ramen 🍜
January 14, 2015 8:28 AM Subscribe
- the state of ramen: Dave Chang
- the state of ramen: Peter Meehan
- a guide to the regional ramen of japan
- Harold McGee on the science of alkalinity (on alkalinity article)
- a timeline of ramen development
- Momofuku Ando and the invention of instant ramen
- an interview with the ramen rater, Hans Lienesch
- how to make tonkotsu-style broth (recipe)
- how to make instant ramen cacio e pepe (recipe)
- how to make instant ramen gnocchi parisienne (recipe)
- how to make instant ramen fideos (recipe)
- how to make instant ramen encrusted skate (recipe)
- more recipes: momofuku ramen 2.0, ramen broth 2.0, fresh alkaline noodles, momofuku pork belly
We watched the first season of Mind of a Chef (netflix) the other weekend and it's all David Chang and it's mostly him eating, making, talking about ramen. I'm not even hungry yet this morning but damn do I want ramen.
posted by rtha at 8:32 AM on January 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by rtha at 8:32 AM on January 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
OK, but where can I find some information about ramen?
posted by haricotvert at 8:33 AM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by haricotvert at 8:33 AM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Mind of a Chef turned me into a ramen fiend.
posted by kiltedtaco at 8:39 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by kiltedtaco at 8:39 AM on January 14, 2015
No joke, my husband and I watched the ramen episode of Mind of a Chef two nights ago and then last night mixed up several jars worth of the SeriousEats DIY instant noodles (they are awesome). Ramen forever!
posted by specialagentwebb at 8:40 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by specialagentwebb at 8:40 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
The regional ramen link is missing Tenri Stamina Ramen.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:40 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:40 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
That pork belly recipe is a mainstay in our household. It finds its way into ramen, pork buns, tacos, cubanos, breakfast hash. A batch of that will find its way into everything we eat for a week. Its so amazing, and really simple.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:41 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by furnace.heart at 8:41 AM on January 14, 2015
(DIY instant noodles previously, ramen rater previously, momofuku ando previously)
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 8:41 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 8:41 AM on January 14, 2015
I went to the Twin Cities Ramen Festival in the fall and was pretty disappointed -- only one restaurant participated, and it was like $10 a bowl so you couldn't try very much. So I invited about 20 friends over for a ramen night at my house. I made a massive pot of broth, fresh noodles, and about 10 different toppings. I think it will now be an annual event.
posted by miyabo at 8:45 AM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by miyabo at 8:45 AM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
There's a ramen place that opened on Mission a month or so ago, and I kind of want to go but at the same time, they have a duck ramen there and it's $28. I can't even.
But maybe I could? I could afford it, financially, that's not the problem. And it's not like I've eaten so much good (well, non-instant) ramen in my life that I can be all jaded. Still, when Chang says this, something in me resonated, even though I don't completely agree with him:
The Internet exploded in the 2000s, and with it came the ramen boom in Japan. Suddenly, ramen became the very establishment it once stood against. A variety of magazines and websites arose, solely dedicated to ramen. Everyone could learn everything about it. Anyone can read the Lucky Peach ramen issue and possess information that’s taken decades to develop and accumulate.
There’s no more dreaming about food in the same way, no peering into the windows of restaurants and imagining what the dishes might look like. People complain about food and restaurants becoming more and more uniform. It’s because there’s no more thirst for knowledge, no catalyst for imagination or reason to try to create new and different things anymore. People still want to know things, but now they can find the answers with barely any effort.
posted by rtha at 8:53 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
But maybe I could? I could afford it, financially, that's not the problem. And it's not like I've eaten so much good (well, non-instant) ramen in my life that I can be all jaded. Still, when Chang says this, something in me resonated, even though I don't completely agree with him:
The Internet exploded in the 2000s, and with it came the ramen boom in Japan. Suddenly, ramen became the very establishment it once stood against. A variety of magazines and websites arose, solely dedicated to ramen. Everyone could learn everything about it. Anyone can read the Lucky Peach ramen issue and possess information that’s taken decades to develop and accumulate.
There’s no more dreaming about food in the same way, no peering into the windows of restaurants and imagining what the dishes might look like. People complain about food and restaurants becoming more and more uniform. It’s because there’s no more thirst for knowledge, no catalyst for imagination or reason to try to create new and different things anymore. People still want to know things, but now they can find the answers with barely any effort.
posted by rtha at 8:53 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
and they trembled before her FPP! :D Most excellent.
