Everything about Ramen totally explained
, }} is a
Japanese dish of
noodles served in broth that originated in
China. It tends to be served in a meat-based broth, and uses toppings such as,,
kamaboko, green onions, and even corn. Almost every locality or
prefecture in Japan has its own variation of ramen, from the
tonkotsu ramen of
Kyūshū to the
miso ramen of
Hokkaidō.
History
While
Tokugawa Mitsukuni reportedly ate ramen in the late 17th century, it was only during the
Meiji period that the dish became widely known (perhaps because for most of its history, the Japanese diet consisted mostly of vegetables and seafood rather than meat). The introduction of American and European cuisine, which demanded increased production of meat products, played a large role in ramen's increased popularity.
Ramen was introduced in
Japan (
Chinatowns of
Kobe or
Yokohama) during the Meiji era. Salt ramen originated in
Hokkaidō in the
Taisho era.
Though of
Chinese origin, it's unclear when ramen was introduced to Japan. Even the etymology of the term "ramen" is a topic of debate. One
hypothesis and probably the most credible is that "ramen" is the Japanese pronunciation of the
Chinese: 拉麺 (
lamian), meaning "
hand-pulled noodles" (a name that's still used in Chinese for these sort of noodles). A second hypothesis proposes 老麺 (
laomian, "old noodles") as the original form, while yet another states that ramen was initially 鹵麺 (
lúmiàn), noodles cooked in a thick, starchy sauce. A fourth hypothesis is 撈麵 (
lāomiàn, "
lo mein"): 撈 means to "dredge up" and refers to the method of cooking these noodles by immersing them in boiling water before dredging them up with a wire basket.
In the early
Meiji period, ramen was called
shina soba (支那そば, literally "Chinese soba") but today
chūka soba (中華そば, also meaning "Chinese soba") is a more common and politically correct term. By
1900, restaurants serving
Chinese cuisine from
Canton and
Shanghai offered a simple ramen dish of noodles (cut rather than hand pulled), a few toppings, and a broth flavored with salt and pork bones. Many Chinese also pulled portable food stalls, selling ramen and
gyōza dumplings to workers. By the mid 1900s, these stalls used a type of a musical horn called a
charumera (チャルメラ, from the Portuguese
charamela) to advertise their presence, a practice some vendors still retain via a loudspeaker and a looped recording. By the early
Shōwa period, ramen had become a popular dish when eating out.
After
World War II, cheap flour imported from the U.S. swept the Japanese market. At the same time, millions of Japanese troops had returned from China and continental East Asia. Many of these returnees had become familiar with Chinese cuisine and subsequently set up Chinese restaurants across Japan. Eating ramen, while popular, was still a special occasion that required going out.
In 1958,
instant noodles were invented by the late
Momofuku Ando, founder and chairman of
Nissin Foods. Named the greatest Japanese
invention of the 20th century in a Japanese poll, instant ramen allowed anyone to make this dish simply by adding boiling water.
Beginning in the 1980s, ramen became a Japanese cultural icon and was studied from many perspectives. At the same time, local varieties of ramen were hitting the national market and could even be ordered by their regional names. A
ramen museum opened in
Yokohama in 1994.
Types
A wide variety of ramen exists in Japan, with geographical and vendor-specific differences even in varieties that share the same name. Ramen can be broadly categorized by its two main ingredients: noodles and soup.
Noodles
Most ramen is made from four basic ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water, and
kansui
which is essentially a type of alkaline mineral water, containing
sodium carbonate and usually
potassium carbonate, as well as sometimes a small amount of
phosphoric acid. Originally,
kansui was named after the water from
Inner Mongolia's
Lake Kan which contained large amounts of these minerals and was said to be perfect for making these noodles. Making noodles with
kansui lends them a yellowish hue as well as a firm texture. For a brief time after
World War II, low-quality
kansui that was tainted was sold, though
kansui is now manufactured according to
JAS standards. Eggs may also be substituted for
kansui. Some ramen is made with neither eggs nor
kansui and should only be used for
yakisoba. The Small packages containing the noodles and the mixture are typically popular for children.
Ramen comes in various shapes and lengths. They may be fat, thin, or even ribbon-like, as well as straight or wrinkled.
