• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Time Travel Turtle

A travel blog with stories beyond the brochure

  • HOME
  • ABOUT ME
  • CONTACT ME
  • BY COUNTRY
    • WEST EUROPE
      • Belgium
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Liechtenstein
      • Luxembourg
      • Netherlands
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Switzerland
      • Wales
    • NORTH EUROPE
      • Estonia
      • Finland
      • Latvia
      • Lithuania
      • Norway
      • Sweden
    • SOUTH EUROPE
      • Cyprus
      • Gibraltar
      • Greece
      • Holy See
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Portugal
      • San Marino
      • Spain
    • EAST EUROPE
      • Austria
      • Belarus
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Hungary
      • Montenegro
      • Poland
      • Serbia
    • NORTH ASIA
      • China
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Kyrgyzstan
      • Mongolia
      • North Korea
      • Tajikistan
      • Uzbekistan
    • SOUTH ASIA
      • Cambodia
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Myanmar
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Sri Lanka
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • NORTH AMERICA
      • Antigua & Barbuda
      • Belize
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • USA
    • SOUTH AMERICA
      • Argentina
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
    • AFRICA
      • Egypt
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
    • OCEANIA
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • MIDDLE EAST
      • Jordan
      • Turkey
  • MOST POPULAR
    • The world’s oldest backpacker
    • Orangutans in Borneo
    • The need for speed
    • Trying to get out of the slum
    • The lake swamped with tourism
    • Journey into Dreamland
    • The village where life begins again
    • Is Cambodia safe for travellers?
    • Making the perfect gin and tonic
  • UNESCO

Ramen: 30 Days of Japanese Food

December 2, 2018 | Michael Turtle | 8 Comments

JAPANESE FOOD

Day 2: Ramen

Ramen has become synonymous with Japanese noodles – which is odd considering they are actually Chinese noodles and Japan has plenty of its own traditional types. But somewhere in the twentieth century, Ramen took hold of the country and wrapped its slippery and floury strands around Japan and the people have never looked back.

Ramen is best described as a big bowl of steaming broth, filled with noodles and a few meat and vegetable toppings. There are lots of variations of each of those elements, though, which is perhaps one of the reasons the dish has become so popular. There are little ramen bars and restaurants on corners all across the country but each has its own special techniques.

ramen, japanese food, japanese cuisine, japanese dishes, noodle meals

It’s not quite clear exactly when or how the Chinese noodles made their way to Japan or why they became known as ‘ramen’. But the Japanese still spell the word using special characters reserved only for foreign languages, reminding everyone constantly that it is not originally a local dish.

What separates it from the Japanese varieties is the way the noodles are made – with wheat, flour, salt, water and a special alkaline mineral water called ‘kansui’.

ramen, japanese food, japanese cuisine, japanese dishes, noodle meals

There are then four types of broth commonly used: A salty clear one which is the most common, a creamy one which comes from boiling pork bones and fat for a long time, a brownish one with lots of soy sauce, and one based on miso.

For my meal, in a traditional little restaurant in the Meguro area of Tokyo, I chose the creamy broth called ‘tonkotsu’. The toppings that came with the dish were the pretty standard ones – sliced pork, onions and seaweed.

ramen, japanese food, japanese cuisine, japanese dishes, noodle meals

As you might expect, it’s a slightly messy meal but slurping is accepted (if not expected!). You use your chopsticks to eat the noodles and the toppings and then there’s a spoon to drink as much of the broth as you like.

Plenty of condiments are also available if you would like to make it spicier, add some more soy and crush some garlic in.

ramen, japanese food, japanese cuisine, japanese dishes, noodle meals

ramen, japanese food, japanese cuisine, japanese dishes, noodle meals

My lunch cost 980 yen (US$10.40) as part of a set with some gyoza dumplings, rice and pork slice. It would have been about 100 yen less without the set. And there are plenty of ramen place that are cheaper – this was quite a nice one.

>> You can check out the whole list of Japanese food dishes here <<

Reader Interactions

    Comments Cancel reply

  1. Bryce |

    April 2, 2013 at 10:48 pm

    Reply

    Yeh Ramen!

    • Michael Turtle |

      April 16, 2013 at 9:12 pm

      Reply

      My sentiments exactly! 😉

  2. zoomingjapan |

    April 3, 2013 at 8:25 pm

    Reply

    I like ramen, but I prefer udon and soba to be honest!
    It’s a great dish to eat in winter. I’m not a fan of hot soups in summer. It’s already hot and humid enough.
    Soba can be eaten cold, ramen can’t. At least I don’t know of any cold ramen dish.

    • Michael Turtle |

      April 16, 2013 at 9:19 pm

      Reply

      I can’t quite decide which of the noodles I like best. I’ve probably eaten more ramen than anything but the best bowl I had was udon. Don’t make me choose!!! 🙂

  3. Tamara (@Turtlestravel) |

    April 8, 2013 at 1:34 am

    Reply

    Did you make it to the Ramen museum in Yokohama? http://www.raumen.co.jp/ramen/

    • Michael Turtle |

      April 16, 2013 at 10:35 pm

      Reply

      I have been now! It was really cool… not much a a museum but the old school setup is pretty well done and it was a great place for lunch. I’ll have to write about it at some point.

      • Tamara (@Turtlestravel) |

        April 17, 2013 at 12:34 am

        Reply

        You should…I just looked back and saw I never wrote anything up on it either…so many things in that category!

  4. Juan Ovalle |

    August 27, 2018 at 9:19 pm

    Reply

    Love ramen! Would line up for Ichi Ran any day!

Primary Sidebar

This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.

Want Occasional Updates?

Sign up to be the first to hear the latest about the adventures of Time Travel Turtle. You'll also get access to special offers and exclusive news.
Thank you! You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter.

Search

  • PRIVACY POLICY