Ramen Hero

Welcome to Ramen 101, an ongoing series that lays out everything you need to know about ramen to go from instant-only experience to full-fledged expert.What is Umami? For starters, it’s a word that...

<p><em>Welcome to <a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/tagged/ramen-101" title="Ramen Hero Ramen 101">Ramen 101</a>, an ongoing series that lays out everything you need to know about ramen to go from instant-only experience to full-fledged expert.</em><br><br>What is Umami? <br><br>For starters, it’s a word that any food lover needs to not only know but understand, and a word that’s absolutely essential to any ramen lovers’ slurping experience. <br><br>At its core, Umami is one of the five basic tastes: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and Umami (also known as savory). It’s a deep, often subtle taste that provokes a satisfied feeling, and it’s undeniably delicious. In fact, “Umami” roughly translates to “deliciousness” in Japanese. <br><br>Because Umami is rarely used alone it is can be difficult to consciously recognize, but your body recognizes it immediately because the Umami taste is triggered by the presence of glutamate, an essential nutrient your body is hardwired to seek out to promote digestion and the sense of fullness.<br><br>Consciously recognizing Umami can be easily learned though, and one key to recognizing it is that it lasts longer on the tongue than other basic tastes. For example, take a tomato in your mouth and swallow it after chewing about 30 times. That taste you’ll feel on your tongue even as the sourness and sweetness fades? That’s Umami.<br><br>Turning to ramen, the birth and evolution of ramen in Japan is deeply associated with Umami. For example, the basic Japanese soup stock, dashi, is made from kelp that’s rich in glutamic acid and dried bonito flakes that are rich in inosinic acid. Throughout the decades chefs have discovered that combining the two has a synergistic effect that amplifies the Umami taste several fold. </p>
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<p><img src="//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1789/1725/files/ramenhero_umami_grande.jpg?v=1588624226" alt="Kelp rich in umami" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></p>
<br>From soy sauce to pork bones and well beyond, over time ramen has evolved to contain complex combinations of these Umami-containing elements, so whether you know it or not, it’s Umami you’re reacting to when you slurp down a great bowl. Any great ramen chef is obsessed with bringing out as much Umami flavor in their dishes as possible, and a particularly Umami-filled bowl will inspire a ramen lover to travel for miles to taste it. <br><br>We should pause here for a moment to acknowledge MSG (Monosodium glutamate). The relationship between ramen and Umami is closely related to chemical food additives such as Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), and many ramen shops add MSG to their soups because it help give their ramen a consistent taste even when the quality of the ramen bowls vary.<br><br>While MSG can be one way for ramen shops to attempt to achieve that “deliciousness,” when artificial ingredients like MSG are consumed they can knock our taste preferences out of whack and cover up the complexity of great food. At Ramen Hero we don’t use MSG because we know that we can achieve a full, rich Umami flavor through natural ingredients, and we want all our customers to have the experience of tasting unadulterated, nutrient-rich Umami without additives. <br><br>The reason we rolled out a new recipe for our <a href="https://ramenhero.com/products/totally-tonkotsu-pack-4" title="Classic Tonkotsu">Classic Tonkotsu ramen</a> is because we figured out a way to extract even more Umami from the pork bones, and it took us months to perfect our <a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/ramen-hero-new-vegan-flavors" title="Ramen Hero vegan ramen">new vegan flavors</a> because we wouldn’t release it until we were confident we had discovered how to bring out all the natural Umami flavors of any of the best ramen using entirely vegetable-based ingredients.<br><br>
<center><img src="//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1789/1725/files/ramenhero_classic-totally_tonkotsu_blog_grande.jpg?v=1586819723" alt="Ramen Hero Classic Tonkotsu"></center>
<br>Hopefully after even just this quick read you’ve got a better intellectual understanding of what Umami means and why it matters for food lovers, but Umami really has to be tasted to be understood. <br><br>We invite you to dive into the world Umami headfirst through <a href="https://ramenhero.com/products" title="Shop now">one of our ramen kits,</a> and keep an eye out for our next <a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/tagged/ramen-101" title="Ramen Hero Ramen 101">Ramen 101</a> article, where we’ll roll through a brief history of ramen’s origins. In the meantime, happy slurping!
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What does "Umami" mean?

