“When it comes to Japanese food, Ramen is the most popular.” Many Ramen enthusiasts may think so. Originally a Chinese noodle dish, Ramen was introduced to Japan and fused with Japanese food culture. Nowadays, “Local Ramen” reflecting the different food cultures of different regions of Japan is probably one of the most attractive features of Ramen. In this article, we will discuss the history and concept of Ramen in Japan.
Origins of Ramen
Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodles, and records show that in 15th century Japan, “Keitai-men” (経帯麺) were already being eaten, made according to a recipe almost identical to that of modern Ramen noodles. However, they did not spread to the common people.
In 1858, Japan broke its 200-year isolation and opened its ports to the outside world. As a result, many foreigners moved to Japan, and Chinese noodle dishes began to spread in earnest amidst the influx of foreign food culture.
The Birth of the Ramen Restaurant
In 1870, the first Chinese restaurant in Japan opened in Yokohama. From then on, Chinese cuisine was for a long time a course luxury food, but as Chinese students increased around the late Meiji period, the number of Chinese restaurants for the masses also increased.
Against this backdrop, “来々軒(Rairaiken)” opened in Asakusa, Tokyo in 1910 and was the first ramen restaurant to combine Chinese noodle cuisine with Japanese food culture. The restaurant was so prosperous that on a typical day it served 3,000 bowls of ramen in a day.
The Five Components of Ramen
There is no set recipe for Ramen. However, an almost infinite number of variations can be created by combining five elements: Noodles, Broth, Sauce, Fat/Oil, and Ingredients.
Noodles
Original noodles can be created by changing the noodle-making method (shrunken, straight, or hand-kneaded), type of wheat, thickness, water content (ratio of water added to the noodle), and shape.
Dashi(broth)
We make our own broth by combining animal ingredients (pork and chicken), seafood ingredients (kelp and dried sardines), and vegetable ingredients (garlic and onions).
Tare (sauce)
Tare is what flavors the soup and is made by condensing seasonings and meat or seafood extracts. Soy sauce sauce, salt sauce, and miso sauce are commonly used. The soup is completed by combining the dashi with the sauce.
Fat/Oil
It is one of the essential flavors of ramen. It contains animal oil, vegetable oil, flavor oil, etc., and also serves as a lid to keep the soup from getting cold.
Ingredients
There is no set list of ingredients, but the most common are chashu pork, bamboo shoots, green onions, followed by boiled egg, nori, kikurage mushrooms, bean sprouts, naruto, and spinach.Other ingredients include wontons, butter, red pepper threads, minced meat, white onions, mitsuba, and corn.
Classification of Ramen
There are several ways to classify ramen. For example, it can be classified as “Soy sauce ramen,” “Salt ramen,” or “Miso ramen” based on the type of sauce used, such as soy sauce sauce, salt sauce, or miso sauce.
Ramen with a distinctive soup can also be classified by the type of soup. “Tonkotsu ramen” is made by boiling pork bones until they become cloudy, “Toripaitan ramen” is made by boiling chicken bones in the same way, and “Noukou Gyokai(thick seafood) ramen” is made with large amounts of seafood.
Those that cannot be categorized by soup or sauce can be classified by style. “Tsukemen,” in which the noodles are separated from the dipping sauce, “Mazemen,” which contains no soup, and “Hiyashi chuka,” which is a popular summer staple, are all so popular that they have their own specialty shops.
Local Characteristics of Ramen
Japan is an island nation with a long and narrow coastline, so different food cultures and cuisines exist depending on the seasons, climate, and other factors.
There are Ramen theme parks throughout Japan, including the “Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum”, where visitors can enjoy ramen from all over the country without having to fly or take the Shinkansen bullet train. Ramen lovers are encouraged to enjoy local ramen from all over Japan.