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:53 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:53 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'll just leave this here for those of you who can't wait the 2 minutes for your ramen to cook....
posted by ish__ at 8:57 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by ish__ at 8:57 AM on January 14, 2015
"[Chang and Orkin] got in early and are now scrawling PUNK IS DEAD across the cover of their spiral-bound notebooks." - MeehanHa, this is the exact feeling I got reading the Chang piece.
posted by maryr at 8:58 AM on January 14, 2015
So wait, Ramen had a "moment" and I missed it? And now it's over and I missed it except maybe not? Did Dave Chang literally just say he opened his ramen restaurant before eating ramen "was cool"? There was a Twin Cities Ramen festival (except seriously, one restaurant doesn't count as a festival?) and I missed that too? Can anyone explain to me why I have to visit the seedy underbelly of the internet if I want to stream Tampopo on demand?!
posted by nanojath at 9:00 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by nanojath at 9:00 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think it will now be an annual event.
Can this annual event be a twin cities MeFi meetup?
posted by sparklemotion at 9:00 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Can this annual event be a twin cities MeFi meetup?
posted by sparklemotion at 9:00 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Holy shit, I only just now realized (on noticing the disambiguation notice at the top of ramen's Wikipedia page) that "ramen" is maybe a Japanese cognate for lamian.
There's a ramen place that opened on Mission a month or so ago, and I kind of want to go but at the same time, they have a duck ramen there and it's $28. I can't even.
It's always been weird to me that duck is usually priced like a premium ingredient in Western restaurants but in Chinese places duck dishes are usually not much more expensive than chicken dishes. A whole roast duck is usually less than $20 at any Chinese BBQ place and they are _delicious_. (Though also super fatty/greasy.)
posted by kmz at 9:00 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
There's a ramen place that opened on Mission a month or so ago, and I kind of want to go but at the same time, they have a duck ramen there and it's $28. I can't even.
It's always been weird to me that duck is usually priced like a premium ingredient in Western restaurants but in Chinese places duck dishes are usually not much more expensive than chicken dishes. A whole roast duck is usually less than $20 at any Chinese BBQ place and they are _delicious_. (Though also super fatty/greasy.)
posted by kmz at 9:00 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Now that I think about it, I think it's more that you just don't see duck in most Western restaurants unless they're already at a certain fanciness level.)
posted by kmz at 9:06 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by kmz at 9:06 AM on January 14, 2015
There is (or maybe was, I don't know because I haven't been there in ages) a Thai place in the food court in a mall in San Rafael. I used to go there a lot when I worked in Marin. They had amazing food - not "amazing for a food court" but just amazing - including this duck noodle soup that was....oh, now I'm gonna drool on my keyboard. I would go get that after spending my lunch hour birding at the nearby water treatment plant (so many ducks!) and I'd laugh at myself and slurp my noodles.
posted by rtha at 9:06 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by rtha at 9:06 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
The taco is the new ramen, apparently. Even Rene Redzepi is taking time off from salt-curing lichen and foraging in tide pools to tuck into some al pastor.
It's cool, Mexico is used to colonialist "discovery" of shit we've had mastered forever. The other day I was watching a cooking program where a working class woman in Mexico made tortillas silently while an excited white foodie dude literally spoke for her about how exciting the food was and it was the perfect metaphor for everything I hate about Mexican cuisine being the next "cool" thing in high end dining.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:07 AM on January 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
It's cool, Mexico is used to colonialist "discovery" of shit we've had mastered forever. The other day I was watching a cooking program where a working class woman in Mexico made tortillas silently while an excited white foodie dude literally spoke for her about how exciting the food was and it was the perfect metaphor for everything I hate about Mexican cuisine being the next "cool" thing in high end dining.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:07 AM on January 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Some very good ramen going on in Brooklyn right now. Chuko and Ganso spring to mind. Or are we not turning this into a chowhound thread?
posted by haricotvert at 9:08 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by haricotvert at 9:08 AM on January 14, 2015
Hipster tacos have been A Thing here for a while though. I've been fine with it though because this one place also has really good mezcals in their bar, and their tacos are not a million dollars.
posted by rtha at 9:08 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by rtha at 9:08 AM on January 14, 2015
in Chinese places duck dishes are usually not much more expensive than chicken dishes.
