Ramen

The word ramen is a Japanese borrowing of the Mandarin Chinese lamian (, 'pulled noodles'). A common misconception is that ramen is a Japanese adaptation of lamian, but the two dishes have no direct relation, and how ramen came to adopt its name from lamian remains unclear. Ramen evolved from southern Chinese noodle dishes, primarily Cantonese, as opposed to northern Chinese noodle dishes that may feature lamian. There are various theories on how the dish came to be named "ramen", but the most plausible is that the term was misapplied by Japanese colonizers. After the end of World War II in 1945, millions of Japanese settler colonists were repatriated to Japan from China. They may have labeled the southern Chinese noodle dishes in Japan "ramen", based on their superficial resemblance to lamian dishes they had encountered in northern China, particularly in the Japanese-backed puppet state of Manchukuo. This timing aligns with the first mention of ramen as a dish appearing in Hatsuko Kuroda's Enjoyable Home Cooking (1947). Chinese immigrants in Japan initially served a wide variety of Chinese noodle soup dishes, and referred to them by their specific names. However, they were collectively referred to as by the Japanese. Nankinmachi (Nanjing Town) was the common Japanese term for areas where Chinese people settled, and the Japanese used the term "Nankin" to describe newly imported Chinese things. For example, in 1903, in Yokohama Chinatown, then known as Nankinmachi, there was a . The dish was renamed in 1910 by Kan'ichi Ozaki, the founder of the first specialized ramen shop. The Japanese regarded Chinese civilization as inferior and this name change reflected broader imperialist attitudes within Japanese society towards China. The word washoku was used for Japanese cuisine, yoshoku symbolized Western cuisine, and Chinese cuisine was called shina ryori. In the decades following, would be the most commonly used name for ramen. After World War II, the word shina (, meaning 'China') acquired a pejorative connotation through its association with anti-Chinese racism and Japanese imperialism. The word shina was replaced with chūka across various terms in the Japanese language. Chūka is derived from the Japanese reading of , an official name used by the two governments claiming sovereignty over China, the Republic of China () and People's Republic of China (). Shina ryōri was changed to chūka ryōri, and likewise, the term replaced shina soba. Today is the most popular name, but remains prevalent in areas such as Takayama. The two terms can be used interchangeably, though is also often used to refer to more "classic" styles of ramen. ==History==

Origin , Tokyo. The signs advertise "Chinese soba" () and "Cantonese cuisine" (). Ramen is a Japanese adaptation of Chinese wheat noodle soups. It is first recorded to have appeared in Yokohama Chinatown in the early 20th century. Sōmen is another type of noodle of Chinese origin made from wheat flour, but in Japan it is distinguished from the noodles used in ramen. The noodles used for ramen today are called and are made with kansui (, alkaline salt water). The official diary of Shōkoku-ji Temple in Kyoto, , mentions eating , noodles with kansui, in 1488. Jīngdàimiàn is the noodle of the Yuan dynasty. This is the earliest record of kansui noodles being eaten in Japan. One theory says that ramen was introduced to Japan during the 1660s by the neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Shunsui, who served as an advisor to Tokugawa Mitsukuni after he became a refugee in Japan to escape Manchu rule. Mitsukuni became the first Japanese person to eat ramen. However, the noodles Mitsukuni ate were a combination of starch made from lotus root and wheat flour, which is different from chūkamen with kansui. century by Chinese immigrants living in Yokohama Chinatown. By 1884, Chinese noodle soups had grown popular in Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki, and Hakodate, however, this popularity was mostly concentrated among Chinese immigrants. The Chinese served a variety of noodle soup dishes and referred to them by their specific names, such as char siu tang mian (roast pork noodle soup) and rousi tang mian (sliced pork noodle soup)''. These noodle soups were particularly in high demand among Chinese students, who missed the cuisine of their homelands and found Japanese food bland in comparison. In contrast to most Japanese, who held prejudiced views toward Chinese cuisine, Ozaki grew up in Yokohama, where he experienced