Welcome to Ramen 101, an ongoing series that lays out everything you need to know about ramen to go from instant-only experience to full-fledged expert.Honkaku. Just stare at that word for a bit. R...

<em>Welcome to <a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/tagged/ramen-101" title="Ramen 101, Ramen Education">Ramen 101</a>, an ongoing series that lays out everything you need to know about ramen to go from instant-only experience to full-fledged expert.</em><br><br>Honkaku. <br><br>Just stare at that word for a bit. Really take it in. It’s about to change your life - or at least the way you eat ramen. <br><br>Honkaku is a common word in Japan that will become more common in the US as ramen becomes more popular, which means after reading this post you’ll officially be ahead of the curve.<br><br>So without further ado, what does Honkaku mean? <br><br>To start, Honkaku is most commonly translated as “authentic,” and you might also see translations like “fundamental,” “genuine,” or “original.” <br><br>But while those are all essentially accurate definitions, they don’t really capture the spirit of the Honkaku, and that spirit is essential. Honkaku isn’t just a word, it’s an ethos, a way of living and working that carries a commitment to always doing your very best without compromises or shortcuts. <br><br>
<div><img src="//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1789/1725/files/honkaku-ramen-meaning-ramen-hero-blog_large.jpg?v=1586207209" alt="Ramen Hero Honkaku ramen" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></div>
                               
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Photo by Caroline Attwood</em></div>
<br><br>Here, maybe it will help to use some real world examples. <br><br>
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<li>Lebron James is already one of the greatest players ever, but he’s still obsessed with his health and constantly works on improving so he can give the sport he loves his all. That’s Honkaku.</li>
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<li>The painter Yves Klein devoted much of his work solely to color, spending years painstakingly creating exactly the precise shade of blue he envisioned. That’s Honkaku.</li>
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<li>Prince played 27 instruments on his debut album, For You, so he could ensure every note sounded perfect. That’s Honkaku.</li>
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<li>The way your mom cooks her famous apple pie when you visit for the holidays. The way an expectant parent carefully folds the baby’s clothes in preparation. The way we slow cook each batch of ramen broth for 12 hours. Everything done with that uncompromising sense of dedication and care is Honkaku.</li>
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<br><br>Honkaku isn’t inaccessible or elitist, anyone can be Honkaku - if they’re willing to put the work in. After all, Honkaku is about more than just the result, it’s about the process; although the best results tend to come from the most uncompromising processes. <br><br> Honkaku is also a guiding principle for Ramen Hero. It determines the way we make our ramen, the way we treat our employees, and the impact we strive to have on the world. Every noodle, every topping, even <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ramen.hero/?hl=en" target="_blank" title="Ramen Hero Instagram" rel="noopener noreferrer">every picture we post</a>, we’re constantly striving to be as Honkaku as possible at all times. Most importantly, we invite you to join the movement. The only thing you need to start is to find your inner Honkaku and let it shine.<br><br>
<p>We hope that gave you a solid foundation in all things Honkaku. Stay tuned for our next <a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/tagged/ramen-101" title="Ramen 101, Ramen education">Ramen 101</a> post where we’ll go deep on what specifically makes ramen Honkaku, or not. Until then, happy slurping!</p>

Ramen 101: What does Honkaku mean?

If someone asks you this question, what would be your answer? Would you anwer tonkotsu, shoyu, or miso ramen? First off, what is the definition of tonkotsu ramen or miso ramen? For the most part, a...

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<div dir="auto">If someone asks you this question, what would be your answer?</div>
<div dir="auto">Would you anwer tonkotsu, shoyu, or miso ramen?</div>
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<div dir="auto">First off, what is the definition of tonkotsu ramen or miso ramen? For the most part, a bowl of ramen is made by adding the sauce that is the base of the flavor into the bowl and then adding the soup, completing the dish with noodles and toppings. Tonkotsu ramen is a ramen made with tonkotsu (pork bone) broth, which means it takes the name from the soup's ingredients. Shoyu ramen on the other hand, is named after the ingredients used which is shoyu (soy sauce) flavored sauce.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Shoyu, miso, and shio ramen all are named after the ingredients of the flavor, and tonkotsu and tori paitan ramen are named after the soup. Therefore, if a shoyu flavor sauce is used with any kind of soup it will end up as shoyu ramen, and if tonkotsu soup was used it would end up as tonkotsu ramen despite any kind of sauce being used.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Shoyu ramen has variety of ingredients for its soup, including but not limited to chicken, tonkotsu, niboshi (dried sardine), dried bonito, and vegetable which all contribute to different tastes. There are tonkotsu soup based shoyu ramen filled with rich pork fat and shoyu ramen with lighter broth made only with dried sardines. </div>
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<div dir="auto">Additionally, Japan has different kinds of ramen depending on the area, thus creating the name of the ramen. If you're one of the ramen fanatics, Hakata ramen, Sapporo ramen, Kitakata ramen may ring a bell. Hakata ramen consists of tonkotsu soup with thin noodles that have low water content. Sapporo ramen is made by first grilling vegetable and ground meat in a pot, and then soup is added for a fragrant finish. Miso ramen is from Sapporo but Sapporo ramen originally came from shoyu ramen. Kitakata ramen has flat noodles with high water content which definitely gives the noodles a chewy and slurpy texture. </div>
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<div dir="auto">So back to the original question of what ramen is your favorite, can be extremely difficult to answer. Simply answering as shoyu ramen or tonkotsu ramen cannot specify what kind of ramen you're talking about. Personally I would answer as the following:</div>
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<div dir="auto">"A shoyu ramen which consists of chicken based soup with seafood dashi (broth) added from bonito and sardine flakes. Paired with noodles that are rather high in water content with chewy texture. I like to enjoy the flavor-fulness the broth of the ramen."</div>
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<div dir="auto">"A rich tonkotsu ramen without the distinct smell. I prefer thin noodles with low water content, which can be boiled soft enough to enjoy the mixture with the soup."</div>
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<div dir="auto">Such ways to describe your preference in ramen is rather specific. In other words, ramen is so complex that you have to give specific details in explaining the exact image of what you are describing.</div>
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<div dir="auto">In Japan, the amount of information on ramen surpass any other dishes. There are many ramen critics in Japan and publications related to ramen is everywhere. "Ramen Walker" is a guide book dedicated specifically to ramen. It divides Japan into 15 areas, with each area having an individual guide book that are published annually. This shows how diverse ramen can be and furthermore, how it is constantly evolving. Ramen otaku, or ramen fanatics upload the latest information on ramen via SNS or blog on a daily basis. They definitely play a vital role, as the information on ramen spreads so quickly that mainstream media like magazines and TV are not being able to keep up with it.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Ramen was able to evolve in Japan at an exceptional rate thanks to the ramen fanatics, and the movement has been spreading to rest of the world with US being no exception. When more people have deeper knowledge of ramen and more talk about it, the rate of the ramen evolving would definitely accelerate, just like the way it happened in Japan.</div>
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It's difficult to answer the question, "What is your favorite ramen?"

When dining at a steakhouse, how well do you like your steak to be cooked? Juicy, blood-dripping rare or fragrantly cooked well-done, or medium rare. It feels like the level of deliciousness increa...

