Cookbook:Ramen

Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup with roots in China, consisting of broth, ramen noodles, and toppings.

History

Ramen emerged in Japan sometime between the 18th and early 20th centuries, coming from Chinese cuisine. As such, the term "ramen" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese la mian (拉麺), meaning "pulled noodles". It became extremely popular after World War II and has since been primarily associated with Japan and Japanese culture instead of its Chinese origins.

Types

There is an extremely diverse assortment of ramen soups, varying according to local cultures, personal tastes, and ingredient availability. They can be primarily characterized by their broth and toppings.

Broth

Ramen broth ranges from light (assari) to thick and rich (kotteri). Assari broths tend to be thin and clear, while kotteri broths are thicker, opaque, and fatty. The broth can be made by simmering a range of ingredients, including meat and bones, vegetables, seafood, kelp, onions, ginger, mushrooms, garlic, and/or scallions. The broth is typically seasoned or salted with sea salt (shio), soy sauce (shoyu), miso, and/or MSG.

Toppings

Toppings are highly varied and can include the following:

Chashu pork: tender soy- and mirin-simmered pork
Bacon
Scallions
Simmered seafood
Boiled eggs
Tamago eggs
Kamaboko fish cake
Cabbage
Enoki or wood-ear mushrooms
Nori or wakame
Fresh or stir-fried vegetables

Bowls of ramen may also be finished with togarashi powder, sesame seeds, curry powder/paste, or a dash of some oil/fat.

Eating

Ramen is eaten with chopsticks, and the noodles are slurped quickly before they turn soggy in the broth. The broth may be sipped with large spoons or directly from the bowl.

Recipes

Tonkotsu Ramen

External links

Wikipedia has related information at Ramen

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ramen