PSN Short: Aka Ramen
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Ramen (/ˈrɑːmən/) (拉麺, ラーメン or らあめん, rāmen, [ɾaꜜːmeɴ] ⓘ) is a Japanese noodle dish. It includes Chinese-style wheat noodles (中華麺, chūkamen) served in a broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including sliced pork (chāshū), nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dishes and is a part of Japanese Chinese cuisine.[1] Nearly every region in Japan has its own variation of ramen, such as the tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen of Kyushu and the miso ramen of Hokkaido.
The origins of ramen can be traced back to Yokohama Chinatown in the early 20th century. The word "ramen" is a Japanese borrowing of the Chinese word lāmiàn (拉麵), meaning "pulled noodles", but is not derived from the northern Chinese dish of lamian. Instead, the dish evolved from southern Chinese noodle dishes from regions such as Guangzhou, reflecting the demographics of Chinese settlers in Yokohama. Ramen gained popularity in Japan, especially during food shortages following World War II. In 1958, instant noodles were invented by Momofuku Ando, further popularizing the dish.
Today, ramen is a cultural icon in Japan, with many regional varieties and a wide range of toppings. Examples include Sapporo's rich miso ramen, Hakodate's salt-flavored ramen, Kitakata's thick, flat noodles in pork-and-niboshi broth, Tokyo-style ramen with soy-flavored chicken broth, Yokohama's Iekei Ramen with soy flavored pork broth, Wakayama's soy sauce and pork bone broth, and Hakata's milky tonkotsu (pork bone) broth. Ramen is offered in various establishments and locations, with the best quality usually found in specialist ramen shops called rāmen'ya (ラーメン屋).
Ramen's popularity has spread outside of Japan. In Korea, ramen is also known as its original name (라멘), having their own variation of the dish, ramyeon (라면). In China, ramen is called rìshì lāmiàn (日式拉面/日式拉麵 "Japanese-style lamian"). Ramen has also made its way into Western restaurant chains. Instant ramen was exported from Japan in 1971 and has since gained international recognition.
The word ramen is a Japanese borrowing of the Mandarin Chinese lamian (拉麵, 'pulled noodles').[2][3]
The word ramen (拉麺) first appeared in Japan in Seiichi Yoshida's How to Prepare Delicious and Economical Chinese Dishes (1928).[4] In the book, Yoshida describes how to make ramen using flour and kansui, kneading it by hand, and stretching it with an illustration. He also states that ramen is better suited for soup or cold noodles than for baked noodles. In this case, however, ramen refers to Chinese noodles, not the dish. The first mention of ramen as a dish appears in Hatsuko Kuroda's Enjoyable Home Cooking (1947).[5]
Early ramen or ramen-like dishes went by different names, such as Nankin soba (南京そば, lit. 'Nanjing noodles'), Shina soba (支那そば, lit. 'Chinese noodles') or Chūka soba (中華そば, lit. 'Chinese noodles').[6][7][8] For example, in 1903, in Yokohama Chinatown (then known as Nanjing Town), there was a Nanjing noodle restaurant (南京蕎麦所, Nankin soba dokoro).[9]
Until the 1950s, ramen was most commonly called Shina soba, but today Chūka soba or just ramen (ラーメン) are more common, as the word 支那 (Shina, meaning 'China') has acquired a pejorative connotation through its association with anti-Chinese racism and Japanese imperialism.
Ramen is a Japanese adaptation of Chinese wheat noodle soups.[11][12][13][14][15] It is first recorded to have appeared in Yokohama Chinatown in the early 20th century.[16][17] Although ramen takes its name from lamian, it did not originate from the hand-pulled lamian noodles of northern China, since the noodles used in ramen are cut, not pulled.[7] Rather, ramen is derived from southern Chinese noodle dishes such as char siu tangmian (roast pork noodle soup) from Guangdong, and rousi tangmian (sliced meat noodle soup) from Jiangnan.[18][8][6][19] This is reflective of Yokohama Chinatown's demographics, as most Chinese settlers there were Cantonese or Shanghainese.[20][21]
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 chūkamen (中華麺, lit. 'Chinese noodles') and are made with kansui (鹹水, alkaline salt water).
The official diary of Shōkoku-ji Temple in Kyoto, Inryōken Nichiroku (蔭涼軒日録), mentions eating jīngdàimiàn (経帯麪), noodles with kansui, in 1488.22 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 we’re