What about instant ramen? While it's not entirely a fair comparison to freshly made ones, the Japs have certainly pioneered and mastered the skill of churning out instant ramen that has "fresh" pork/seafood in it. Personally, I prefer the dry soba to the soupy ones.
A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
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Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#42While this is a pretty epic listing (well done!), it's still not even close to complete. My personal pet peeve omission is Okinawa soba, which despite the name is very much in the ramen family: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_soba And if the god of ramen is Hakata-style tonkotsu, its temple is Ichiran: http://blog.gaijinpot.com/ichiran-ramen-without-word/ And while it's a tourist trap, Yokohama's Ramen Museum is…
There's also the momofuku instant ramen museum in Ikeda, (Osaka) where you can design and create your own instant cup ramen. Loads of tourists and local families with kids, but worth visiting if you have 2 hours to kill.
Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's pretty rare, and most so in the more traditional places. Even if there's no meat in the ramen, the broth is generally pork (occasionally chicken) based.
Funny story time: in my late and unlamented career as a translator, I was attached to a pair of US artists visiting Gifu's international arts and crafts fair. Both were vegans and expressed a desire to have vegan ramen. I explained this to the ramen shop proprietor. He came out with a bowl of ramen with chashu (pork) on top of it. When I pointed out that pork does in fact count as a meat product, he plucked it off wi…
Haha, the real question is, did they notice the difference? Or did they just say, "Damn, that was the best vegetable broth I've ever had!"
Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#44What about instant ramen? While it's not entirely a fair comparison to freshly made ones, the Japs have certainly pioneered and mastered the skill of churning out instant ramen that has "fresh" pork/seafood in it. Personally, I prefer the dry soba to the soupy ones.
> the Japs
In the United States, "Jap" is an ethnic slur. You might want to use another word.
Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#45I'm a bit saddened that we don't seem to have too many of these kinds of "multiple ingredient, endless variation" style foods here in the US. Most regional fare (pizza, BBQ) is comparatively simple. Or is it just me?
There are quite a few variations in regional pizza styles.
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2008/01/a-list-of-regi...
Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#46Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#47I really want to try ramen, but i don't like meat. Is there any Vegetarian friendly ramen?
While this is the "wrong" season for it (unless you are in the southern hemisphere) - you might want to try to cook a "nabe"[1] at home.
It's a brilliant, simple dish -- and typical for Japanese cuisine it can be magnificent in its simplicity if you are careful when selecting what to put in.
I would personally prefer some beef, fish, shell fish ... but there's nothing really inherent in the dish that dictates one need it. You'll need to amass things that in aggregate makes for a good broth -- and vegetables certainly can do that.
[ed: Ah, I was a bit quick googling. The recipe is great for the first part of the nabe -- but it doesn't mention that one way to end the whole thing, is, when all the other ingredients have been eaten, and have left their taste in the broth: Add ramen - and eat with the broth.]
[1] http://www.thekitchn.com/cooking-japanese-nabemono-106649
Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, Ramen is really tasty, but obviously it is junk food. Really nice as a threat, but no one with common sense would eat Ramen on a daily basis. Same way, no one with common sense would eat hamburger and french fries every day.
> obviously it is junk food Doesn't that depends on how you prepare ramen ? For me ramen are just noodles, the "junkyness" really depends on what you eat them with. Could you make the same argument for spaghettis ?
I ate quite a lot of Ramen. Some of them, quite delicious... but never a Ramen that I would consider healthy. All the Ramen I ever tasted were too salty and too greasy. Also, unlike most Japanese meals, Ramen is served as a main dish only, without any vegetables on the side. So your meal will consist mainly in white flour, salt and fat.
Spaghetti are almost entirely carbohydrates. This is not good or bad, you just need to combine with other foods to make a balanced meal.
Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Funny story time: in my late and unlamented career as a translator, I was attached to a pair of US artists visiting Gifu's international arts and crafts fair. Both were vegans and expressed a desire to have vegan ramen. I explained this to the ramen shop proprietor. He came out with a bowl of ramen with chashu (pork) on top of it. When I pointed out that pork does in fact count as a meat product, he plucked it off wi…
Haha, the real question is, did they notice the difference? Or did they just say, "Damn, that was the best vegetable broth I've ever had!"
We ate elsewhere, after a round of apologies to all concerned.
Re: A Guide to the Regional Ramen of Japan
#50What about instant ramen? While it's not entirely a fair comparison to freshly made ones, the Japs have certainly pioneered and mastered the skill of churning out instant ramen that has "fresh" pork/seafood in it. Personally, I prefer the dry soba to the soupy ones.
> the Japs In the United States, "Jap" is an ethnic slur. You might want to use another word.
Wasn't aware of that, my bad. In Singapore (where I'm from) it doesn't have any negative connotation.