There are many different types of ramen, so I thought I would share some information about the different types there are and which ones Bret and I like. It consists of flour noodles and broth with various toppings. Cup noodle ramen is popular in Japan (especially among bachelors), but whenever you go to a ramen shop it is always made with fresh noodles. These noodles are typically made in-house, so they are usually fresh and much much much more delicious than their rehydrated and styrofoamed counterparts (ps, they still use Styrofoam in Washington? tsk tsk, I thought the Seattle ban would catch on). Additionally, I have to plug Saijo's spring water for contributing to the clear, fresh taste of noodles made in my own beautiful town.
Anyways, there are five different versions that I see most commonly. There are also regional specialty ramens, such as in Tokyo where they use stronger flavors and a greater number of toppings. But I'll just write about the five basic types here.
Sesame Ramen
Why save the best for last when you can save the best for first? This is the kind that Bret usually gets. It has a pretty thick broth made with sesame, miso and soy and a chicken/beef/pork stock base. It sometimes comes with finely ground beef that they put on top and gets all mixed in with the soup. It's pretty delicious. They also put sprouts, alfalfa greens, seaweed, bamboo shoots, and a half of a soft-boiled egg on top for decoration and deliciousness. Sometimes they marinate the eggs too, but I don't care about them so much. When I eat this kind of ramen I like to go to the shop that gives you unlimited kimchi to eat along with it. It is sooooo good. FYI, the dictionary on googlechrome does not recognize to word kimchi. For shame!
Miso Ramen
This ramen also has a pretty thick broth and is more or less similar to the sesame ramen, but is less thick and velvety in texture; just a lighter soup. Usually regular miso soup (like you can get at teriyaki or sushi restaurants) has a lot of separation, i.e. the watery part separates from the cloudy miso part, but that usually doesn't happen too much with the miso ramen--probably because of all the noodles and additional ingredients. Miso ramen is great for when the shop you're in doesn't have sesame ramen. It is still rich and filling but less flavorful in my humble opinion. I do have to add that there are many kinds of miso-- white, red, brown, etc so it's difficult to generalize. Every shop also has their own recipe, so sometimes it's really good but sometimes it's so-so. But still, miso ramen is usually pretty delicious and a full meal on it's own. Toppings include sprouts, baby greens, softboiled egg, a hunk of pork, seaweed,bamboo shoots, and the white swirly thing you see in the above picture is fish paste colored and molded, then sliced. I am not a fan of the fish paste per say, it's more just for decoration and I usually don't eat it. You can buy cooked pasted fish in various molds at the store. They make it in the form of pokemon characters and hello kitty sometimes. It's a staple for decorating bento boxes and kids lunches.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Anyways, there are five different versions that I see most commonly. There are also regional specialty ramens, such as in Tokyo where they use stronger flavors and a greater number of toppings. But I'll just write about the five basic types here.
Sesame Ramen
Why save the best for last when you can save the best for first? This is the kind that Bret usually gets. It has a pretty thick broth made with sesame, miso and soy and a chicken/beef/pork stock base. It sometimes comes with finely ground beef that they put on top and gets all mixed in with the soup. It's pretty delicious. They also put sprouts, alfalfa greens, seaweed, bamboo shoots, and a half of a soft-boiled egg on top for decoration and deliciousness. Sometimes they marinate the eggs too, but I don't care about them so much. When I eat this kind of ramen I like to go to the shop that gives you unlimited kimchi to eat along with it. It is sooooo good. FYI, the dictionary on googlechrome does not recognize to word kimchi. For shame!
