Ramen soup
The cult noodle soup from Japan

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What is Japanese Ramen Soup?

Ramen (ラーメン) is its own kind of Japanese noodles.

The noodles, but also the noodle soup made from them, are called ramen.

The dish originally comes from China. Japan has adopted and adapted the dish.

The soup consists of a basic broth, the noodles and side dishes that vary greatly.

The soup is traditionally served in ramen bowls and eaten with beautiful chopsticks.

In Japan, the soup is sold in so-called ramen-ya, special restaurants, and are an integral part of the daily lives of the Japanese. Many of the restaurants have their own recipe, often kept secret, which varies greatly from region to region.

Every Japanese eats ramen soup once a week. The indisputable advantage is that in Japanese restaurants it is always ready in the pot waiting for the customers, so it is very fast.

Why do ramen soups taste so delicious?

The reason for this is the fifth sense of taste Umami.

The human tongue can distinguish between five tastes.

Umami is the fifth sense of taste, along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

Umami substances are used inramen dishes, for example, by adding seaweed to the soup, creating a unique taste experience.

Summary

1. what is ramen?

2. what is umami?

3. how to make ramen noodles?

4. the broth – The Great Secret

Is the soup healthy?

It should be remembered that in the best case, the soup contains a lot of fresh ingredients. Thereby should be used as Side dish lots of vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, spinach, zucchini, cauliflower and peppers, find their way into the pot.

When the broth is additionally homemade, one can certainly no longer speak of fast food.

The high sodium and fat content is undisputed.

However, a typical serving of pasta along with broth definitely has far fewer calories than burgers, fries or a soda.

How to make ramen noodles?

The dough for the pasta consists of wheat flour, salt and water.

Kansui, a mixture of water containing potassium and carbonate, is often used as water. This also gives the pasta its yellowish color and specific taste.

Sometimes eggs are used instead of kansui.

There are four basic types:

Kansōmen (乾燥麺 – dried noodles)
Namamen (生麺 – fresh noodles)
Mushimen (蒸麺 – steamed noodles)
Insutanto Rāmen (インスタントラーメン – instant ramen noodles).

Fresh pasta should be used on the day it is made, if possible, or stored only briefly in the refrigerator. It is important to rinse the pasta with cold water after cooking.

Instant noodles keep for several months.

Ramen noodle recipes

Ramen broth - The great secret

The great secret of the soup lies in the broth.

The soups are named after their broth and differ in four basic types shoyu, miso, shio or tonkotsu.

Shoyu broth (醤油ラーメン) means soy sauce in Japanese. Not surprisingly, this consists of a broth with soy sauce. The broth is brownish and clear. In Tokyo, it is the most famous variety and can be enjoyed on almost every corner in small soup kitchens. Shoyu ramen recipe

Miso broth (味噌ラーメン) requires miso, a paste made from fermented soybeans. Often these are flavored with chilies. The broth looks very different from region to region. Miso ramen recipe

Shio means salt and is considered the oldest method of preparation. The broth for shio ramen (塩ラーメン) is salt-based and often made with fish and seafood broth. The broth usually looks bright and clear. Shio ramen recipe

Tonkotsu literally means “pig bones”. Tonkotsu broth (豚骨ラーメン) is notable for its whitish cloudy color, which is made by boiling pork bones for a long time. This releases a lot of gelatin, which gives the broth a certain creaminess. Tonkotsu ramen recipe

These variations represent only the most common basic types, in addition there are countless combinations and extensions.

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Ramen soups recipes

The most important recipes to make ramen yourself:

Supplements

In addition to the noodles and broth, the garnishes used are a key feature of ramen and add the finishing touches to the soup.

Side dishes often include meats and fish, vegetables, including wan tan, fried or boiled eggs, and more.

Some of the typical side dishes are

Arrangement of the soup

First, the noodles are placed in a ramen bowl and the broth is poured over them, then the soup is garnished with the garnishes.

Ramen etiquette

In Japan, it is said that biting the noodles brings bad luck.

That is why the soup is slurped in Japan.

In Japan, it is also said that you should eat the noodles as soon as possible because the noodles taste best when warm.

In some Japanese restaurants, even talking while eating is prohibited.

In restaurants in Tokyo, you can’t hear anything except the slurping of diners. No animated conversation, as would be common in the Western world.

What else is there for Japanese noodle soups?

Another well-known Japanese noodle soup is udon, and there are also soba, yakisoba, somen, hiyamugi, shirataki and harusame.

What they all have in common are aromatic spices and meat or fish as an ingredient, but they are also a delight as vegetarian dishes.

This can be served with rice, but Asian soups like a good noodle soup are also very nutritious in their own right.

Udon are very thick wheat noodles that are often eaten in a hot broth with scallions. Other versions are available with fried tofu, meat, eggs and vegetables.

Soba noodles are buckwheat noodles served cold with seaweed, scallions and soy sauce or warm with tempura, duck and vegetables. Traditionally, soba noodles are eaten as a soup for the Japanese New Year.

Yakisoba are made from wheat and usually prepared with pork and mixed vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and onions in yakisoba sauce. The whole is finally covered with a combination of green seaweed powder, pickled ginger and mayonnaise.

Somen are very thin wheat noodles eaten in a cold or hot broth with tsuyu and ginger. Tsuyu is a sauce used as a dip, made from Japanese soy sauce, fish stock and sweet white wine.

