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Ramen

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Ramen (ラーメン rāmen /ɺaːmeɴ/) is the Japanese name for a type of noodle or the soup dish containing these noodles, based on the Chinese noodle lamian (拉麵, lit. "pulled noodles"). Ramen is now manifested as a form of instant noodles and is prevalent in Japan, East Asia (including China and Korea), and North America. Ramen has been firmly integrated into the Japanese culinary landscape, and many regional variations exist.

File:Ramen-packet2.jpg
A typical packet of ramen
File:Ramen-inside.jpg
Contents of the packet
File:Ramen-prepared.jpg
The same ramen, prepared
This article discusses Japanese food. For other meanings, refer to Ramen (disambiguation).

Unlike contemporary ramen, the original Chinese lamian is believed to have been served with sauce. The Korean version, a spicy instant noodle, is spelled "ramyun" or "ramyeon", from Korean 라면.

In Japan, ramen as a fresh noodle dish is often sold in fast food-like shops with only a counter or at food stalls in highly frequented areas. Japanese also commonly make ramen at home, as it is an inexpensive and easily-prepared meal. There are also many restaurants specializing in ramen. Almost every locality or prefecture in Japan is known for its own distinctive variation of ramen. It is also readily available as "instant ramen" in supermarkets and convenience shops in Japan as in much of the rest of the world. Two well-known brands in the US are Maruchan and Nissin.

Despite some health concerns detailed below, instant ramen is a diet staple with college/university students and the less well-off due to its ease of preparation and extremely low cost—as of 2005, one packet could be bought for as little as 10-15 U.S. cents. Instant ramen is also very resistant to spoilage and can be easily prepared with boiling water, making it a favorite of backpackers and other travelers in conditions offering few technological conveniences.

Types of ramen

Within Japanese culture, a very wide variety of ramen exists; they differ from ___location to ___location even when they are sold under the same name. They can be categorized by the type of ingredients: noodle, soup, and topping.

Noodle

fresh ramen noodle

Most ramen noodle are made from four basic ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water, and Kansui (かんすい). Originally, Kansui was water from Lake Kan in Inner Mongolia that contains a high amount of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate as well as a small amount of phosphoric acid. It gives ramen a yellowish color and a particular flavor to the noodle. For a brief time after World War II, low quality kansui that was tainted or thinned with water was sold and kansui is now manufactured according to JAS standards. Ramen noodle may also be made with eggs instead of kansui. Some ramen noodles are made with neither eggs nor kansui.

Four different noodle types exist: dried ramen noodle (乾燥麺 kansōmen), fresh ramen noodle (生麺 namamen), steamed ramen noodle (蒸麺 mushimen), and instant ramen noodle (インスタントラーメン, insutanto rāmen). Dried ramen are often prepackaged and can be stored for a long time in a cool dry space. They can be used for ramen soup, fried yakisoba, hiyashisoba (cold noodles), etc. Fresh ramen may be packaged and it should be stored in a refrigerator and eaten as quickly as possible. They are often used in a ramen restaurant delivered fresh every morning. Steamed ramen noodle should be stored in a refrigerator as well. They lack koshi, or chewiness, and should only be used for yakisoba.

Ramen noodles may come in any shape and length. They may be fat, thin, or even ribbon-like, as well as straight or wrinkled. Thin and straight noodles are used in a ramen with thick soup as it catches less soup and thus taste would not be too salty or fatty. Wrinkled ramen noodle are used in a ramen with thinner soup as it catches more soup and taste would be full and well.

According to Nissin, there are five types of noodles according to their traditional methods. They are "handstretched noodle", "oiled and stick stretched noodle", "cut noodle", "pushed noodle", and "rice noodle".

Soup

Shōyu rāmen, a popular variety of Japanese ramen.

Ramen soup are generally divided into four flavors: miso, shio (salt), shōyu (soy sauce), and tonkotsu (pork broth). The shio, or salt flavor, is probably the oldest of four flavors and, like the Chinese maotan (毛湯), is a simple chicken broth. The tonkotsu flavor is similar to the Chinese paitan (白湯), and is a thick broth taken from boiling crushed pork bones for hours. The shōyu flavor is similar to salt flavor, but instead of chicken broth, the stock may be made from konbu (kelp), katsuobushi, and niboshi.

These are basic flavors and they may be even mixed together to make another flavor. Some of the ingredients commonly added to a soup are black pepper, butter, chilli pepper, five-spice powder, garlic, gochujang (from Korean cuisine), sake, vinegar, wine, etc. Popular ramen soup recipes are heavily guarded by many restaurants.

