Hard Noodles and Boiled Eggs

When you think of ramen, the first thing that pops into your mind is probably those Maruchan Ramen cup of noodles that you always see at your local grocery store. If that's the only type of ramen that you eat, then you're definitely missing out.

You've probably been told that Maruchan Ramen is unhealthy for you, and it's true because of all of the sodium and artificial flavoring. I actually remember a video that my 10th grade teacher showed the class about how artificial flavoring is manufactured and it's pretty gross. It showed how the packaged chicken flavoring is made and you don't want to know the details if you want to keep eating Maruchan.

Now if you want to eat real ramen, then go to a Japanese restaurant that serves ramen. Every restaurant will most likely have their own specialty ramen that you should try out for yourself. What's great is that there are different types of ramen. But every bowl of ramen consists of these four basic elements: broth, tare, noodles, and toppings.

Broth: generally a mixture of pork, chicken, seafood, and vegetables, however every restaurant has their own mixture

Tare: also known as kaeshi, strong salty flavored essence placed at the bottom of every bowl, which roughly determines the type of ramen

Noodles: somewhat boiled and still has a tough texture

Toppings: any ingredients you want to add like boiled eggs, green onions, seaweed, etc.

Many diners like to categorize their ramen into shoyu, miso, shio, and tonkatsu.

Shoyu: soy sauce, most ramens are built upon a shoyu base, the amount varies in taste and style

Miso: fermented bean paste, comes in many shades of brown, makes up another common ramen, few regions specialize in miso

Shio: salt, made from dried seafoods, seaweeds, and other salty ingredients with lots of umami, many resaurants offer this style

Tonkatsu: pork bones and ramen, the name and taste are primarily based from the broth rather than the tare

#japanese #food