Chinese food firsthand and witnessed the popularity of noodle dishes in the city's Chinatown. Rairaiken's original store closed in 1976, but related stores with the same name currently exist in other places, and have connections to the first store. In 1968, one of Kan'ichi Ozaki's apprentices opened a store named Shinraiken ("New Raiken") in Chiba Prefecture. Popularization and modernization After Japan's defeat in World War II, the American military occupied the country from 1945 to 1952. which caused food shortages as Japan had drastically reduced rice production during the war as production shifted to colonies in China and Formosa island. From 1948 to 1951, bread consumption in Japan increased from 262,121 tons to 611,784 tons, instant ramen allowed anyone to make an approximation of this dish simply by adding boiling water. Beginning in the 1980s, ramen became a Japanese cultural icon and was studied around the world. At the same time, local varieties of ramen were hitting the national market and could even be ordered by their regional names. A ramen museum opened in Yokohama in 1994. Today ramen is one of Japan's most popular foods, with Tokyo alone containing around 5,000 ramen shops, Tsuta, a ramen restaurant in Tokyo's Sugamo district, received a Michelin star in December 2015. ==Types==

A wide variety of ramen exists in Japan, with geographical and vendor-specific differences even in varieties that share the same name. Usually varieties of ramen are differentiated by the type of broth and tare used. There are five components to a bowl of ramen: tare, aroma oil, broth, noodles, and toppings. Noodles The type of noodles used in ramen are called , which are derived from traditional Chinese alkaline noodles known as (). Most are made from four basic ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water, and '''', derived from the Chinese (), a type of alkaline mineral water containing sodium carbonate and usually potassium carbonate, as well as sometimes a small amount of phosphoric acid. Ramen is not to be confused with different kinds of noodle such as soba, udon, or somen. The origin of isn't clear. It is said to originate in Inner Mongolia. Making noodles with lends them a yellowish hue as well as a firm texture. But since there is no natural or kansui in Japan, it was difficult to make or chūkamen before the Meiji Restoration (1868). Ramen comes in various shapes and lengths. It may be thick, thin, or even ribbon-like, as well as straight or wrinkled. Traditionally, ramen noodles were made by hand, but with growing popularity, many ramen restaurants prefer to use noodle-making machines to meet the increased demand and improve quality. Automatic ramen-making machines imitating manual production methods have been available since the mid-20th century produced by such Japanese manufacturers as Yamato MFG. and others. Soup Similar to Chinese soup bases, ramen soup is generally made from chicken or pork, though vegetable and fish stock is also used. saba bushi (mackerel flakes), shiitake, and kombu (kelp). Ramen stock is usually divided into two categories: chintan and paitan. • Chintan (), derived from the Chinese qīngtāng (), is a clear stock, made by simmering ingredients and frequently skimming foam and scum off the top of the pot. This tare is made from cooking alcohols like mirin and sake, umami ingredients like kombu, niboshi and MSG, and salt. Occasionally pork bones are also used, but they are not boiled for as long as they are for ramen, so the soup remains light and clear. In shio ramen, chāshū is sometimes swapped for lean chicken meatballs, and pickled plums and kamaboko (a slice of processed fish roll sometimes served as a frilly white circle with a pink or red spiral called narutomaki) are popular toppings as well. Noodle texture and thickness varies among ramen, but they are usually straight rather than curly. Hakodate ramen is a well-known version of ramen in Japan. • (, 'soy sauce') tare is similar to shio tare, but with the addition of soy sauce, which boosts the salty and umami flavor even further. Adding a soy sauce seasoning to the serving bowl before the soup and noodles is a common preparation method for noodle soups from Shanghai and Jiangsu, as can be seen in the Chinese dish yangchunmian. Ramen usually has curly noodles rather than straight ones, although this is not always the case. It is often adorned with marinated bamboo shoots or menma, scallions, ('carrot'), ('fish cakes'), ('seaweed'), boiled eggs, bean sprouts or black pepper; occasionally