the rythym of loudly slurping your noodles and filling your spoon with tasty broth to wash them down. You always wear the evidence on your shirt as there's an inevitable bit of splatter. The toppings are just, well the icing on the cake. I crave Ramen often and I am glad there are so many options, because Ramen is a meal than can be somewhat healthy, or can just as easily leave you comatose.  Sometimes it's just so good you can't stop eating. I'm looking forward to continuing to try as many different Ramen shops as I possibly can in the next few years. I hope you will try to find a good Ramen shop in a city near you...and if you can get the oppurtunity to go up to that spot Vancouver, B.C. it will be well worth it.

Links:
Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum   http://www.raumen.co.jp/ramen/

Cup Noodles Museum http://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/english/index.html

My favorite Japanese Food blog: http://www.justhungry.com/visit-shin-yokohama-raumen-ramen-museum

Typical Japanese TV program that is showing how Ramen is eaten...notice the slurping! It's quite entertaining. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZhvSSyotA0

Other Credits:
ramenlicious.com/encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen