Ramen, Japanese Food

"Chukamen" noodles, which came to Japan from China, have flowered in Japan as a unique Japanese food culture. With some people even eating ramen every day, ramen is said to be a Japanese national food. There are different types of ramen for the various regions in Japan, including Hokkaido's Sapporo ramen, Kyushu's Hakata ramen, and Tokyo ramen. And you will be surprised by the sheer variety of instant ramen types available at supermarkets and convenience stores.
Many ramen shops are open until late into the night, and some people like to stop by after drinking. The price is within about 600 to 1000 yen for one bowl. Though there are many ramen shops in any Japanese city, even outside of Tokyo, Ikebukuro in Tokyo is famous as a hot spot for ramen.

The soup broths can be generally categorized into two types: meat based broths like "tonkotsu" (pork bone broth) and "torigara" (chicken stock broth) and fish based broths like "katsuo bushi" (dried bonito broth) and "niboshi" (dried sardine broth). To these broths, many shops add ingredients like onions and shiitake mushrooms to create their own original flavors. Soups made from tonkotsu broth are cloudy with a rich flavor. In soups made from fish broth, the unique fragrance that comes from fish is infused into the flavor. The soup flavor choices are generally categorized into the three types of soy sauce, salt, and miso. Popular toppings include "chashu" (meat slices), "negi" (Japanese chives), and "menma" (a condiment made from lactate-fermented bamboo shoots.). Another popular item is the "nitamago", a boiled egg simmered in soy sauce (also called "ajitama", which means flavored egg). There are many other kinds of toppings available depending on the shop, including "moyashi" (mung bean sprouts), butter, vegetables, "nori" (dried seaweed), kimchi, and a type of "kamaboko" (fish cake slices) with spiral patterns called "naruto maki". Some shops will serve a "zenbu nose" serving with all the toppings upon request.

In addition, the "tsukemen" style where the soup and noodles come in separate bowls is also popular.

Counter seating is generally the main style of seating at ramen shops. Some shops do not have many seats, and popular shops can have long lines. Sometimes a long wait is necessary depending on the shop and the time of day, but people who really want to enjoy good ramen will wait patiently for that delicious bowl. Many places have their menus attached to the walls. And in some shops you buy a ticket at a ticket vending machine placed at the shop entrance before sitting down. Also, in addition to ramen, some shops serve other items like "gyoza" (fried dumplings) and "chahan" (fried rice) as well.