Neil Benton - The Ramen Noodle Cookbook

Ramen Noodle Cookbook is an easy-to-use eBook, featuring 40 traditional recipes and modern makeovers of the classic Japanese broth soup.

To navigate through the eBook, use the built-in links on the contents page. These will take you to the relevant chapter or recipe list. You can also use the recipe choosers at the end of the eBook to navigate to the recipes under each chapter and select the dish you want to cook. Throughout the recipes you will find feature pages that focus on key ingredients and how to use them, and include links to recipes that showcase the ingredient.

The recipes are divided into categories basics; with dashi stock; with chicken stock; with pork stock; with vegetarian stock; and accompaniments to ramen so you can easily choose what you want to eat and learn as you cook. The eBook also contains chapters like Introduction to Ramen and Getting to the Bottom of Ramen to help you understand ramen and the equipment you will need.

Many recipes have a photograph of the finished dish to inspire you and show you exactly what you are aiming for. The image appears both as a thumbnail next to the recipe name and as a full-page image at the end of the recipes. All of the pictures in this eBook will enlarge if you double tap on them. All charts and tables also enlarge for easier reading when you double tap on them. To continue reading, simply close the image using the X in the top corner.

Forget the highly salted packet noodles you subsisted on as a student, traditional ramen is made from fresh noodles, broth, and toppings. The finished result yields a simple, delicious, and beautiful bowl of ramen and a labour of love, from start to finish.

1900

Ramen originally came from China, as a variation of a dish called lamian. There is a consensus that Chinese immigrants established ramen shops in Japan prior to World War II, but the exact date of its arrival is unknown.

1945

After the war, many Japanese soldiers returned home from China with an appreciation for lamian, and some quickly established restaurants with ramen on the menu. Ramens popularity quickly increased.

1958

In 1958, Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen, which was sold in little blocks wrapped in colourful plastic packaging. They were made by frying cooked noodles briefly at a high heat, so they could later be rehydrated with hot water.

1971

Taking his creation one step further, in 1971, Momofuku Ando invented the heat-resistant instant noodle cup made of polystyrene. This allowed the noodles to be rehydrated without ever taking them out of the package.

1985

The movie Tampopo, a Japanese comedy, tells the story of two lorry drivers who teach a ramen shop owner how to improve her fare. It contains scenes on how to eat ramen properly, as well as the love that must go into making the broth.

1994

The Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum opens in Yokohama, Japan. Devoted to ramen soup, this food amusement park included branches of famous ramen restaurants from across Japan.

1999

The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum opens in Osaka, Japan. It features a replica of the garden shed in which Ando developed instant ramen and hands-on exhibits that allow visitors to make their own noodles.

2004

Chef David Chang opens his first noodle restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar, in New York City. Its inventiveness with ingredients is arguably what started the ramen craze outside of Japan.

2008

Ramen Girl, an American-made film, focuses on an American girl living in Japan who learns about the art of making ramen, as well as the power of redemption contained in a well-made bowl of noodles.

2011

CupNoodles Museum opens in Yokohama, Japan. It includes a room with more than 3,000 ramen product packages and a factory where visitors can embellish a foam cup and fill it with their choice of ingredients and toppings.

2015-

Ramen chefs in Japan continue to create new and exciting variations based on ingredients available to them in this global market (known as fusion).

Ramen Across Japan

Just like different parts of Italy are known for their distinct dishes, and different regions of France for their wines, the same holds true for ramen in Japan. Ramen varies greatly from region to region, depending on climate, tradition, outside influence, and the availability of ingredients. While there are too many regional varieties of ramen to list, here are five regions that should be added to any ramen pilgrimage!

Umamis Role in Ramen

Umami is a Japanese word that translates roughly as pleasant savoury taste, and it is defined as the fifth taste or flavour. Umami has been described as a rich, meaty, savoury taste that plays a significant role in making foods taste delicious and well-rounded.

Umami around the world

Umami isnt just limited to Asian cuisine. Many foods worldwide capture the umami flavour.

How ramen captures the umami flavour

Umami as a concept may have its origins in Japan, but umami-rich foods have been eaten all over the world for centuries. Ramen combines umami-rich foods whether Japanese, Western, or a mix of both to create an especially flavoursome, balanced dish.

In Japan, umami-rich foods include kombu bonito flakes, fermented fish, fermented bean paste, soy sauce, green tea, and shiitake mushrooms. Kombu dashi stock is a great example of combining umami-rich ingredients that work well together.

In Western cuisine, umami foods include ham, asparagus, and aged cheese. These flavours describe a shared taste of rich fullness and meatiness. Another unlikely example of umami is tomatoes, which serve as the base of many sauces and condiments all over the world. The tomato miso ramen recipe is an example of a dish packed with Western umami-rich foods.

The History Behind Umami

The primary taste sensations sweet, salty, sour, and bitter are the base of flavour perceptions. Sweet and salty are easy to describe think sugar and table salt. A good example of sour is lemon or lime. Bitter flavours include coffee and beer. However, umami is trickier to pin down.

Umami has as much to do with sensation as with flavour; along with its rich meatiness, it gives the impression of coating the tongue. It was first identified by Kikunae Ikeda in 1908 in kombu dashi. Around the same time, French chef Escoffier invented veal stock, which he found didnt fit in the four already existing taste sensations.