Ramen (/ɺaːmeɴ/, rāmen: ラーメン, らーめん and occasionally 拉麺) is a Japanese dish of noodles in broth which originated in China.
Ramen has a variety of toppings such as sliced pork, seaweed, kamaboko, green onions and even corn. Almost every locality, or "prefecture," in Japan has its own variation of ramen, from the tonkotsu ramen of Kyushu to the miso ramen of Hokkaido.
In North America, "ramen" most commonly refers to instant noodles.
History
Ramen is a relative newcomer to Japanese cuisine. 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.
Though of Chinese origin, it is unclear when, from where and by whom ramen was introduced to Japan. Even the etymology of the term "ramen" is a topic of debate. One hypothesis is that "ramen" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese 拉麺 (lamian), meaning "hand-pulled noodles." A second hypothesis proposes 老麺 (laomian, "old noodles") as the original form, while yet another states that ramen was initially 鹵麺 (lumian), noodles cooked in a thick, starchy sauce. Finally, others peg 撈麵 (Cantonese: Lo mein, Mandarin: lāo miàn), meaning "stirred noodles," as the origin of "ramen."
(There are also anecdotal origins: one story purports that the name was originally 柳麺 (liumian), meaning "Liu's noodle," with Liu being the cook who ostensibly popularized the dish.)
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 the 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 Momofuku Ando, the 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.
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 three main ingredients: noodles, soup and toppings.
Noodles
Most ramen noodles are made from four basic ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water and kansui (かんすい). Originally, kansui was water from Inner Mongolia's Lake Kan, which contains large amounts of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate as well as a small amount of phosphoric acid. Making noodles with kansui lends them a yellowish hue as well as a particular flavor. For a brief time after World War II, low-quality kansui that was tainted or thinned with water was sold, though kansui is now manufactured according to JAS standards. Eggs may also be substituted for kansui. Some ramen noodles are made with neither eggs nor kansui, and should only be used for yakisoba.
Ramen noodles come in various shapes and lengths. They may be fat, thin, or even ribbon-like, as well as straight or wrinkled. According to Nissin, there are five traditional types of noodles: "hand-stretched noodle," "oiled and stick-stretched noodle," "cut noodle," "pushed noodle" and "rice noodle."
Soup
Ramen soup is generally made of stock based on chicken or pork, combined with a variety of ingredients such as kombu (kelp), katsuobushi (bonito flakes, niboshi (dried baby sardines), beef bones, shiitake and onions, and then flavoured with the likes of salt, miso or soy sauce.
The resulting combination is generally divided into four flavors (though these are sometimes mixed together to produce new, original variations):
- Shio ("salt") ramen soup clear, almost transparent. 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 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).
- shoyu ("soy sauce") ramen soup is made by adding a soy-based sauce to a stock usually made from chicken and various vegetables. It is popular in Honshu. Popular seasonings are black pepper or chilli oil.
- Miso ramen is a relative newcomer, having reached national prominence around 1965. This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Hokkaido, features a broth that combines chicken stock with a fermented soybean paste.
(It's worth noting that inventive chefs continue to push the boundaries of ramen cuisine: by 2006, Hokkaido'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.")
Some seasonings commonly added to ramen are black pepper, butter, chile pepper, sesame seeds, five-spice powder, garlic, gochujang (from Korean cuisine), sake, vinegar and wine. Soup recipes and methods of preparation are a closely guarded secret in many restaurants.
Toppings
The most standard toppings for ramen are boiled egg, menma (fermented and pickled young bamboo), naruto(a type of kamaboko), nori, spinach, finely chopped negi (scallion) and chāshū (char siu, 叉焼 or 焼豚: traditionally a barbecued pork but usually a thinly sliced boiled pork when used as a ramen topping). Ramen which are topped with the above are often called "Tokyo ramen".
Other toppings may include stewed egg, bean sprouts, wakame, deep fried scallion, or kimchi. Hokkaido-style miso ramen is often topped with sweetcorn.
In most cases, toppings are added after having been already cooked so as to not change the flavor of the soup.
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 do not include noodle dishes considered traditionally Japanese, such as soba or udon.
- Nagasaki champon. Champon is topped with a variety of ingredients, mostly seafood, and covered in a starchy sauce.
- Abura soba ("Oil-noodles"). Essentially ramen noodles 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 seperate 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 noodles in a reddish, spicy chilli and sesame soup, usually containing minced pork, garnished with chopped scallion and chilli and occasionally topped with the likes of spinach.
- Hiyashi-chuka ("chilled chinese"). A summer dish of chilled ramen noodles 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).
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 rice and even kimchi ramen are quite popular.
Gallery
Shoyu (醤油, basic soy sauce) ramen
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Miso (味噌, basic miso soup) ramen
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Hakata (博多) ramen with tonkotsu ("pork bone") soup
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Nagahama (長浜) ramen, tonkotsu soup
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Kumamoto (熊本) ramen, tonkotsu soup
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Kagoshima (鹿児島) ramen, tonkotsu soup
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Tsukemen (つけめん, "dipping ramen") #1
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Tsukemen (つけめん, "dipping ramen") #2
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Aburasoba (油そば, "oiled noodles")
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Seabura-nose (背脂乗せ) ramen
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Tantanmen (坦々麺, noodles topped with spicy ground beef)
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Hiyashi (冷やし, "cold") ramen
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See also
External links
- [1] Miso ramen with a lot of sesame seeds.