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<div dir="auto">When dining at a steakhouse, how well do you like your steak to be cooked? Juicy, blood-dripping rare or fragrantly cooked well-done, or medium rare. It feels like the level of deliciousness increases by cooking the meat to your desired doneness. Not many cooking gives this option to select the doneness when ordering. </div>
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<div dir="auto">For ramen, there are places you can choose the hardness of the noodles when cooked. This method of adjusting the hardness of noodle is based on the time being cooked, and it’s rare to find noodle dishes that lets you control its hardness depending on the cooking time. Some of the ramen with this method includes Tonkotsu ramen in northern Kyushu Hakata, and Iekei ramen from Yokohama not too far away from Tokyo.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Hakata ramen uses Tonkotsu soup with thin noodles that are low in water content. Hakata ramen has many kinds of hardness of noodles. For hard noodles, there are katame (hard), Bari-kata (Bari meaning very), Harigane (meaning hard wire, hard like a wire), Konaotoshi (meaning cooking for a very short time to cook off the kona, or the powder of the noodles) and Yugedoshi (to just let the noodles go through yuge or the steam only).</div>
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<div dir="auto">For Iekei ramen you can choose the hardness of the noodles, richness of the soup, and amount of oil. Usually referred as Tonkotsu Shoyu ramen (broth from pork and shoyu) but their soup usually has chicken bone broth as well. Iekei ramen has the broth paired with flat noodles, Shoyu sauce, and chicken oil.</div>
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<div dir="auto">On the other end, there are ramen creators that are particular to their creations. They use the hardness of noodles and flavorful-ness that are considered to be the best by its creators. Usually it’s not possible to customize the taste for these kind of ramen. Many of the places that serve these ramen are more exquisite in taste. Too much cooking can cause the soup to mix with the powder from the noodles to be cloudy, and too much sauce and oil can diminish the umami and fragrance of the refined soup. </div>
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<div dir="auto">Personally there should be a right amount of cooking time for the noodles. The deliciousness of the noodles are brought out by the core of the noodles being present or lack thereof. Also if the noodles are undercooked it could cause problem for digesting because humans cannot digest the starch from raw flour. </div>
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<div dir="auto">But it’s true that the bowl of ramen you customized will be a special bowl. Because people have different taste buds, it doesn’t necessarily mean the creators always come up with the ideal taste for the consumers. Also since you’re adding the customization it means a lot to you that you were part of the creation. For anyone, making your own creation means giving a sense of affection. It goes without saying that it elevates the deliciousness by choosing the ideal hardness of noodles and thickness of the soup along with adding your favorite topping.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Either way, enjoying your bowl of ramen depends on how the person want it. However as an input, the delicate taste of Shio ramen or Shoyu ramen with chicken and seafood based soup should be paired with fully cooked noodles. This way, fragrance of the soup could be enjoyed at its full extent. To pair with hard noodles should be flavor-rich Tonkotsu ramen. Usually the powder of the noodles mixes with the soup but the rich soup will overcome the mixing.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Ramen Hero has different kinds of soup and noodles to go along with each other. As you refer to <a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/boiling-method-for-delicious-noodles">the previous article of how to cook the noodles</a> with right amount of time, enjoy finding your preference of hardness. In that process of enjoyment it definitely will reconsider they way you think what it means to have a delicious ramen when dining at a ramen restaurant. </div>
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How firm would you like your noodles?

There are two moments one can taste deliciousness. Former comes from feeling at ease with the familiarity of its taste, and latter with surprises and excitement from the unpredictable taste. There ...