My parents are always tickled by the fact that in the US, duck is so much more expensive than chicken. When they were growing up in Hong Kong, it was the opposite, since ducks were easier to raise, required less care, and came to market weight more quickly.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:09 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
My parents are always tickled by the fact that in the US, duck is so much more expensive than chicken. When they were growing up in Hong Kong, it was the opposite, since ducks were easier to raise, required less care, and came to market weight more quickly.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:09 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
I saw David Chang's screed yesterday and was really disappointed in it. It really does read like "the internet ruins everything, and I used to find obscure bands but now everyone can hear their music and that sucks" but I like David Chang, I've been to his restaurants, seen (and loved) his shows. It just felt like an amateurish attempt to troll the internet Anthony Bourdain-style with a rant.
Chang did help spawn the ramen revolution of the last ten years, but he should be happy that lots of good ramen is everywhere now. If it's really boring, people will try new takes on it, otherwise it's all kind of great and a good thing people have easier access to good ramen in the US and he helped make it happen. It's weird for him to be all sour grapes about that.
posted by mathowie at 9:11 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Chang did help spawn the ramen revolution of the last ten years, but he should be happy that lots of good ramen is everywhere now. If it's really boring, people will try new takes on it, otherwise it's all kind of great and a good thing people have easier access to good ramen in the US and he helped make it happen. It's weird for him to be all sour grapes about that.
posted by mathowie at 9:11 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yeah, hipster tacos have been around for a while in Chicago too - Paul Kahan's whiskey-and-taco bar Big Star has been around for years. I guess the next step is the sous-vide jicama and dehydrated cranberry bean powder with charred serrano pepper aioli or whatever.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:11 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:11 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ha! Watching a bunch of Samurai movies on hulu this weekend (Kill!, Yojimbo, The Sword of Doom, Sword of the Beast) made me go out and buy a bunch of sake, ramen, Korean pepper flakes ( a la John Thorne) and wish that Shogun was available for streaming. So I look forward to clicking through on these links.
Now if I can just muster up the ki to eat like Toshiro Mifune, I will feel like a senpai, and not a kohai.
Domo arigato gozai mashita!
posted by valkane at 9:11 AM on January 14, 2015
Now if I can just muster up the ki to eat like Toshiro Mifune, I will feel like a senpai, and not a kohai.
Domo arigato gozai mashita!
posted by valkane at 9:11 AM on January 14, 2015
Gah, I'm on day 12 of a 21 day cleanse which means no gluten and only just added back in fish. This thread is causing me great personal distress.
posted by vuron at 9:17 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by vuron at 9:17 AM on January 14, 2015
The Ramen emoji is displayed in the tab title (Chrome, OSX)!
My next askme is so going to have poop emoji...
posted by fontophilic at 9:19 AM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
My next askme is so going to have poop emoji...
posted by fontophilic at 9:19 AM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Needs more Sauceome! ;-)
Kamakura's Ramen Museum: Part 1, 2, 3!!!, 4, 5.
posted by jillithd at 9:19 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Kamakura's Ramen Museum: Part 1, 2, 3!!!, 4, 5.
posted by jillithd at 9:19 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
kmz: they are _delicious_. (Though also super fatty/greasy.)"Though" is used in English to introduce apparent contrasts, such as "He was polite, but heartless."
I believe the conjunction you were looking for was "because" or "and".
posted by IAmBroom at 9:21 AM on January 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
Like I haven't already being craving pho and pad thai throughout this pregnancy, now I'm drooling for ramen. Here in Rome I can't just run out to my local grocery store for these types of ingredients, people. Gaaaaaah.
And I'm all for fusion but imma call a big "Hell no" on cacio e pepe ramen
posted by romakimmy at 9:21 AM on January 14, 2015
And I'm all for fusion but imma call a big "Hell no" on cacio e pepe ramen
posted by romakimmy at 9:21 AM on January 14, 2015
We finally have pho places, but still no ramen shops. In CT, about two hours from NYC. So I hope it's not done with yet.
posted by smackfu at 9:23 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by smackfu at 9:23 AM on January 14, 2015
Aw, ramen isn't cool anymore?! But I only just had my first bowl of restaurant ramen! Spicy miso broth and house-made noodles topped with smoked tofu and sweet corn -- OMFG doesn't even cut it. The doubanjiang and sweet corn sent it over the edge from simply delicious to out of this world, and since I seem to have everything I need to recreate it in my pantry or fridge already, I'll be taking my first stab at whipping up from-scratch ramen this weekend.