Toppings

A basic ramen can be topped with a boiled egg, menma (fermented and pickled young bamboo), naruto kamaboko, nori, spinach, and chashū (叉焼 or 焼豚). Chashū is originally a Chinese recipe of roasted pork, but slices of boiled pork are often used in ramen.

Anything can be put on top of ramen, and the name of a ramen is often determined by toppings. In most ramen, these toppings are added after boiling or frying so as to not change the flavor of the soup. Toppings include bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, beef, tuna, cabbage, chicken, corn, negi (green onion), shiitake, and wakame.

Many ramen restaurants also serve gyōza, fried rice, shumai, and similar Chinese-derived dishes. Customers frequently order one or another of these specialties together with ramen. Combinations such as ramen-rice (with white rice) are popular, too.

Related, although distinctly different, noodle dishes include Nagasaki champon and Okinawa soba. Both are made with a wheat flour noodle resembling ramen. Champon has a variety of food on top, with seafood being predominant. Okinawa soba typically has chunks of pork, in some cases marinated in awamori.

History of ramen

Ramen is a newcomer in Japanese cuisine; while Tokugawa Mitsukuni had reportedly eaten ramen in late 17th century, it was only during the Meiji period that ramen became widely known -- perhaps because, for most of its history, the Japanese diet did not include terrestrial meat; their diet consisted mostly of vegetables and seafood. Udon and soba, popular since their introduction in the Heian period, are served with fish-based broth. The introduction of American and European cuisine, which demanded increased production of meat products, played a large role in ramen becoming popular.

Even though it is a newcomer, it is unclear by whom, when or where "ramen" was introduced to Japan. The name "ramen" itself is a topic of debate. The generally accepted hypothesis is that "ramen" came from "拉麺" (lamian) and means "hand pulled noodles". A second hypothesis proposes "老麺" (laomian, old noodles) as the original form. Another theory suggests that it was "鹵麺" (Lümian) and Lümian is cooked in a thick, starchy sauce. There are also anecdotal origins: one story claims that the name was originally "Liumian" (柳麺) (literally Liu's noodle), with Liu being a (probably apocryphal) cook who popularised the dish.

Since the name "ramen" became popular only in the 1960s when instant ramen was invented, it is also claimed that the name "ramen" was popularized by the "instant ramen".

In the early Meiji period, "ramen" was called shina-soba (支那そば) (literally "Chinese soba"); while this is now archaic, the alternative term chūka-soba (中華そば, also meaning "Chinese soba", but more politically correct) remains relatively common. It was a popular dish in Yokohama's Chinatown. In 1900, restaurants that served Chinese cuisine from Canton and Shanghai sold ramen. This ramen was a simple dish with salt-flavored broth taken from pig bones using few toppings. The noodle was cut, instead of hand pulled. In 1899, Japan and China signed a new treaty that let both citizens move freely in each countries. Many Chinese pulled portable food stalls and sold ramen and gyōza dumplings, then called shina manju (支那饅頭), to workers. By the mid 1900s, these Chinese food stalls started using a type of a musical horn called charumera (チャルメラ) to advertise their presence. "Charumera" was often used to mean a ramen food stall. Ramen became a popular dish when going out to eat by the early Showa period.

After World War II, cheap imported flour from the US swept the market. At the same time, millions of Japanese troops has recently returned from China and continental East Asia. Many of them had become familiar with Chinese cuisine, and subsequently, set up Chinese restaurants all across Japan. Eating ramen, while popular, was still a special occasion that required going out. In 1958, instant noodles were invented. Credited to be the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th century in a Japanese poll, this let anyone, even the least-skilled, make a ramen by simply boiling for measured amount of time. Starting in the 1980s, ramen became a cultural icon of modern Japan and it was studied from many perspectives. At the same time, many local varieties of ramen hit the national market and ramen could be ordered by their local names.

Health concerns

Being a popular dish, ramen has often been criticized for its potential health risks. Some of these claims are justified, while others could be made against any diet which contains too much of a particular food.

A serving of ramen noodle is high in carbohydrates and low in vitamins and minerals, so eating a cup of instant ramen with only an egg as topping for every meal is not a wise choice. Adding a serving of boiled spinach or cabbage to ramen improves its nutritional value.

Ramen soup, especially that of instant ramen, contains a high amount of sodium. Ramen noodles themselves contain very little sodium so one can avoid drinking the soup if a low-sodium diet is recommended for health reasons. Many Japanese people also believe that ramen soup contains a high amount of fat and also that pre-fried fat from the noodles seeps into the soup. However, a typical serving of ramen, even when drinking all of the soup, has less food energy than a fast-food menu consisting of a hamburger, soda, and fries.

Some brands of instant ramen use hydrogenated vegetable fat (ie. trans fat), which is known to be harmful to the body.

