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The Real Top Ramen

I’ve recently started paying more attention to the art of Ramen… and I’m not talking about the package art on Top Ramen either. I think it’s the harsh winter weather that got my stomach rumbling for a warm hearty bowl of soup and noodles to slurp up. That and a ramen bar opened up around the corner from my friend’s place and we decided that it would be nice to squish in to one of the narrow tables and prop up on a stool to warm up with chopsticks in hand as we wait for our meal to be served.

I was doing some research on ramen because there has to be more to it than a block of dried noodles and a packet of “soup.” No surprise, there is more to the art than this.

The noodles are no doubt delicious but the broth is just as important. There are four main broths that can be used as the base of the ramen meal:

Shio – This is considered to be the most difficult broth to make. Shio means salt and has a clear consistency. It can be made from veggie scraps like carrot and daikon radish peels, onions, iriko (small fish similar to sardines) and sometimes sake.

Shoyu – The basics of this broth consists of soy sauce, kelp and bonito flakes, with mirin, a syrupy rice wine, to balance the soy. I stumbled upon a recipe to make this which can be found here.

Miso – This fermented soybean paste is typically served with tofu but is also used as a broth for ramen. The miso paste separates quickly and needs to be added last in order to get its true full flavor.

Tonkotsu – This one is my favorite and literally translates to pig (ton) bone (kotsu). You basically need to boil pig bones for a good amount of time to achieve this flavorful broth. You might also want to add in other ingredients such as bonito flakes, onion and dried mushrooms. The longer you boil, the better the flavor.

 

I’d be interested to see what everyone else’s favorite broth is or if they’ve had yummy ramen experiences before. I sure hope your ramen experience goes beyond the Top Ramen in your cupboard.

Posted Feb 22, 2008 by SuDoughName | Share It

Filed under: ramen