In case any of my fellow veg*ns are craving something delicious for the winter months, here's the recipe I'm going to try first: Spicy Miso Ramen EXPRESS. (Whenever a recipe calls for dashi granules, I use mushroom granules instead.)
And if anyone is looking for a spectacularly delicious instant ramen, my highest recommendation goes to Indomie Mi Goreng. Kecap manis and shallot oil FTW.
posted by divined by radio at 9:26 AM on January 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
In case any of my fellow veg*ns are craving something delicious for the winter months, here's the recipe I'm going to try first: Spicy Miso Ramen EXPRESS. (Whenever a recipe calls for dashi granules, I use mushroom granules instead.)
And if anyone is looking for a spectacularly delicious instant ramen, my highest recommendation goes to Indomie Mi Goreng. Kecap manis and shallot oil FTW.
posted by divined by radio at 9:26 AM on January 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
(Whenever a recipe calls for dashi granules, I use mushroom granules instead.)Huh, thanks for the link to mushroom granules. I use dashi granules for the stuff I make for myself, but I've also been cooking for a vegetarian lately and I didn't really have a good replacement except making veggie or mushroom stock.
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 9:29 AM on January 14, 2015
I am finally moving to NYC after years of visiting just for the restaurants. If ramen is over so help me god I will throw a tantrum.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 9:36 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 9:36 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
So, sometime in mid-January I make a temporary dietary shift to Chinese and Japanese cooking, probably to offset all the rich food I'd been having for the holidays. I make a pilgrimage to an Asian-foods grocery in Brooklyn and stock up on a few basics - soy and oyster sauce, mirin, an assortment of noodles, fresh ginger root, super-thinly sliced meat, and maybe some frozen dumplings, finished by going a little nuts in the produce section (huge bags of baby bok choy for about a buck! bean sprouts in bulk!) and then I just sort of improvise half-assed versions of things by grabbing one kind of meat plus a whole lot of vegetables, and then deciding whether I want it to be gyudon (which starts me making rice) or lo mein (digging out the oyster sauce and the wok for that) or yakitori (different noodles) or pad thai (even more different noodles, and some of that hot pepper jelly I made) or ramen (if I have enough broth).
I haven't yet gone shopping this year as I have a couple friends who will be coming with me this time; I've also already discovered I have some soup stock scraps which I'll be playing with after this earlier FPP.
What i'm trying to say is - y'all are starting to get clairvoyant on me, and if there's an FPP over the next couple weeks about "how to choose an AirBnB in Philadelphia" then I'm gonna be freaked out.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:36 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I haven't yet gone shopping this year as I have a couple friends who will be coming with me this time; I've also already discovered I have some soup stock scraps which I'll be playing with after this earlier FPP.
What i'm trying to say is - y'all are starting to get clairvoyant on me, and if there's an FPP over the next couple weeks about "how to choose an AirBnB in Philadelphia" then I'm gonna be freaked out.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:36 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Some local pop-up in Cambridge is selling $30ish tix for a "tonkatsu ramen" night. Ingredient list said homemade tonkatsu in addition to pork bellies. Makes me wonder if they're just clueless about spelling or indeed doubling up on the porkiness.
posted by shortfuse at 9:37 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by shortfuse at 9:37 AM on January 14, 2015
I'm wondering if they're just clueless about spelling or indeed doubling up on the porkiness.
In Tokyo, I spent 20 minutes talking to a Japanese colleague and trying to tell him I wanted "tonkotsu" and he kept saying back "tonkatsu" and talking about the cutlets; except that what he was saying sounded exactly like what I was saying. He wasn't messing with me - the words just sounded completely different to him, and exactly identical, to me. Finally, he got it and says back "Ahhhh! Tonkotsu!", again, sounding exactly the same to me.
After some more talking to him, he admitted that most of the time when we were trying to use some limited Japanese, we might as well have been barking like dogs for all it sounded like actual Japanese to him.
posted by ftm at 9:41 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
In Tokyo, I spent 20 minutes talking to a Japanese colleague and trying to tell him I wanted "tonkotsu" and he kept saying back "tonkatsu" and talking about the cutlets; except that what he was saying sounded exactly like what I was saying. He wasn't messing with me - the words just sounded completely different to him, and exactly identical, to me. Finally, he got it and says back "Ahhhh! Tonkotsu!", again, sounding exactly the same to me.