Miso Ramen
This ramen also has a pretty thick broth and is more or less similar to the sesame ramen, but is less thick and velvety in texture; just a lighter soup. Usually regular miso soup (like you can get at teriyaki or sushi restaurants) has a lot of separation, i.e. the watery part separates from the cloudy miso part, but that usually doesn't happen too much with the miso ramen--probably because of all the noodles and additional ingredients. Miso ramen is great for when the shop you're in doesn't have sesame ramen. It is still rich and filling but less flavorful in my humble opinion. I do have to add that there are many kinds of miso-- white, red, brown, etc so it's difficult to generalize. Every shop also has their own recipe, so sometimes it's really good but sometimes it's so-so. But still, miso ramen is usually pretty delicious and a full meal on it's own. Toppings include sprouts, baby greens, softboiled egg, a hunk of pork, seaweed,bamboo shoots, and the white swirly thing you see in the above picture is fish paste colored and molded, then sliced. I am not a fan of the fish paste per say, it's more just for decoration and I usually don't eat it. You can buy cooked pasted fish in various molds at the store. They make it in the form of pokemon characters and hello kitty sometimes. It's a staple for decorating bento boxes and kids lunches.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Many people will gasp in horror after reading this, but I do not like Tonkotsu ramen. It is on the heavy side of the ramen broths and very rich and creamy. This is due not to the healthier thickening qualities of miso or sesame, but from the boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat over a long period of time. The resulting product can be anywhere from a very strong smelling pork broth to straight up gravy. Would I like to drink gravy from an enormous bowl? No thank you. But if you like pork flavor, which many people do, it can be good. It is also topped with a rectangle of seaweed (see pic on the right hand side, the dark green thing) as well as sprouts, a slice of slow cooked pork, thinly sliced scallions and a couple of slices of bamboo shoot.
Soy Ramen
Soy Ramen is one of the simplest ramens. The broth is made from chicken, beef or pork stock and colored/flavored with a little soy sauce. Soy sauce comes in many grades and flavors, so they use a lighter complimentary kind for soup, not your standard black kikkoman variety. There is a whole isle dedicated to soy sauce in most supermarkets here, and I can't tell what they say, but I know there are many, many kinds. Soy ramen comes with the standard flour noodles, some sprouts, scallions, bamboo and a rectangle of seaweed. Add a slice or two of pork on top and you're good to go. This kind of ramen does well when eaten with more flavorful things like gyoza or fried rice, but you can also add some spices or grind sesame seeds on top to make it taste better. Not my first choice, but it's pretty good.
Shio Ramen
Shio means salt, so this is literally just salt broth ramen. Yum, right? No but it has the basic chicken, beef or pork stock and salt. You can also buy a stock paste that comes in a big red can with some kanji on it to make this simple soup. Top it with whatever garnish you like and that's about it. I usually get this type of ramen when I go to my favorite fried rice destination. This shop gives you a delicious mound of fried rice and a small cup of shio ramen to wash it down with. The small cup doesn't have noodles or anything, so it's light and nice to accompany the greasy fried rice or gyoza that I'm usually scarfing down.
That's about all there is to ramen! Bret and I had never really eaten it in the US, so it was a novelty when we moved here. I definitely miss the stronger flavors of Tokyo style ramen, and usually don't eat regular old noodle and broth ramen, but it is nice on cold days sometimes. Thanks for reading! I've been wanting to make this post for years and finally did!
All the pictures came from Wikipedia, sorry for the laziness. Maybe one day I will make another post but with real pictures of my local cuisine. It looks pretty much the same in my city's ramen shops as it does in the pictures above.
PS. When I first starting teaching in Shikoku, I asked one of my male adult students to describe how to make ramen in English for a homework assignment. They next week, he came in with two grocery bags full of ingredients and about 50 pages of translated descriptions or cooking methods.To clarify, he was a beginner student and this was by no means an easy assignment for him, as he doesn't usually cook and probably had to do a bit of research. After he was done thoroughly explaining everything, he gifted me all of the ingredients so I could make ramen at home. It was so kind and unnecessary and I will never forget it!
PS. When I first starting teaching in Shikoku, I asked one of my male adult students to describe how to make ramen in English for a homework assignment. They next week, he came in with two grocery bags full of ingredients and about 50 pages of translated descriptions or cooking methods.To clarify, he was a beginner student and this was by no means an easy assignment for him, as he doesn't usually cook and probably had to do a bit of research. After he was done thoroughly explaining everything, he gifted me all of the ingredients so I could make ramen at home. It was so kind and unnecessary and I will never forget it!
Good blog post Angela! I love ramen! In Hawaii there are tons and tons of ramen places because of all the tourists so I eat it quite a bit over there.
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