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are two moments one can taste deliciousness. Former comes from feeling at ease with the familiarity of its taste, and latter with surprises and excitement from the unpredictable taste.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is no doubt that these two types of sense of deliciousness were so exquisite to Japanese people that it spread the ramen culture quickly throughout Japan.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Needless to say the main components of ramen are noodles and the soup. Originally Japan had its noodle culture with soba (buckwheat noodle) and udon. Pasta being one of the popular Italian dishes in Japan could be explained from the noodle culture inherent in Japan. Umami-rich soup is also familiar to Japanese people with dashi culture. Also, pork bones and chicken ribs that were not mainstream back then, have been added in the soup to complete the familiar-meets-unpredictable taste of ramen. And because of this exquisite balance, ramen has then become one of the most popular food. Having the familiarity of the taste as the basis is the reason why it has become the staple of Japanese food.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The process during development of ramen in Japan was filled with surprises from unpredictable taste. Many kinds of ramen have originated in different parts of Japan which gradually spread to other areas. It must have been a shocking sensation when one who has been eating mild soy all life tried rich Tonkotsu ramen and flavor-filled miso ramen for the first time.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not only the consumers were surprised but also ramen creators were moved from the possibility that can arise from unpredictability of taste which led to the creation of new types of ramen one after another. With only 100 years since it’s birth, ramen could be said that it has no tradition, yet this is the reason why creating new ramen was possible.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Modern day Japan is the powerhouse of innovative ramen. Michelin star ramen was made possible because ramen became a specialty dish in moving people and not just an ordinary meal.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But how is it within the US? Perhaps ramen plays a huge role in recognizing the concept of “umami.” With that being said, ramen must have been the food to initiate surprises and shocking sensations from unpredictability of its taste to start with.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In contrast to ramen in Japan, the preconceptions of ramen being an inexpensive meal is not too prevalent in the US. This creates a greater opportunity to develop ramen  as a meal. A bowl of ramen in Japan typically costs $5-$9 which limits the ingredients that can be used. However in the states there should be no such limit, and creating a bowl of ramen with unpredictable methods and unimaginable ingredients is possible, needless to say resulting in a flavor full of surprises in its final product.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beyond any doubt Ramen Hero continuously strives to research in creating a ramen that’s never seen in history. One of the goals of Ramen Hero is to create a ramen that impacts people all over the US and furthermore around the world.</span></p>

Familiar taste and unpredictable taste

What makes ramen delicious? Depending on who you ask, you will get many different answers based on personal preferences. However, we can safely say that delicious ramen is one with an abundance of ...