After some more talking to him, he admitted that most of the time when we were trying to use some limited Japanese, we might as well have been barking like dogs for all it sounded like actual Japanese to him.
posted by ftm at 9:41 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Huh, thanks for the link to mushroom granules. I use dashi granules for the stuff I make for myself, but I've also been cooking for a vegetarian lately and I didn't really have a good replacement except making veggie or mushroom stock.
I should probably cop to not having any idea what bonito dashi tastes like at all, but I can't find vegetarian dashi granules for the life of me, and the mushroom granules are like magic pixie dust for your soup. If you have konbu on hand, I can heartily recommend tossing a big strip of that in as well!
*stomach grumbles*
posted by divined by radio at 9:42 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I should probably cop to not having any idea what bonito dashi tastes like at all, but I can't find vegetarian dashi granules for the life of me, and the mushroom granules are like magic pixie dust for your soup. If you have konbu on hand, I can heartily recommend tossing a big strip of that in as well!
*stomach grumbles*
posted by divined by radio at 9:42 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
My go to has shifted slightly away from basic ramen to 'fresh packed' udon. The customization treatments remain the same however. Mostly crumbled dried black mushrooms, some fishballs sliced (kept frozen), some crunchy veg, sliced fresh ginger depending on original packet flavour.
posted by infini at 9:44 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by infini at 9:44 AM on January 14, 2015
I believe the conjunction you were looking for was "because" or "and".
Reads more like "but" in kmz' construction ... i.e. "delicious but fatty" rather than "delicious because fatty"
Perhaps "although" might be more accurate in this bowl of bean ramen?
posted by infini at 9:45 AM on January 14, 2015
Reads more like "but" in kmz' construction ... i.e. "delicious but fatty" rather than "delicious because fatty"
Perhaps "although" might be more accurate in this bowl of bean ramen?
posted by infini at 9:45 AM on January 14, 2015
Oh and is there a "Best Title Award" yet?
posted by infini at 9:47 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by infini at 9:47 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Its showing empty box in the browser bar but the Metafilter tab has the ramen icon.
posted by infini at 9:51 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by infini at 9:51 AM on January 14, 2015
The title of the post was originally just "🍜" (the emoji for a bowl of noodles) which shows up correctly on like osx and my iphone but I don't know what else. The title was edited by the mods to be "ramen 🍜" presumably to generate a page-url (and to be a working title for folks who don't have emoji support, I guess).
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 9:52 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 9:52 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
So I clicked on this post ten minutes ago and am now about to leave to get ramen with a friend for lunch. THE POWER OF THE BLUE.
posted by ilana at 9:56 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ilana at 9:56 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Our father, who art in heaven, noodly be thy appendage.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in the microwave in just 2 minutes.
Give us this day our daily pasta.
And forgive us our low-carb, as we forgive those who low-carb against us.
And lead us not into gnocchi, but deliver us from rice flour.
Ramen.
source but edited by me
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:09 AM on January 14, 2015
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in the microwave in just 2 minutes.
Give us this day our daily pasta.
And forgive us our low-carb, as we forgive those who low-carb against us.
And lead us not into gnocchi, but deliver us from rice flour.
Ramen.
source but edited by me
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:09 AM on January 14, 2015
I'm liking those David Chang cooking videos and how he's cooking the broth down most-to-all of the way. Instant ramen is definitely meant to be a soup, sure, but the texture of the noodles comes out so much more if you cook off the liquid and serve it as a stir fry or another dish with a sauce instead of broth. Also my favorite instant ramen (so far) specifically directs you to do this: Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein.
Yeah I think it's nearing the day when I finally make up those mason jar noodle soups because mmmmm.
posted by capricorn at 10:36 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah I think it's nearing the day when I finally make up those mason jar noodle soups because mmmmm.
posted by capricorn at 10:36 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Much as I love him, David Chang seems dead set on being a huge asshole these days. I can appreciate his argument for diversity in ramen styles and that we don't always require the sledgehammer of massively porky broth, but come on! Ramen's barely getting going, when you can get it at McDonald's it'll be properly through. And this latest conniption of his is fast on the heels of his rant about how much he hates craft beer. Well lah-dee-dah, I'm David Chang and I hate flavour, I've never heard of non-hoppy craft beer styles, wah wah wah. I get that trolling is the only way to gain currency in the information economy or whatever, but jesus, have some respect.
