The generation born in the 90s, the first generation to live there “Invasion of Japan” With countless anime and manga coming to Italy en masse, he saw on those pages and on TV that their idols were drinking liters and liters of soup that looked delicious and that no one had the pleasure of trying for a long time: ramenexquisite food that has been neglected in our country for a long time.
This food is symbolic and very important to the Japanese although relatively modern. Although this dish is no longer made in China, it is the only traditional Japanese dish that was imported from a completely different nation, China. What does ramen mean to Japanese? we asked the chef Hirohiko ShodaTV personality and great Japanese chef: “Actually ramen it’s not just food or just a type of recipe as many believe, there are more, single version, no recorded recipe. There are basic ingredients and preparations, but then everywhere in Japan, in every prefecture or city, every chef in every restaurant prepares their own dish. option, adds its touch, its mix, its mystery. Travel to Japan and you will understand what I mean, you won’t find the same ramen anywhere you go to taste it”.
The history of ramen
according to Hiroshi Osakithe president Nippon Ramen Association The first specialty restaurant was opened, which annually evaluates the best ramen in Japan Yokohama into 1910 and that the great popularity of the dish is due to the invention of instant noodles Momofuku Andovoted as The invention of the century in Japan a few years ago.
It is reasonable to think so ramen is actually Chinese and said he came to Japan in the late 19th century. According to Chief Hiro’s writing Washoku “defined in advance nankin oven, because Nanjing was the ancient name of China. After the Second World War, the Japanese began to call it Chinese stove and only in 1958 will the original Chinese term ramen be recognized and applied in Japan”. Until the 1960s, ramen was still considered a meal Chinese to eat in a restaurant. The aforementioned instant noodles were needed for the Japanese to enjoy this dish at home by adding only hot water. Since the 80s, with the spread of new Western cuisine in Japan, many have thought of exporting ramen beyond its borders, and thanks to manga and anime works, it has spread all over the world.
It’s an interesting situation Ivan Orkin in this regard, a Jewish American of Eastern European descent: began studying Japanese language and culture at university in the 1980s while working in a Japanese restaurant in New York. The overwhelming passion for this culture moved him to Dogan Gunesh, where he taught English as a teacher for 10 years. In 1990, he returned to his homeland and entered the university Culinary Institute of America, one of the most prestigious culinary schools in the United States, because he wants to become a chef. While finding work in important New York restaurants, he moves to Japan, his home. It opens in 2006 Ivan Ramen In Setagaya, a district of Tokyo, and never attracts press attention from all over the country: partly because the nation is still very closed today and the white American who makes ramen is very interesting, partly because actually his ramen is extraordinary. During his 5-year tenure, he won Japan’s most prestigious awards before returning to New York and starting his own business in his homeland, making Japanese culinary history.
Types of ramen
There are many types of ramen in Japan no real recipe. There are many typical regional variations. The main differences are in the noodles and broth, dashi.
Most noodles are made from wheat flour, salt, water, and kansui, a type of alkaline mineral water that essentially contains sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and sometimes a small amount of phosphoric acid. They can be thick, thin or even ribbon-like, straight or curled.
Soup, on the other hand, is chicken or pork broth with other ingredients such as kombu seaweed, katsuobushi (skipjack tuna flakes), niboshi (sardines), beef bones, shiitake mushrooms, and onions. Seasoned with whole salt, miso or soy sauce. These differences resulted in four distinct ramen categories.
1. Shoyu ramen
IS the “original” ramen: oldest, most traditional. This is the perfect ramen. The broth is based on chicken and soy sauce, slow cooked for up to six hours. It has a dark brown color due to the brothadd soy sauce and they are commonly used curly noodles more than smooth ones, but not always.
2. Shio ramen
name refers to salt because most of them are used for this type of ramen both fresh and dried seafood. is unique to the island Hokkaido, a region rich in seafood, is a very traditional and delicious ramen. The broth is not only made with chicken but with oodles oysters and shellfish. Dashi does paleclear, yellowish, noodles are usually flat.
3. Tonkotsu ramen
He was born Fukoprovides a city where pig farming is very important broth the owner based on pork. For its preparation, you need to cook the broth using half a pig’s trotters a full 12 hours. Unlike the other two, the liquid is beautiful thick and cloudy, almost white. There are noodles thin and straightthis ramen is often served with some pickled ginger.
4. Miso ramen
Let’s go back to Hokkaido, but let’s go Sapporo, the capital and northernmost island of Japan. IS state-of-the-art ramenHe wanted thanks to the intuition of a chef born in 1965 strengthen the miso. Today, it is one of the most typical Japanese products due to its intense taste. IS the richest ramenalso thanks to the noodles the thickest among the four species.
3. Tokyo ramen
As you can easily guess from the name, it is is a regional option, one of the most famous due to the importance of the city. Ramen you can taste Tokyo fatty, high-calorie, excessive godurioso. THE the noodles become thicker, dashi is flavored with soy, onion and chicken, as the latter forms the basis of this broth. The sliced pork sorry roundness on the plate, the egg intentionally left a little barzotte, because there is an amalgam between the heat of the dish and the ingredients and flavors. Nori is the crunchiest part of the seaweed dish: the “soaked” part emits very pleasant aromas in the brew, the outer part is tasty and can be eaten like a giant potato chip. If you want, you can also dip the seaweed and enjoy it all. A real treat.
Ramen in popular culture
Without much ado, the West has ramen son of manga and anime They have made a very important contribution to the development of knowledge about Japan outside the archipelago. For many, the only connection to that distant land was through lunchtime cartoons. Kim did not find this relationship enough, he moved to manga, and then back to cartoons, with him Studio Ghibli who shed a few tears with their enchanting stories.
Food is always very present in Japanese works, and it unites Italy and Japan. As sushi arrives in this country, Inspector Zenigata can be seen being burned with ramen on television. Lupine III then we saw Goku Wasting supplies in the Room of Soul and Time o Doraemon who brought the hot pot to his mouth with his round feet. There is even a manga titled Mrs. Koizumi loves Ramen noodles, still unknown in Italy, but very popular in Japan. Koizumi works in reverse compared to its predecessors (the first issue was in 2013): the girl is looking for the best ramen and faces various ups and downs to love “German ramen”, bringing European ingredients to the Rising Sun. This version has pork, bacon, and is topped with a bunch of sauerkraut. Unforgettable ramen Ponyo on the cliff2009 movie Miyazaki, a super clear soup base, with delicious oil droplets skimming the surface. A favorite of Japanese children, ham benefits from a little oil, green onions and a hard-boiled egg to round out the meal.
This symbolic we left the anime genre-defining ramen and the soup familiar to all fans at the end. Ichiraku Ramen in Naruto. The work takes its name from an ingredient in a typical dish, which says something. “Naruto” or narutomaki, is a white chewy substance with red / fuchsia honey often seen in ramen. The future seventh Hokage of the Leaf Village raised the concept itself, first with master Iruka and then Jiraiya. from eating In Japanese opera, it brings the tradition of the archipelago into homes around the world. Naruto ramen is a classic, hearty miso topped with pork chasu, soft and creamy hard-boiled egg, menma (lacto-fermented bamboo shoots), green onions, and of course, a piece of narutomaki.