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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What makes ramen delicious? Depending on who you ask, you will get many different answers based on personal preferences. However, we can safely say that delicious ramen is one with an abundance of umami. But what exactly is “umami”?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Umami is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. With the discovery of glutamate receptors in human taste buds, umami was identified as a distinct taste sensation. It’s also been discovered that the stomach has glutamate receptors connecting them to promote digestion and the sense of fullness.  People can recognize umami when they consume these proteins due to the abundance of glutamate (amino acid). It can be said that we instinctively notice the presence of this essential nutrient.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The birth and evolution of ramen in Japan developed with umami deeply associated in the food culture. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">A typical example of umami is the basic Japanese soup stock, Dashi, which is made of kelp rich in glutamic acid and dried bonito rich in inosinic acid. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ramen has also evolved as a combination of these umami-containing elements. Such as Shoyu (soy sauce) and kombu which contain glutamic acid while inosinate acid is found in tonkotsu soup and dried bonito flakes.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The relationship between ramen and umami is closely related to chemical food additives such as Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). There are numerous ramen shops that add small amounts of MSG as an ingredient to their soups. The quality of ingredients used in soups is not consistent so the taste inevitably changes. Therefore, by adding small amounts of MSG, shops can compensate for changes in taste or umami. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, some shops have "delicious" food by adding a large amount of MSG to their soup made at a low price. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the World Health Organization</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (WHO) </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">there is no evidence of health hazards related to the consumption of MSG</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, leaving ramen shops to continue to add it to their soup so it becomes "delicious" </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">without regard to the flavor of ingredients or the nutrition.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It has become quite common to add food additives like MSG in food preparation and their existence has surely made our lives more convenient.  But once the tongue and taste sensations get used to the flavor of these additives, some people find they no longer enjoy the food that doesn’t contain them.  They feel as if the food made with natural ingredients is bland with no taste.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was originally thought that </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">the food we craved instinctively was</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> delicious. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">In other words, what the body considered as necessary nutrition did, in fact, taste good. When artificial ingredients like MSG trick our taste buds and are consumed more than necessary, it is entirely possible that these additives knock our senses out of whack.</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"> <em>Ramen Jiro's famous Jiro-style ramen</em> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are those that believe that ramen is just a guilty pleasure and love it that way. In Japan, a good example of this type of ramen is called Ramen Jiro. The distinctive feature of Ramen Jiro is its rich pork tasting soup which contains a large amount of soy sauce and MSG. Heaps of bean sprouts, a large piece of braised pork, and tons of thick, homemade noodles. Additionally, customers can choose whether to add garlic or not, specify the number of bean sprouts, and decide on how fatty they want their ramen to be based on their preferences. This is truly the prime example of ramen as junk food. The intensity of strong flavors combined with the umami, the fat, and the humongous portions can be addictive. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are many enthusiastic fans</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and shops that serve it to boost their popularity as they continue to see large crowds of people lining up for a bowl.</span>  </p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><em>lidaShouten, Shoyu</em><em><span> Ramen</span></em> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>The polar opposite of this is Iidashouten, one of Japan’s higher ranking ramen shops. The shop is located in a hot-spring resort area called Yugawara. The shop is definitely not conveniently located; however, it draws so many ramen lovers the staff has to hand out numbered tickets to the large crowds of customers visiting the shop. The broth in Iidashouten’s shoyu ramen is made simply and naturally from only chicken and water.</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Tsuta, </em><em><span>Michelin-starred ramen restaurant</span></em><span> </span></p>
<p> And then we have Tsuta, one the most highly reputed ramen shops with a Michelin Star. Their menu utilizes a combination of various ingredients to create new savory flavors but they have three signature soup bases which include a chicken broth, a seafood broth with ingredients such as bonito flakes, and shellfish broth. The shop adds tare (sauce) to these soups in order to blend various types of umami such as glutamic acid, inosinic acid, and succinic acid. This synergy makes it possible for customers to relish in the savory flavors of the soup over and over again.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is a variety of ways of thinking about umami and it all differs depending on the maker. Certainly, ramen that has various additives such as MSG can be tasty and each type of ramen attracts different people.  Still, it seems like we should get back to how people originally distinguished taste. We’re not only talking about what the tongue and the brain say tastes good but taking into consideration that the ramen that tastes good is ramen that has the nutritional ingredients that are the root of umami.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whether you are the ramen chef who prepares the ramen or the customer who will enjoy it, there are various ways of thinking about it and can’t each opinion be correct? </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Either way,</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the connection between ramen and umami is deep so makers of ramen should consider how to make ramen that truly has umami and set the world on fire with passion for this amazing food.</span></p>
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The intricacies of umami and MSG

Created with Shogun. From the 1980s to the 1990s a roadside of Tokyo known to the locals as Kan-nana became the go-to spot for salary men to get their ramen fix. Tosakko Ramen was one of the ramen ...

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<p dir="ltr">From the 1980s to the 1990s a roadside of Tokyo known to the locals as Kan-nana became the go-to spot for salary men to get their ramen fix. Tosakko Ramen was one of the ramen flavors to be created out of this crazy ramen boom. Made with a generous amount of pork back-fat, topped with chashu, flavored bamboo shoots, a hard-boiled egg, and scallions, this ramen has a complex yet full of umami flavor.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In Japan, there’s a style of ramen called “back-fat cha cha” (seabura cha cha). The name comes from the distinct preparation of the fat. Pork back-fat is boiled until tender and strained over the soup. “Cha cha” comes from the motion and sound of the fat raining down. <strong><br></strong></p>
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<p>Tosakko Ramen is a part of the “back-fat cha cha” style ramen as it is known to be a heavier soup with pieces of back-fat floating in the broth.<br><br>Though the original roadside shop from the 80s has closed its doors, the legacy and flavors have been carried on and ramen shops serving this ramen can still be found. The shop pictured above in Ikebukuro, Tokyo is among one of them, the signature ramen, Tosakko Ramen is even in the store name.</p>
<p dir="ltr">On our visit we ordered the Tosakko Ramen, by simply sipping the soup, we could really enjoy the sweet, complex flavor. For flavoring they also added chashu stewed in soy sauce. We could really taste the pork’s umami flavor.</p>
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<p>Despite the constant innovation in the ramen industry the love for these classics flavor will remain.</p>
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The origin of tosakko ramen

What is the secret to developing great ramen in Japan, you ask? The answer is Dashi, Dashi, Dashi! Dashi is a class of soup and cooking stock used in Japanese cuisine (Washoku) and it is the base f...