posted by kaspen at 10:39 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by kaspen at 10:39 AM on January 14, 2015
Begin Japanology: Ramen
Japanology Plus: Ramen
Tokyo Eye: Ultimate Ramen
(all from NHK World)
posted by wintersweet at 10:40 AM on January 14, 2015
Japanology Plus: Ramen
Tokyo Eye: Ultimate Ramen
(all from NHK World)
posted by wintersweet at 10:40 AM on January 14, 2015
Oh yeah, those op eds are definitely trolly, kaspen.
posted by capricorn at 10:42 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by capricorn at 10:42 AM on January 14, 2015
I had what I expect was fresh ramen at a place in san francisco a few months back and it was lovely. The kids I raised on the fried instant stuff were not so impressed.
A few days later I was home, running to the grocery store between engagements to pick up a hot deli meal for the kids. I was feeling poorly, wasn't hungry, but knew I had to eat, so I grabbed a packet of naan from an endcap.
As I waited beside my choices to be checked out, the woman in front of me asked me how the naan was. I shrugged, and said "Okay for what you can get in a supermarket." Not that I'm an expert, but I've eaten at some darn fine Indian restaurants.
What was she buying? Flour, a few other things, but the only thing I remember now was that 5 pound bag of Gold Medal all purpose flour. She was making fresh naan, she explained, for her grown daughter who was just getting over being sick and wanted a taste of home.
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 10:43 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
A few days later I was home, running to the grocery store between engagements to pick up a hot deli meal for the kids. I was feeling poorly, wasn't hungry, but knew I had to eat, so I grabbed a packet of naan from an endcap.
As I waited beside my choices to be checked out, the woman in front of me asked me how the naan was. I shrugged, and said "Okay for what you can get in a supermarket." Not that I'm an expert, but I've eaten at some darn fine Indian restaurants.
What was she buying? Flour, a few other things, but the only thing I remember now was that 5 pound bag of Gold Medal all purpose flour. She was making fresh naan, she explained, for her grown daughter who was just getting over being sick and wanted a taste of home.
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 10:43 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
David Chang seems dead set on being a huge asshole these days
His cookbooks are also filled with unnecessary profanity.
Fucking motherfucking chives!
posted by haricotvert at 10:45 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
His cookbooks are also filled with unnecessary profanity.
Fucking motherfucking chives!
posted by haricotvert at 10:45 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Beer snobs are the worst of the bunch. You know the old joke about cheap beer being like having sex in a canoe? I will take a beer that's "fucking near water" every night of the week over combing out my neck beard while arguing about hop varieties. - from the David Chang craft beer op ed
Ok, this is a connotation of neckbeard we didn't even go over in the Meta thread.
posted by Juliet Banana at 10:54 AM on January 14, 2015
Ok, this is a connotation of neckbeard we didn't even go over in the Meta thread.
posted by Juliet Banana at 10:54 AM on January 14, 2015
which shows up correctly on like osx and my iphone but I don't know what else
it looks fine in creaky old firefox 11, anyone using anything less crappy then that must be viewing this thread on an abacus.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:54 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
it looks fine in creaky old firefox 11, anyone using anything less crappy then that must be viewing this thread on an abacus.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:54 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
My guess is that it's an emoji, which doesn't work in Chrome, which is the majority browser.
posted by smackfu at 11:18 AM on January 14, 2015
posted by smackfu at 11:18 AM on January 14, 2015
I don't have the stats for Metafilter, but I bet there is no majority browser.
Chrome on Android 5 shows emoji fine, as do IE and Firefox on Windows. The Canary version of Chrome on OSX just got support. I'm not sure why it's not supported on Chrome on Windows.
posted by demiurge at 12:18 PM on January 14, 2015
Chrome on Android 5 shows emoji fine, as do IE and Firefox on Windows. The Canary version of Chrome on OSX just got support. I'm not sure why it's not supported on Chrome on Windows.
posted by demiurge at 12:18 PM on January 14, 2015
I miss ramen, it's the food I miss the most from my time in Japan. There's not a day that I don't think about it so this post makes me very sad, because there is no decent ramen shop where I live.
posted by SageLeVoid at 1:21 PM on January 14, 2015
posted by SageLeVoid at 1:21 PM on January 14, 2015
Good Ramen in the bay you should look no further than San Mateo downtown. There's at least 5 and they're all great, though different strengths and weaknesses.
posted by Carillon at 2:31 PM on January 14, 2015
posted by Carillon at 2:31 PM on January 14, 2015
Kmz, yeah, "ramen" (ラーメン) comes from Chinese "lamien" (and is very occasionally still written 拉麺), though the two bear about as much resemblance nowadays as Italian pizza and Papa John's.