Hiyamugi are wheat noodles that are slightly thinner than udon, but slightly thicker than somen, and are prepared with similar garnishes and broths.

Shirataki are made from devil’s claw, are very high in fiber and are used in many Japanese stews.

How are ramen different from other Asian noodle soups?

The answer is provided by the ingredients from which the pasta is made. This is only wheat flour, water and kansui.

The main difference is Kansui. It is a water particularly rich in potassium and sodium carbonate, which gives the pasta its yellow color and special taste. While it used to be extracted from mineral-rich sources, today it is mostly produced industrially.

Like many Asian noodle soups, ramen soup is very healthy and therefore best suited for a varied, low-calorie diet.

Our favorite recipe

There is an incredibly wide range of recipes with pork or chicken, vegetarian or vegan in endless variations.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Difference between udon and ramen noodles?

Unlike ramen, udon are among the traditional Japanese noodles, while ramen are often seen as Chinese noodles.

Udon are made of wheat flour and have a diameter of 2 to 4 mm, making them the thickest Japanese noodles.

They are white in color and unique in taste and texture, giving a gooey or gummy feeling in the mouth.

Udon noodles can be eaten in many different ways, but they are usually served in hot broth with soy or fish sauce, scallions and other vegetables.

Difference between soba noodles and ramen noodles?

Soba, unlike ramen and udon noodles, are brown because they are made from buckwheat.

They are usually eaten cold and served on a drainer, which is made of bamboo. This is served with tsuyu and various vegetables. But the Asian soup is also served hot in broth, often with tofu and egg.

The special thing about soba is that they are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve and, according to a myth, the long noodles promise a long life.

They are also gluten-free and, because of the buckwheat, lower in calories than pasta made from wheat flour.

There is a small difference between udon and soba: udon are eaten mainly in the north of Japan, soba more in the south.

What is a good Asian noodle soup?

Want to eat some good noodle soup and interested in Asian food? Do you like Asian vegetarian food or do you prefer Asian soup with chicken? Ever thought of an Asian soup, for example a Japanese noodle soup like ramen?

Ramen is a type of Japanese noodle made from wheat flour that can be purchased in Asian supermarkets or online in a variety of ways, whether fresh, pre-cooked, dried or as instant noodles. Like other Japanese noodles – among the most important besides ramen are udon and soba noodles – the Japanese like to eat them cold or hot, as a side dish with other dishes or just as a soup. Originally, ramen is a Chinese soup that found its way into Japanese cuisine in the 19th century and is now popular all over the world.

Japanese noodle soup made from ramen has the same name and differs depending on the broth used and the garnishes. The broth is made from chicken or pork meat or bones.

Probably the most common type of shoyu is dressed with a soy sauce, but there are other variations, such as ramen as miso soup (miso is a soybean paste). Miso soup is a Japanese national dish, main ingredients are miso and dashi, which is fish broth. Shio, on the other hand, is a salty version and is made from fish and seafood, while tonkotsu is made from cooking pork for hours.

Sides in the soup often include various types of meat and fish, eggs, and crunchy vegetables such as spring onions, bamboo shoots, and seaweed.
In Tokyo and throughout Japan, there are countless restaurants and snack bars that serve ramen (often exclusively) – and almost each and every one of them has its own ramen recipe. This also means that there are a variety of ramen in Japan and they all have different tastes.

What is the difference between ramen soup and pho soup?

Both are Asian soups, the main difference between them being their origin: Ramen originates from Japan, Pho is a traditional Vietnamese soup.

Pho soup is a rice noodle soup made with a clear broth and served with strips of beef, soybean sprouts and fresh herbs such as cilantro. The soup originates from northern Vietnam, but today it is a national dish and can be found on every street corner. It is a natural part of every Vietnamese breakfast. The beef is not a must, Pho soup vegetarian is also very tasty.

So the difference in the (traditional) preparation of the two soups is mainly the broth used: while Pho soup is mostly made of beef broth, Japanese soup is made of pork or chicken. Pho is also based on rice noodles, while ramen is based on wheat or, more rarely, egg noodles.

What kind of non-Japanese Asian soups are there?

In addition to the Japanese soups listed, there are many other Asian soups such as Thai soups – usually Thai noodle soup, a spicy soup – and Chinese soups (for example, Chinese noodle soup with red braised beef). Here, too, the most important ingredients are aromatic spices and meat, fish, tofu and/or vegetables as an ingredient.

Pak Choi soup, for example, is a traditional China soup consisting of the vegetable Pak Choi and often chicken and udon noodles.

Thai soup with coconut milk is another Asian soup variation that is now also popular in Europe and the USA. Called Tom Ka Ga or Thom Ga, it is a noodle soup recipe. To prepare soups vegetarian is often used tofu and strong spices, for example, ginger plays a major role here.

Are there any Japanese glass noodles?

Harusame are Japanese glass noodles.

They are used in salads, stews or simply as a side dish.

A complex broth with lots of vegetables and pasta makes for an incredibly delicious dish!

Ramen soup The cult noodle soup from Japan

What is Japanese Ramen Soup?

Why do ramen soups taste so delicious?

Is the soup healthy?

How to make ramen noodles?

Ramen broth - The great secret

Ramen soups recipes

Supplements

Ramen etiquette

What else is there for Japanese noodle soups?

How are ramen different from other Asian noodle soups?

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Ramen soup
The cult noodle soup from Japan