A Guide to Ramen!

頂きます - Itadakimasu

If you visit a Japanese restaurant in the UK, you are likely to find one of three types of food. Sushi, yakitori or ramen. We have all been to a Wagamamas style restaurant and tucked into a hearty broth called ramen. It tastes pretty good. But how close to authentic Japanese ramen is it?

What is Ramen?

Food is at the heart of many national cultures, (think Italian or French) - but even they don’t compare to how ingrained food is to the Japanese way of life. It has been elevated to an art form, with many chefs only adopting one particular style of dish and perfecting it over a lifetime to the point where it is exquisite. Where the UK has 188 Michelin starred restaurants, Japan has a blistering 413! Kyoto has more 2 star restaurants than anywhere else in the world.

This means when Japanese people adopt a dish, or a new cuisine intersects with their way of life, it becomes something sublime. As an example, ramen!

Ramen is made up of the following key parts:

Noodles: Traditionally these are wheat noodles as standard, however many restaurants allow diners to customise their noodle type, with the thick udon noodles being a very popular alternative.

Broth: This varies widely in flavour (see below), however it is arguably the single most important constituent of great ramen. Common broth bases include pork bone, soy sauce, salt and miso and different regions in Japan tend to favour one base over another. Every restaurant has its own approach to broth and jealousy guard their recipes.

Toppings: Each restaurant will serve ramen with a different offering of toppings, typically there will be a protein (meat or shellfish) and the option of an egg, plus vegetables and green onions. Japan has a very meat oriented food culture, but many restaurants in the larger cities have now started offering vegetarian ramen as well, with tofu or another meat substitute rather than pork, chicken or prawn.

Seasonings: Again, each restaurant has its own approach to seasoning a ramen. Some adhere very strictly to tradition whereas others are more experimental. Regardless, each table will normally have an array of extras that can be sprinkled on top, such as chilli, sesame oil or ponzu sauce (a bonito flake and kelp sauce).

How ramen is made:

Ramen is actually derived from chinese noodle dishes. Originally introduced by chinese immigrants around the late 1800s, it was seen as an easy way to feed the nation during World War II, when Japan relied very heavily on imports. After the war, ramen stalls and vendors continued to pop up in most towns and cities, which meant ramen became an ingrained part of everyday culture.

Each region and major city in Japan has its own way of making ramen, but as the nation has become more cosmopolitan and regions have intertwined, ramen styles have also evolved. This means you may find one region’s specialities in a few restaurants somewhere else in the country.

Overall - the main difference in how ramen is made is based in the composition of the broth.

Shoyu Ramen:

Originated in Tokyo and the Kanto region, but can be found all over Japan. Shoyu ramen has a broth made from soy sauce, it is usually clear and brown. Accompaniments will usually include roasted pork slices, nori seaweed and spring onions. Some restaurants may serve the vegetables on the side, not in the broth - in fact in Okachimachi they insisted that the vegetables weren’t mixed with the broth - otherwise it was just a hotpot!

Shio Ramen:

This is a northern ramen, originating in Hokkaido and very popular there. It translates as “salt ramen” and has a clear, pale broth. It is usually served with seafood.

Miso Ramen:

Another northern ramen, but you will find this as a staple across all of Japan (we found lots of restaurants offered this style in Kyoto particularly). Miso ramen has a much thicker broth than salt or soy, in Kyoto it was served with perilla which is a flat leaf with aniseed flavour. It also came with large slabs of thin roasted pork. Extremely tasty, we found this didn’t need any additional seasoning, whereas the Tokyo ramen had a much more subtle broth.

Shoyu Ramen - Hakata Ramen Ichiban, Okachimachi, Tokyo

A light shoyu style ramen, the order was placed through a ticket machine next to the door, the staff were amazingly helpful and the ramen was exceptional! The staff insisted we eat the beansprouts separate to the broth, noodles and meat otherwise “it is a hotpot”.

Miso Ramen - Men-ya Kirameki - Kyoto Sanjo

A very rich broth made with miso, this version had extra spice, extra pork and extra green onions and it was extra!

Tonkotsu Ramen:

Tonkotsu ramen is very closely associated with Fukuoka in southern Japan and has creamy and rich bone broth, it can be found further north in cities such as Hiroshima. Along with the usual ramen accompaniements, it is usually topped with Chashu which is slices of slow roasted pork belly.

Tsukemen:

Tsukemen differs from other ramen because the noodles are served separately from the broth. It is found all over Japan, but is very very popular in Tokyo. To eat, you are encouraged to dip the noodles into the broth, which is usually very concentrated.

Mazemen:

Mazemen translates as mixed noodles, this dish - popular in Hiroshima - is very different from other ramen as it doesn’t feature a broth! Instead the dish has a very concentrated and flavourful sauce underneath the other ingredients. It is then topped with an egg, the diner must first mix all of the ingredients together into the sauce. It is an incredibly tasty version of ramen and is very customisable, with a variety of sauces, toppings and extras served at the table.

Mazemen -
Okkundou Mazemen, Hiroshima

Rave reviews on Google drew us to this little restaurant on the edge of the Hiroshima Peace Park. It was so good we went twice! Perilla sliced thinly and really good belly pork topped a deep flavoured sauce with egg and luxurious noodles. As with all the food we ate in Japan it was extremely cheap for the quality, and the staff were brilliant.

So Much Ramen so Little Time!

There are even more different variations than listed above, and each restaurant will have its own take on their version. There are a number of speciality ingredients in an authentic ramen that are hard to find in Europe. The best way to find out more is to head to Japan!