One of the odder things about moving to the northern upskirts of Kyoto city (not upstate Kyoto) was discovering the so-called Ichijōji Ramen Road. Apparently the concentration of colleges and universities in the area led to a part of town having something like a dozen (or more?) ramen shops along a stretch of road no more than about a kilometer long. In at least two places, you will find a ramen shop next door to a ramen shop, across the street from a ramen shop. Pretty much the whole gamut is represented, too, from chūka soba up through tsukemen and ramen with chicken soup so thick and rich it is much more comparable to gravy with literally zero exaggeration.
That said, I do miss my favorite ramen shop, in Kaga, Ishikawa, ever since moving out of Fukui. Kanazawa is also a secret ramen paradise, like a miniature Sapporo or something.
Gah. It's 8:00 in the morning, and I have a big container of crock-pot barbecued pork in the fridge, and yet between this post today and a morning show on Tuesday spending an hour and a half on how to properly prepare gyoza, I am now back to my natural state of Ramen Fiend.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:13 PM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
One of the odder things about moving to the northern upskirts of Kyoto city (not upstate Kyoto) was discovering the so-called Ichijōji Ramen Road. Apparently the concentration of colleges and universities in the area led to a part of town having something like a dozen (or more?) ramen shops along a stretch of road no more than about a kilometer long. In at least two places, you will find a ramen shop next door to a ramen shop, across the street from a ramen shop. Pretty much the whole gamut is represented, too, from chūka soba up through tsukemen and ramen with chicken soup so thick and rich it is much more comparable to gravy with literally zero exaggeration.
That said, I do miss my favorite ramen shop, in Kaga, Ishikawa, ever since moving out of Fukui. Kanazawa is also a secret ramen paradise, like a miniature Sapporo or something.
Gah. It's 8:00 in the morning, and I have a big container of crock-pot barbecued pork in the fridge, and yet between this post today and a morning show on Tuesday spending an hour and a half on how to properly prepare gyoza, I am now back to my natural state of Ramen Fiend.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:13 PM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Chang did help spawn the ramen revolution of the last ten years
Oh please. Let's have some respect for Sanyo Corp. of America.
posted by sneebler at 5:28 PM on January 14, 2015
Oh please. Let's have some respect for Sanyo Corp. of America.
posted by sneebler at 5:28 PM on January 14, 2015
I am literally posting this comment from the airplane on the way home from a trip to Japan that was instigated when my husband, as we were watching Mind of a Chef, turned to me and said, "I want ramen. Let's go to Japan."
In conclusion: ramen.
Ironically, we only had ramen twice in three weeks because there was SO MUCH OTHER GOOD FOOD available. Still, ramen.
posted by telophase at 7:28 PM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
In conclusion: ramen.
Ironically, we only had ramen twice in three weeks because there was SO MUCH OTHER GOOD FOOD available. Still, ramen.
posted by telophase at 7:28 PM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
That Ramen Rater interview is great.
It's always been weird to me that duck is usually priced like a premium ingredient in Western restaurants but in Chinese places duck dishes are usually not much more expensive than chicken dishes. A whole roast duck is usually less than $20 at any Chinese BBQ place and they are _delicious_.
Yeah this is apparently a big secret of fancy restaurants; you can get a much higher margin on ducks than on lots of things, because people think they're expensive. In San Francisco in the Richmond you can get whole ducks at New May Wah for under $3/lb (or you could the last time I checked); you can even get fancy pampered-until-death ducks for under $4/lb (though shipping will be a factor). And that price—$3.60/lb for a whole duck—is basically what the average fancy-supermarket chicken will run you. (You can admittedly spend much more for either bird.)
posted by kenko at 7:49 PM on January 14, 2015
It's always been weird to me that duck is usually priced like a premium ingredient in Western restaurants but in Chinese places duck dishes are usually not much more expensive than chicken dishes. A whole roast duck is usually less than $20 at any Chinese BBQ place and they are _delicious_.