the soup will also contain chili oil or Chinese spices, and some shops serve sliced beef instead of the usual chāshū. • () ramen reached national prominence around 1965. This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, features a broth that combines copious miso and is blended with oily chicken or fish broth – and sometimes with or lard – to create a thick, nutty, slightly sweet and very hearty soup. ramen broth tends to have a robust, tangy flavor, so it stands up to a variety of flavorful toppings: spicy bean paste or tōbanjan (), butter and corn, leeks, onions, bean sprouts, ground pork, cabbage, sesame seeds, white pepper, chilli and chopped garlic are common. The noodles are typically thick, curly, and slightly chewy. Toppings After basic preparation, ramen can be adorned with any number of toppings, including but not limited to: • Chāshū (sliced roasted or red cooked pork) • Negi (green onion) • (pickled and seasoned mustard leaves) • Seasoned (usually salted) boiled egg (soy egg, or ajitama) • Niku Soboro: Niku soboro is ground meat (this can be chicken, pork, or beef) seasoned with flavorings of soy sauce and or a little sugar and then fried... ( is more unique/contemporary) • Bean or other sprouts • Menma (Chinese lacto-fermented bamboo shoots called sunsi), formerly known as shinachiku in Japan • Kakuni (braised pork cubes or squares) • (wood ear mushroom) • Nori (dried seaweed) • Kamaboko (formed fish paste, often in a pink and white spiral called narutomaki) • Squid • Umeboshi (pickled plum) • Corn • Butter • Wakame (a type of seaweed) • Olive oil • Sesame oil • Mayu (black garlic oil) • Chili crisp • Other types of vegetables Preference Seasonings commonly added to ramen are white pepper, black pepper, butter, chili pepper, sesame seeds, and crushed garlic. Soup recipes and methods of preparation tend to be closely guarded secrets. Most ramen restaurants offer a system known as (), where customers who have finished their noodles can request a "refill" (for a few hundred yen more) to be put into their remaining soup. ==Regional variations==

While standard versions of ramen are available throughout Japan since the Taishō period, the last few decades have shown a proliferation of regional variations, commonly referred to as ramen ( "regional ramen"). Some of these which have gone on to national prominence are: • Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, is especially famous for its ramen. Most people in Japan associate Sapporo with its rich ramen, which was invented there and which is ideal for Hokkaido's harsh, snowy winters. Sapporo ramen is typically topped with sweetcorn, butter, bean sprouts, finely chopped pork, and garlic, and sometimes local seafood such as scallop, squid, and crab. Hakodate, another city of Hokkaido, is famous for its salt-flavored ramen, while Asahikawa in the north of the island offers a soy sauce-flavored variation. In Muroran, many ramen restaurants offer Muroran curry ramen. • Kitakata ramen is known for its rather thick, flat, curly noodles served in a pork-and-niboshi broth. The area within the former city limits has the highest per-capita number of ramen establishments. Ramen has such prominence in the region that locally, the word usually refers to ramen, and not to actual soba which is referred to as ('Japanese soba'). • Tokyo-style ramen consists of slightly thin, curly noodles served in a soy-flavored chicken broth. The Tokyo-style broth typically has a touch of dashi, as old ramen establishments in Tokyo often originate from soba eateries. Standard toppings are chopped scallion, menma, sliced pork, kamaboko, egg, nori, and spinach. Ikebukuro, Ogikubo and Ebisu are three areas in Tokyo known for their ramen. • Yokohama ramen specialty is called Ie-kei (). It consists of thick, straight noodles served in a soy flavored pork broth similar to , sometimes referred to as, . The standard toppings are braised pork (chāshū), boiled spinach, sheets of nori, often with shredded Welsh onion () and a soft- or hard-boiled egg. It is traditional for customers to customize the softness of the noodles, the richness of the broth and the amount of oil they want. • Wakayama ramen in the Kansai region has a broth made from soy sauce and pork bones. • Hakata ramen originates from Hakata district of Fukuoka city in Kyushu. It has a rich, milky, pork-bone broth and rather thin, non-curly and resilient noodles. Often, distinctive toppings such as crushed garlic, beni shōga (pickled ginger), sesame seeds, and spicy pickled mustard