Page 93 - WDT Winter 2018 japan

ABOUT RAMEN

amen, one of the top noodles in Japan, is especially well
known by college students worldwide. The noodle is a rela-
tively new to Japanese menus, introduced from China about
R100 years ago when it was known as shina soba (Chinese
soba). In the 1950s it became ramen.
The thin wheat noodles can be used in several types of broths,
including miso, shoyu (soy sauce), and my favorite tonkatsu (pork-
bone) with red chili sauce pictured here. Ramen is almost always
served hot which is not the case for other noodle dishes including
soba.
Ramen can contain many different ingredients including meats,
fish, vegetables, and spices. The traditional key element of the noo-
dle itself is alkaline water known as kansui, sourced from the lakes
of Mongolia. The alkalinity provides the noodles with a firm texture.
Because Mongolian lake water is a bit hard to source, eggs often are
used to get the same texture as the Mongolian water provides.
Momofuku Ando (the Thomas Edison of the noodle world)
changed everything with his 1958 creation of instant ramen. It took
off like a rocket around the world; quick, cheap and tasty, it filled
millions of students, mothers, and busy office workers. The Japa-
nese once voted it as “the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th
century.” When we were in Yokohama, we even saw a museum
dedicated to the great noodle.

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