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is the secret to developing great ramen in Japan, you ask?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The answer is Dashi, Dashi, Dashi! </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dashi is a class of soup and cooking stock used in Japanese cuisine (Washoku) and it is the base flavor for many Japanese dishes. Although dashi is usually made with kombu (edible kelp) and katsuo (dried-bonito flakes), it can be made from various other ingredients. The soup that comes from boiling ingredients is also called dashi. This means that dashi is like the bouillon and soup stocks used in French cuisine, as well as, the soups used in Chinese cuisine. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dashi culture has a very long history in Japan and is precisely the key to creating ramen’s delicious taste.</span></p>
<p><b>Dashi = Umami Soup</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ichiban Dashi (ichiban meaning the first) is the most famous type found in the many varieties of dashi. There are various ways Ichiban Dashi can be prepared but all methods share something in common, the use of kombu and katsuo. For example, here is a general recipe for dashi:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-Put kelp and water into a pot and apply heat.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-Just before the water starts to boil, remove the kelp from the pot. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-Put the dried-bonito shavings into the pot until it boils and then turns off the heat. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">-Let the soup sit for a few minutes and then strain. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Good Ichiban dashi has a clear, golden color and has a strong refreshing taste. This taste comes from the combination glutamic acid in kombu and inosinic acid in dried-bonito flakes that results in a synergy effect. Although other combinations of ingredients may be used, the delicious taste produced from the glutamic acid and inosinic acid is second to none.  When 1-part glutamic acid and 1-part inosinic acid are mixed together, the umami-flavor is 7-8 times better when compared to tasting them separately. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ichiban Dashi has made large contributions to the development of ramen in Japan. In most cases, ramen soup includes glutamic acid and inosinic acid and because of this combination, delicious, rich-tasting ramen can be made. For example, tokontsu and dried-bonito flakes contain a large amount of inosinic acid and soy sauce, miso, and kombu contains a large amount of glutamic acid. It can be said that the dashi culture in Japan has led to the development of ramen soup and the combination of delicious flavors. </span></p>
<p><b>Food Fusion: Dashi Culture &amp; Meat Culture </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is said that the first steaming hot bowl of ramen in Japan was served in 1910. In only 100 years since then, ramen has become Japan’s national dish and its popularity has been spreading all over the world. Perhaps the rapid growth of ramen is a result of the food fusion between the dashi and meat cultures. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Incidentally, eating meat was forbidden for more than 1000 years in Japan until the end of the 19th century.  When the meat culture was introduced, it immediately spread all over the country and nowadays meat-based dishes such as Tonkatsu, Sukiyaki are extremely common.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Western food culture has had a major influence on the growth of Japan’s meat culture. In and around the time that ramen was created in Japan its saw rapid growth so it seems that the two are not unrelated. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the heart it, only a small amount of fats and oils were included in traditional dashi. However, the meat culture was introduced to Japan and this led to the use of fats and oils in ramen soup preparation. Many people began to believe that a more delicious ramen soup could be made by adding more fats and oils.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is said that people became addicted to the combination of fats and oils, sugar, and flavor as a result. Present-day ramen is made with a perfect combination of sugar, ramen tare, </span>animal fats and oils and dashi flavor. This is the main reason why ramen is attractive to people.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even after one hundred years since the birth of ramen, an obvious “Ramen must be this way” form still doesn’t exist and therefore ramen continues to grow at a rapid rate.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the future, ramen will keep its roots in the dashi culture, as well as, be fused with various other food cultures to continue producing many new delicious creations. To grow and to continuously change is the foundation of the ramen culture. This is one of the main reasons why we, the Ramen Hero team, want to continue spreading the great appeals of ramen all over the world. </span></p>

The evolution of dashi culture and ramen, an inseparable pair

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Welcome to Ramen 101, an ongoing series that lays out everything you need to know about ramen to go from instant-only experience to full-fledged expert. Every bowl of ramen isn’t just a meal, it’s ...