greens () are left on tables for customers to serve themselves. Ramen stalls in Hakata and Tenjin are well known within Japan. Recent trends have made Hakata ramen one of the most popular types in Japan, and several chain restaurants specializing in Hakata ramen can be found all over the country. • Tofu ramen is a specialty of Iwatsuki ward in Saitama City. • Nabeyaki ramen is a specialty of Susaki City, as well as other cities in western Kōchi Prefecture. Nabeyaki ramen is made with a chicken-based broth, thin noodles and a soy tare, all served boiling hot in an enamelled pot. Toppings vary, but mainstays include a raw egg that poaches in the bowl, sliced spring onions and chikuwa fish cakes. • Nagoya ramen specialties include "Taiwan ramen", which despite its name originated in Nagoya and features a very spicy broth. It became famous in the 1980s during a fad for super hot food. It bears some resemblance to danzai noodles but has both a spicy broth and spicy minced meat resulting in an extremely spicy dish. File:tokyoramen.jpg|Tokyo-style ramen File:kitakatara-men.jpg|Kitakata ramen File:Hakatara-men.jpg|Hakata ramen with soup File:Wakayamaramen222.jpg|Wakayama ramen File:Tsukemen.jpg|Tsukemen dipping ramen File:Aburasoba-tokyoarea-feb192020.jpg| ('oiled noodles') File:takayama_ramen.jpg|Takayama ramen File:Hiyashira-men.jpg| (chilled) ramen File:Butter Corn Ramen.JPG|Butter corn ramen, specialty of Hokkaido File:151010 Sapporo ramen at Susukino Sapporo Hokkaido Japan01s.jpg|Sapporo-style ramen File:Muroran-CurryRamen.jpg|Muroran curry ramen File:Shio ramen from Ryukyu Ramen Tondou, Shin-Yokohama.jpg|Ryukyuan shio ramen File:Service set (Ramen (kotteri), half-size fried rice, and Gyoza)at Tenkaippin, Koenji (32897689265).jpg|Ramen and chahan ==Related dishes== There are many related, Chinese-influenced noodle dishes in Japan. The following are often served alongside ramen in ramen establishments. They do not include noodle dishes considered traditionally Japanese, such as soba or udon, which are almost never served in the same establishments as ramen. • Nagasaki champon. Japanese version of Fujianese menmian (). The noodles are thicker than ramen but thinner than udon. is topped with a variety of ingredients, mostly seafood, stir-fried and dressed in a starchy sauce. The stir-fried ingredients are poured directly over the cooked noodles, with the sauce acting as a soup. • derived is a mild, usually salty soup, served with a mix of sautéed vegetables and seafood/pork. The name is derived from the generic Chinese term for any wheat noodle soup (). The origins of tanmen are attributed to Japanese chefs who repatriated from the puppet state of Manchukuo after World War II and sought to recreate the flavors of the Chinese home-style cooking they had encountered. Not to be confused with (see after). • . Japanese version of Cantonese wonton noodles. It has long, straight noodles and wonton, served in a mild, usually salty soup. • Tsukemen ('dipping noodles'). The noodles and soup are served in separate bowls. The diner dips the noodles in the soup before eating. Can be served hot or chilled. • (). Japanese version of Sichuanese dan dan noodles. Ramen in a reddish, spicy chili and sesame soup, usually containing minced pork, garnished with chopped scallion and chili and occasionally topped with spinach or bok choi (). • or (, 'noodles in hot and sour soup'). Japanese version of Sichuanese hot and sour soup, but served with long noodles. The topping ingredients are sautéed and a thickener is added before the mix is poured on the soup and the noodles. • ('oil-noodles'). Ramen and toppings served without the soup, but with a small quantity of oily soy-based sauce instead. • Hiyashi-chūka (, 'chilled Chinese'). Japanese version of Shanghainese liangbanmian (). The dish was originally sold in Japan under the borrowed Chinese name ryanbanmyen. It is a summer dish of chilled ramen on a plate with various toppings (typically thin strips of omelet, ham, cucumber and tomato) and served with a vinegary soy dressing and karashi (Japanese mustard). It was first produced at the Ryutei, a Chinese restaurant in Sendai. It is also known as , especially in western Japan. ==Restaurants in Japan==

