Ramen has its roots in China and is named after handmade noodles called la mian. Chinese immigrants to Japan set up shops selling the dish in the early 1900s.
Consumption picked up only after World War II, when
Japanese soldiers returned and made their own noodles with meal leftovers.
With the invention of instant noodles in 1958 by
Momofuku Ando, founder and chairman of Nissin Foods, ramen became more common. In the 1980s, ramen’s popularity soared as it became part of Japanese cuisine and various prefectures started celebrating their unique noodles, broths and fancy toppings.
One of the most popular types of ramen sold in Singapore, usually served in Kyushu-style pork broth. The thin noodles cook quickly — within 30 seconds — to cater to hungry
Japanese businessmen and, when lifted with chopsticks, can “catch” more soup at the same time.
Commonly served with the Niboshi dried sardine stock from Aomori prefecture that is now gaining popularity both in Japan and Singapore. The noodles are made by flattening and folding the dough over, which creates layers and a chewy texture.
These noodles go best with rich and dense soups such as crab stock or tsukemen. Thicker noodles
“grab” less soup because there are less gaps between the noodles. They take the longest to cook — at least 130 seconds for a hard consistency.
Some strands of these noodles, when raw, look as if they have been crimped with a hair iron. When cooked, the noodles are bouncy and have uneven waves and kinks. This type of noodle is handmade at Sanpoutei Ramen in Holland Village.
Found mainly in Tokyo, these noodles go best with clear soups such as shio, shoyu or chicken. Unlike other types of noodles, which use egg white in the dough, these yellow noodles incorporate the yolk as well.
The broth, which should not be confused with tonkatsu, a breaded pork cutlet, is popular in Kyushu. It is rich, robust, cloudy and has a creamy texture. Usually made with a combination of chicken and pork bones and pig trotters, the pale yellow and milky-coloured soup is boiled for hours until the soft-bones and cartilage in the trotters dissolve into the soup. Restaurants that serve this include
Uma Uma! at Forum The Shopping Mall,
Hakata Ikkousha with outlets at Chijmes and Tanjong Pagar Plaza and at Ramen
Champion in Changi Airport Terminal 3.
Similar to curly and chewy noodles, but with a higher water content.
They can turn soggy if not eaten quickly.
This type of noodle is used at Ramen
Keisuke Tori King at 100AM Mall.
Dense and thick Hokkaido-style ramen broth, with subtle flavours of fermented soya bean paste.
The soup base is usually a chicken stock with added miso for depth of flavour. Spicy miso versions are also available. Restaurants that serve this include Baikohken
Ramen Restaurant at Takashimaya basement 2, Shin-Sapporo with outlets at Orchardgateway and
Century Square, and Sanpoutei
Ramen in Holland Village.
Ramen chain Menya Musashi uses a special ramen with a cross-section that looks like a letter H. It is used for tsukemen as the textured strands hold the soup better than thin and straight noodles.
A rich, robust and slightly spicy soup that combines tonkotsu broth with curry.
Available at
Menya Musashi, with outlets at
Raffles City
Shopping Centre, and Nantsuttei at
Orchard Central.
The lightest of all the broths but still complex. It can be made with a combination of chicken and/or pork bones and fresh vegetables.
Dried seafood and kelp give it umami.
The broth is seasoned only with salt.
This style is popular in Hakodate and
Sapporo. Shio ramen can be found at
Santouka, with outlets at Cuppage
Terrace and The Central, Hakata
Ikkousha, and Yoshimaru in Holland
Village.
A thick bowl of hot broth that serves as a dipping sauce for cold and thick ramen, similar to Japanese soba. It is said that
Mr Kazuo Yamagishi, owner of the acclaimed Taishoken ramen shops in Tokyo, invented the dish because he wanted to have a simple meal to eat at work. It has gained popularity in Japan and, recently, in
Singapore. Available at Menya
Musashi and Sanpoutei Ramen.
A clear soya sauce-based broth that can be made with niboshi or dried sardines
(at Sanpoutei
Ramen), pork broth
(at Santouka) and/or chicken broth (at Ramen
Keisuke Tonkotsu
King - Matsuri at
Parkway Parade).
Fork-tender pork belly that is braised in a soya sauce-based liquid.
Other cooking methods for the pork include slow-roasting it in an oven or sous vide at an even-temperature hot water bath. Though usually round in shape, charsiu also comes in other shapes, from oblong to U-shaped.
Slices are torched before serving.
These fermented bamboo shoots are braised, sliced into strips and served in the broth.
Black or cloud-ear fungus is usually sliced into thin strips and served in a small mound.
The leeks are thinly sliced and served in generous amounts.
Add more depth of flavour to the broth.
Two types are used: nori, which is dried seaweed and served in whole sheets, and wakame, which is normally used in miso soup.
The egg has a white that is cooked, but a molten yolk centre. It is usually left to marinate in a soya-based sauce before being served — whole or halved — in a bowl of ramen.
DESIGN: LEE CHEE CHEW TEXT: EUNICE QUEK, REBECCA LYNNE TAN PHOTOS: STEFFI KOH, DIOS VINCOY JR FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES, SEAH KWANG PENG