The most recent controversy surrounds dioxin and other hormone-like substances that could theoretically be extracted from the packaging and glues used to pack the instant noodles. As hot water is added, it was reasoned that harmful substances could seep into the soup. After a series of studies were conducted, this concern was found to be baseless, unless the packaging was cooked in a pressure cooker for an extended period of time.

Ramen worldwide

Ramen has become a popular food in many parts of the world, though it has undergone changes in flavor to fit local tastes. In many countries, "ramen" always refers to "instant ramen" and not the fresh ramen noodle that is popular in Japan. Outside of Japan, China is the largest consumer of ramen and Indonesia ranks second.

In South Korea

South Korean ramen typically has a hot flavor, and only instant ramen is known. "Shin" (辛) (literally, "hot") is one of the most popular brands in Korea; Shin ramen have also become popular in China and the United States. The leading manufacturer of ramen in Korea is the Nong Shim company. They export many of their products to countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. In the 1960s, instant ramen was introduced to South Korea from Japan and its quick and easy preparation, as well as its cheap price, caught on. Most South Korean food stalls make instant ramen and add toppings for their customers. Instant ramen is often added to budaejjigae, a stew made with assorted ingredients.

In the United States

"American" ramen comes in a variety of flavors and is usually very mild, as opposed to traditional, Asian ramen, which is generally spicy and flavored with vegetables. Examples of more Asian-exclusive flavors include nori, miso and bean-curd, although larger, more diverse markets in the US may have these flavors as well.

American packaged ramen often contains an unusually high amount of MSG, and the noodles are often pre-fried in fat. A particular health concern is the amount of sodium in the flavoring—one packet usually contains in excess of 60% of the US Recommended Dietary Allowance. The noodles themselves are not particularly high in sodium, so health conscious individuals can either avoid drinking the broth, or make a more diluted version by using less of the flavoring packet contents.

Ramen in fiction

Ramen is nearly ubiquitous in Japanese literary depictions of contemporary life in Japan. In some works, depicting characters with traits relatively infrequent in actual Japanese society, well-known characters are described as liking ramen to the point that it alone forms the bulk of their diet to the exclusion of nearly all other foods. Japanese writers often include a comedy or horror subplot where their main characters go out to eat or cook ramen. Ramen is also used as the object of comedy in many anime and manga such as Naruto, with characters typically getting splashed over the head by a bowl of ramen, or stepping on a bowl of ramen and falling, often taking down another helpless person.

  • The manga Kinnikuman features a character called Ramenman, a Chinese stereotype wrestler, who specialises in Martial Arts. He was very popular that he had his own spin-off manga series.
  • Competition in the ramen restaurant business is at the center of the 1985 Japanese film Tampopo by director Juzo Itami. This humorous yet earnest film is anchored by the protagonists' search for the perfect ramen recipe. Although they continuously bicker over what constitutes the perfect ramen, they all agree people should want to eat it every day.
  • In the American gothic comic Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez, the protagonist, Nny, is the creator of a comic-within-a-comic called Happy Noodle Boy. Happy Noodle Boy, however, does not eat Ramen. (Remember the comic in which he eats plain air?)
  • Ramen appears in the game: Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, and is one of the best foods in the game. Ramen also appears in "Tales of Symphonia", but is not as good as in MGS.
  • Ramen is featured in the series Inuyasha, and is the favourite food of the title character, Inuyasha.
  • Ramen is also featured in the series Naruto, and is the favourite food of the main character, Uzumaki Naruto.
  • In the book Into Thin Air the characters made refrences to eating ramen packets on Mount Everest.

Ramen in American culture

Ramen is sometimes half-jokingly referred to as a staple food of the American college student. Ramen noodles in America are incredibly cheap for the amount of food they contain—generic packages can be bought for as little as 10 cents, and even noodles packed in a cup rarely cost more than 50 cents. There is a common urban legend in which a student contracts scurvy while on a ramen-only diet.

During the 2004 U.S. presidential election campaign, filmmaker Michael Moore visited colleges on his "Slacker Uprising Tour" and gave instant ramen and clean underwear to students who promised to vote. This resulted in a short-lived controversy, with the Republican Party accusing him of trying to buy votes.

Also, the parody religion of Pastafarians use the word Ramen to end their holy prayers.

Long-distance backpackers, often referred to as "thru-hikers", enjoy many variations on ramen, since it is lightweight and dense in food energy. A favorite on the Appalachian Trail is an admixture of ramen and instant potatoes.

See also

  • [2] (miso-ramen with a lot of sesame seeds)
  • [11] (mini cup instant-ramen. click photo)
  • [12] (many photos. making soup)
  • [13] (ordinary noodle for home cooking)
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