ramen restaurant in Shinjuku Kabukicho Ramen is offered in various types of restaurants and locations including ramen shops, izakaya drinking establishments, lunch cafeterias, karaoke halls, and amusement parks. Many ramen restaurants only have a counter and a chef. In these shops, the meals are paid for in advance at a ticket machine to streamline the process. Some restaurants also provide halal ramen (using chicken) in Osaka and Kyoto. However, the best quality ramen is usually only available in specialist restaurants. As restaurants offer mainly ramen dishes, they tend to lack variety in the menu. Besides ramen, some of the dishes generally available in a restaurant include other dishes from Japanese Chinese cuisine such as fried rice (called or ), jiaozi (called gyoza), and alcohol. often feature Chinese-inspired decorations. The bowls used to serve ramen may be designed to include Chinese motifs such as yunleiwen, loong, fenghuang, and the character for double happiness. Chinese spoons are more commonly used to drink the soup in ramen, as opposed to the Japanese ladle (otamajakushi), which is typically used for soba and udon. From January 2020 to September 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, many ramen restaurants were temporarily closed, with 34 chains filing for bankruptcy by September 2020. Ramen restaurants are typically narrow and seat customers closely, making social distancing difficult. ==Outside Japan==

Ramen became popular in China where it is known as (, ). Restaurant chains serve ramen alongside Japanese dishes, such as tempura and yakitori. In Japan, these dishes are not traditionally served with ramen, but gyoza, kara-age, and others from Japanese Chinese cuisine. In Korea, there is a variation of ramen called ramyeon (), made much spicier than ramen. There are different varieties, such as kimchi-flavored . While usually served with egg or vegetables such as carrots and scallions, some restaurants serve variations of containing additional ingredients such as dumplings, tteok, or cheese as toppings. Famous ramyeon brands include Shin Ramyeon and Buldak Ramyeon. Outside of Asia, particularly in areas with a large demand for Asian cuisine, there are restaurants specializing in Japanese-style foods such as ramen noodles. For example, Wagamama, a UK-based restaurant chain serving pan-Asian food, serves a ramen noodle soup and in the United States and Canada, Jinya Ramen Bar serves ramen. Chef Antonio de Livier of Mexico City is credited with a Mexican variation called birriamen (a portmanteau of birria and ramen) where the broth incorporates the consomé broth that the beef, lamb or goat is cooked in. The variation later gained popularity in the Los Angeles area. ==Instant ramen==

Instant ramen noodles were exported from Japan by Nissin Foods starting in 1971, bearing the name "Oodles of Noodles". One year later, it was re-branded "Nissin Cup Noodles", packaged in a foam food container (It is referred to as Cup Ramen in Japan), and subsequently saw a growth in international sales. Over time, the term ramen became used in North America to refer to other instant noodles. While some research has claimed that consuming instant ramen two or more times a week increases the likelihood of developing heart disease and other conditions, including diabetes and stroke, especially in women, those claims have not been reproduced and no study has isolated instant ramen consumption as an aggravating factor. However, instant ramen noodles, known to have a serving of 43 g, consist of very high sodium. At least 1,760 mg of sodium are found in one packet alone. It consists of 385 kilocalories, 55.7 g of carbohydrates, 14.5 g of total fat, 6.5 g of saturated fat, 7.9 g of protein, and 0.6 mg of thiamine. Canned version In Akihabara, Tokyo, vending machines distribute warm ramen in a steel can known as . It is produced by a popular local ramen restaurant in flavors such as and curry, and contains noodles, soup, menma, and pork. It is intended as a quick snack, and includes a small folded plastic fork. ==In popular culture==

Emoji In October 2010, an emoji was approved for Unicode 6.0 for "Steaming Bowl", that depicts Japanese ramen noodles in a bowl of steaming broth with chopsticks. In 2015, the icon was added to Emoji 1.0. Film The main storyline of Tampopo, a 1985 Japanese comedy billed as the first "ramen western" (a play on the "spaghetti Western" subgenre), concerns a trucker helping a widowed ramen shop owner reach the top of her craft. In 2008's The Ramen Girl, an American woman is stranded in Tokyo after breaking up with her boyfriend. Looking for direction in life, she trains to be a ramen chef under a dictatorial Japanese master. Museum The Shin-Yokohama Rāmen Museum is a museum about ramen, in the Shin-Yokohama district of Kōhoku-ku, Yokohama. ==See also==