Ramen is a national obsession in Japan,with each area of the country declaring their style is the best .Ramen almost always contains a stock that has been prepared hours,sometimes days before hand.Different ingredients can be added to the broth leading to an inexhaustible variety of different types of ramen.while each area of Japan has their particular style-the variety of what can go into the dish means that individual shops all have their own unique and closely guarded ramen recipes .
Each bowl of ramen differs in saltiness, richness, flavour and texture- and with a dish open to so much modification,it also is popular in fusion cooking where other Asian flavours like Thai, Malay and Korean add their own twist.
The fun with making ramen at home is that you can experiment with wealth of ingredients to create the perfect bowl of noodles to suit you .
Types of Ramen .
Ramen dishes are traditionally divided into four categories. They are soy sauce,salt,miso and tonkostu. The classification is a little confusing as the first three refer to how the broth is seasoned-the salt component or ‘rare’-whereas the fourth, tonkotsu,is more about how the broth is made.
However, there is much more to each bowl of ramen then the headline ingredients or style.within each ramen broth there will be anything from Japanese wine , vinegar, dried fish , dried vegetables, kombu to spices and fats -as well as blending several types of rare.And that’s before any variation in noodles or topping.
Shio/salt
This type of rramen is a light-tasting,pale and translucent broth where chicken,fish ,seafood and vegetables are often added.it is the oldest category of ramen .
Shoyu/soy sauce
Soy sauce flavouredchicken broth is the classic ramen style in tokyo.The broth is a little richer then shio ramen and will often be served with thin and wavy ramen noodles.
Miso
This type of ramen has an unami-richness from stirring in a miso paste.Miso ramen can withstand robust flavours,so spicybean paste is a great addition.it stands up well to thick and chewy ramen noodles.
Tonkotsu
This is the heaviest style of ramen .A lip-sticking gelatine rich broth is made from boiling pork and other animal bones.The broth appears white or cloudy because the bones are moved around in the pan during cooking-either with a ladle,or by cooking at a rolling boil.its a very robust dish for the morning after the night before!The queues at tonkotsu ramen joints can be very long on a sunday morning.