Soup
Ramen soup is generally made from stock based on chicken or pork, combined with a variety of ingredients such as
kombu (kelp),
katsuobushi (
skipjack tuna flakes),
niboshi (dried baby sardines),
beef bones,
shiitake, and
onions, and then flavored with the likes of salt,
miso, or
soy sauce.
The resulting combination is generally divided into four categories (although new and original variations often make this categorisation less clear-cut):
- Shio ("salt") ramen soup is clear, almost transparent. It is probably the oldest of the four and, like the Chinese maotang (毛湯), is a simple chicken broth.
- Tonkotsu ("pork bone") ramen is usually cloudy white. It is similar to the Chinese baitang (白湯) and is a thick broth made with crushed pork bones that have been boiled for hours. It is a specialty of Kyūshū and is often served with beni shoga (pickled ginger).
- Shōyu ("soy sauce") ramen soup is made by adding a soy-based sauce to a clear stock usually made from chicken and various vegetables. It is popular in Honshū. A popular seasoning is black pepper.
- Miso ramen is a relative newcomer, having reached national prominence around 1965. This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Hokkaidō, features a broth that combines chicken stock with the fermented soybean paste miso. It is often topped with sweetcorn and butter.
It's worth noting that inventive new developments continue to push the boundaries of ramen. By 2006, Hokkaidō's regional curry ramen had leapt to national prominence, and restaurants from Sendai to Kobe have for years offered a ramen based on the made-in-Japan Chinese dish of
ebi chili sauce, or "shrimp in chili sauce."
Seasonings commonly added to ramen are
black pepper,
butter,
chili pepper,
sesame seeds, and crushed
garlic. Soup
recipes and methods of preparation tend to be closely guarded secrets.
Some restaurants also offer a system known as
kae-dama (替え玉), where customers who have finished their noodles can request a "refill" (for a few hundred yen more) to be put into their remaining soup.
Regional variations
While standard versions of ramen are available throughout Japan since the Taisho era, the last few decades have shown a proliferation of regional variations. Some of these which have gone on to national prominence are:
Sapporo, from the capital of
Hokkaidō, is especially famous for its ramen. Most people in Japan associate Sapporo with its rich
miso ramen which was invented there and which is ideal for Hokkaidō's harsh, snowy winters. Sapporo miso ramen is typically topped with sweetcorn, butter, beansprouts, finely chopped pork, and garlic, and sometimes local seafood such as
scallop,
squid, and
crab.
Kitakata in northern
Honshū is known for its rather thick, flat, curly noodles served in a pork-and-
niboshi broth. The area within its former city boundaries has the highest per-capita number of ramen establishments. Ramen has such prominence in the region that locally, the word
soba usually refers to ramen, and not to actual
soba which is referred to as
nihon soba ("Japanese soba").
What is known as
Tokyo style ramen consists of slightly thin, curly noodles served in a soy-flavoured chicken broth. The broth typically has a touch of
dashi, as old ramen establishments in Tokyo often originate from
soba eateries. Standard toppings on top of chopped scallion,
menma, and sliced pork are kamaboko, egg, nori, and spinach.
Ikebukuro,
Ogikubo and
Ebisu are three areas in Tokyo known for their ramen.
Ie-kei (家系) ramen is from
Yokohama and consists of thick, straight-ish noodles served in a soy-pork broth.
Hakata ramen originates from Hakata district of
Fukuoka city. It has a rich, milky, pork-bone
tonkotsu broth and rather thin, non-curly and resilient noodles. Often, distinctive toppings such as
beni shoga (pickled ginger), sesame seeds, and picked greens are left on tables for customers to serve themselves. Ramen
stalls in Hakata and
Tenjin are well-known within Japan. Recent ramen trends have made Hakata ramen one of the most popular types of ramen in Japan, and these days several chain restaurants specializing in Hakata ramen can be found all over the country.
Chahan and
Gyoza are popular side orders.
Related dishes
There are a number of related,
Chinese-influenced noodle dishes in Japan. The following are often served alongside ramen in ramen establishments. They don't include noodle dishes considered traditionally Japanese, such as
soba or
udon, which are almost never served in the same establishments as ramen.
Nagasaki champon. Champon is topped with a variety of ingredients, mostly seafood, and covered in a starchy sauce.
