Ramen Noodles (2004-10-21)
Ramen (noodles in soup) is so popular here that it has become a food culture of Japan. There are ramen shops on just about every street in Tokyo. There are also small huts inside train stations that have no chairs and require patrons to stand up while they eat their ramen. There is even a museum in Yokohama showing the history of ramen with several ramen stands inside. We went there once but turned back at the door because the line of people waiting to go in was just too long.
The essence of a good bowl of ramen is in the soup. It often
takes hours to make the stock by boiling pork bones, vegetables and
sometimes dried seafood. Typical toppings for ramen include two
thin slices of pork, chopped green onions, a small sheet of seaweed,
cooked bamboo shoots and half a hard-boiled egg. When a bowl of
ramen is served, one should first have a sip of the hot soup to enjoy
the hard work of the chef poured into making the stock. Then
comes the slurping of the noodles while drinking more of the
soup. Nothing compliments the chef more than when you can finish
the whole thing, soup and all.
Of all the ramen restaurants I have visited, the one in Kichijoji (
)
serves the best-tasting ramen. The noodles are my preferred
skinny kind and the soup is a rich milky broth probably made from
simmering tons of pork bones. Besides the standard pork slices
and green onions that come with the noodles, there are all-you-can-eat
extra toppings on the tables for diners to help themselves. Makes
me want a bowl now...
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