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome to </span></i><a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/tagged/ramen-101"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ramen 101</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, an ongoing series that lays out everything you need to know about ramen to go from instant-only experience to full-fledged expert. </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every bowl of ramen isn’t just a meal, it’s the latest manifestation of a food tradition stretching back centuries. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">While you certainly don’t have to be a ramen scholar to know that the </span><a href="https://ramenhero.com/products/totally-tonkotsu-pack-4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tonkotsu</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> you’re currently slurping is delicious, knowing even a little bit of how many hundreds of years have passed to produce the palate-pleasing bowl in front of you adds an extra knowledge flavor, if you will, that makes each ramen experience even richer. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">So in the spirit of bringing you even just a taste of that history, we wanted to take you through a brief tour of where ramen’s been, where it’s at, and where it might go.</span></p>
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<p><b>The Origins</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: While some claim that ramen is an entirely Japanese invention, the generally agreed upon consensus is that ramen evolved from Chinese wheat noodles brought to Japan by  Chinese immigrants sometime in the mid-19th century.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><b>The Early Days</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: By the early 20th century </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">restaurants in Japan that specialized in Chinese cuisine were serving bowls of cut noodles soaked in salt and pork bone broth with limited toppings, with the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen#cite_note-17"><span style="font-weight: 400;">first dedicated ramen shops opening around 1910</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This early iteration of ramen was also routinely sold in street food stalls, which helped spread the new dish to more and more people. </span></p>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><b>The Instant Invention</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 1958 </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momofuku_Ando"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Momofuku Ando</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> invented instant noodles, allowing anyone to make a version of the dish with only boiling water. Ando’s innovation explodes in popularity, bringing ramen to the masses for the first time and establishing ramen as a staple of Japanese food culture. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><b>The Modern Period</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Ramen continues to evolve in Japan, with each region and new generation of chefs bringing their own style and spin to the dish. Today there are approximately </span></span>25,000 ramen shops in Japan, with more than 5,000 shops in Tokyo alone, making the city the world’s undisputed ramen capital. 
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><b>The US Arrival</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Given Japan’s intertwined cultural history with America, it was only a matter of time before ramen began to take hold in the US. With instant noodles laying down a foundation of familiarity, by the 2010s the demand for high-quality Honkaku ramen had led to rapid increase in the number of ramen shops in the US, primarily </span><a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/cities-ordering-most-ramen"><span style="font-weight: 400;">clustered in major metropolitan areas like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">At Ramen Hero we believe passionately that, much like the adoption of sushi, ramen will be the next Japanese food to be fully adopted and integrated into daily American eating habits. After all, some version of noodles in broth can be found in nearly every food culture, and the rich </span><a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/what-does-umami-mean"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Umami</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> flavor of high-quality ramen is fundamentally appealing to all humans. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The keys to spreading the gospel of ramen will be simply ensuring everyone in America has access to high-quality ramen, that they have some basic knowledge of ramen-ology (hence this Ramen 101 series), and that ramen in America continues to evolve. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">While ramen’s taken many twists and turns over the years, the one thing that’s always held true is that it’s not a food that’s set in stone. While holding true to core </span><a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/ramen-101-what-does-honkaku-mean"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Honkaku</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> principles ramen’s always been about constant invention and re-invention, a never ending search for new flavors and refinements. Ramen’s not a destination, it’s a journey, which means becoming a ramen fanatic is a never ending quest to fill both your belly and your soul.  </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">We hope that gave you a solid foundation in ramen history. Stay tuned for our next </span><a href="https://ramenhero.com/blogs/ramen-hero-blog/tagged/ramen-101"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ramen 101</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> post where we’ll go deep on what specifically makes ramen Honkaku, or not. Until then, happy slurping!</span></p>
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