Abura soba ("Oil-noodles"). Essentially ramen and toppings served without the soup, but with a small quantity of oily soy-based sauce instead.
Tsuke-men ("dipping noodles"). The noodles and soup are served in separate bowls. The diner dips the noodles in the soup before eating. Can be served hot or chilled.
Tantan-men (担担麺). Japanese version of dan dan noodles. Ramen in a reddish, spicy chilli and sesame soup, usually containing minced pork, garnished with chopped scallion and chili and occasionally topped with the likes of spinach.
Hiyashi-chūka ("chilled Chinese"). Also known as reimen, esp. in western Japan. A summer dish of chilled ramen on a plate with various toppings (typically thin strips of omelette, ham, cucumber and tomato) and served with a vinegary soy dressing and karashi (Japanese mustard). It was produced in a Chinese restaurant the Ryutei in Sendai.
Many ramen restaurants also serve gyoza, fried rice, shumai, and similar Chinese-derived dishes, which customers frequently order along with ramen. Combinations such as ramen and fried or plain rice are also quite popular.
Ramen outside Japan
Ramen has become popular in China in recent years where it's known as ri shi la mian (日式拉面, "Japanese lamian"). Popular Japanese ramen chains serve ramen alongside distinctly Japanese dishes such as tempura and yakitori, something which would be seen as odd in Japan.
Wagamama, a successful pan-Asian chain with establishments mainly in European cities, is known for its noodle soups marketed as ramen (but which are quite different from ramen in Japan).
Ramyon (라면) is the Korean version of ramen. Ramyon in Korea is a popular instant meal. There are many varieties of Korean ramyon, such as kimchi-flavored, seafood-flavored and beef-flavored. They are usually served with egg and sliced leeks.
In Central Asia the dish has thicker noodles, is significantly spicier, and is known as laghman.
In North America, Japanese noodles were imported starting in the 1970s bearing the name "ramen" and today it most commonly refers to instant noodles, although many restaurants that specialize in Japanese-style ramen exist, especially in California, and also in other urban centres with large demand for ramen such as Vancouver, Toronto, New York or Seattle. It gained popularity as a Japanese dish of noodle soup which sold so well in the United States in the late 1970s that imports from Japan were supplanted by American manufacturers by the mid-1980s as a popular food item for tight income buyers. Today, due to its very low cost, ramen has become characterized in the United States as a very cheap food eaten by people such as students or teenagers. A packet of instant ramen in a U.S. supermarket often costs as little as 20 cents. Some generic brands often cost as little as 8 cents per packet, or are sold in bulk. In America, ramen is becoming increasingly popular, especially among teenagers.
Ramen is also widely sold in Mexico, usually in a disposable cup in which it can be cooked in a microwave oven. The ubiquitous stock flavors, sold by several companies, are chicken, beef, "oriental" and shrimp. An even more specialized local variation is cheese-flavored ramen, which contains classic instant ramen in an instant sauce similar to the cheese sauce in instant mac and cheese. A streetcart with ramen cups in all these flavors and a microwave is a common sight in Mexico City, and one of the cheapest prepared meals to be found there. Ramen is available in other Latin American countries but not nearly as popular.
In the popular series Naruto created by Kishimoto Masashi, the protagonist Uzumaki Naruto has a craze for ramen. Many fans claim that they get to know the dish thanks to the series. Also, a restaurant named "Naruto Ramen" is opened in New York.
Gallery
Image:Soy_ramen.jpg|Shōyu (醤油, basic soy sauce) ramen
Image:Misora-men.jpg|Miso (味噌, basic miso soup) ramen
image:tokyoramen.jpg| Tokyo-style ramen
image:kitakatara-men.jpg|Kitakata (喜多方) ramen
image:Hakatara-men.jpg|Hakata (博多) ramen with tonkotsu ("pork bone") soup
image:Tsukemen.jpg|Tsukemen (つけめん, dipping ramen) #1
image:aburasoba.jpg|Aburasoba (油そば, oiled noodles)
image:takayama_ramen.jpg|Takayama (高山) ramen
image:tantanmen111.jpg|Tantanmen (坦々麺, noodles topped with spicy ground beef
image:Hiyashira-men.jpg|Hiyashi (冷やし, cold) ramen
Image:Tonkotsu_ramen.JPG|Tonkotsu ramen
Further Information
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