Yeah this is apparently a big secret of fancy restaurants; you can get a much higher margin on ducks than on lots of things, because people think they're expensive. In San Francisco in the Richmond you can get whole ducks at New May Wah for under $3/lb (or you could the last time I checked); you can even get fancy pampered-until-death ducks for under $4/lb (though shipping will be a factor). And that price—$3.60/lb for a whole duck—is basically what the average fancy-supermarket chicken will run you. (You can admittedly spend much more for either bird.)
posted by kenko at 7:49 PM on January 14, 2015
Happiness is a bowl of shio (salt, or basically chicken broth) chashu-men, hold the menma, doused with shichimin*, black pepper, and pureed garlic. The one that I go for where I live (which was described to me as a 'ramen desert' by a Japanese friend who always posts on facebook about the ramen he's eating) is Himuro, which is a smallish chain (roughly fifteen shops, mostly in Chiba). There are shops all around Chiba, and a couple in Tokyo. Awesome, awesome stuff.
*Back when I taught English, I had a lesson for writing time order paragraphs using signal words like first, next, after that, and so on. The introduction to the unit was a set of laminated pictures the students would put in order to make the story. The pictures were taken by Mrs. Ghidorah at our then favorite (now, sadly closed) ramen shop, and featured me going through the steps of ordering, seasoning, and eating** ramen. This unit was right after a unit on trying to use descriptive language, and hands down the best paragraph I ever got back was from the most vocal, unruliest, though well intentioned class clown I've ever taught, including the best ESL sentence OF ALL TIME: "He put so much chili pepper into his ramen that it looked like a sea of blood." I loved that kid.
**Every year, cards would go missing. The most commonly stolen card? The extreme closeup of me shoveling noodles into my mouth with chopsticks. Every year, two or three of those cards would go missing.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:53 PM on January 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
*Back when I taught English, I had a lesson for writing time order paragraphs using signal words like first, next, after that, and so on. The introduction to the unit was a set of laminated pictures the students would put in order to make the story. The pictures were taken by Mrs. Ghidorah at our then favorite (now, sadly closed) ramen shop, and featured me going through the steps of ordering, seasoning, and eating** ramen. This unit was right after a unit on trying to use descriptive language, and hands down the best paragraph I ever got back was from the most vocal, unruliest, though well intentioned class clown I've ever taught, including the best ESL sentence OF ALL TIME: "He put so much chili pepper into his ramen that it looked like a sea of blood." I loved that kid.
**Every year, cards would go missing. The most commonly stolen card? The extreme closeup of me shoveling noodles into my mouth with chopsticks. Every year, two or three of those cards would go missing.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:53 PM on January 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Shichimi is pretty awesome, yeah, but what's wrong with menma? Such a nice texture that complements everything else. Come to think of it, actually, it's been a while since I've seen shichimi at any ramen shop I've been to. Soba or udon? Sure, but not ramen, at least not around Kyoto.
The thing I've found about ramen is that, for a while, I thought that, like pizza, it was impossible to get ramen that was truly bad. A roadside shop on the border of Fukui and Ishikawa selling "butter miso ramen" made with a big ol' scoop of margarine, as well as "kon-chan" ramen from a place next to Fushimi-Inari Taisha that was otherwise serviceable ramen topped not with usu-age as I'd expected, but the actual sweet seasoned usu-age used for inari sushi (and it tasted like that stuff that comes in a can), have both firmly dissuaded me of that notion.
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:22 PM on January 14, 2015
The thing I've found about ramen is that, for a while, I thought that, like pizza, it was impossible to get ramen that was truly bad. A roadside shop on the border of Fukui and Ishikawa selling "butter miso ramen" made with a big ol' scoop of margarine, as well as "kon-chan" ramen from a place next to Fushimi-Inari Taisha that was otherwise serviceable ramen topped not with usu-age as I'd expected, but the actual sweet seasoned usu-age used for inari sushi (and it tasted like that stuff that comes in a can), have both firmly dissuaded me of that notion.
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:22 PM on January 14, 2015
I'm just not a fan of the texture, especially when mixed in with noodles. Same with pho and bean sprouts, I don't like the mix of wildly different textures.
I agree with you about bad ramen. It's out there, and it's awful. It's even worse when you're hungry, and excited to try something new, and you end up with a big greasy bowl of suck.
posted by Ghidorah at 12:14 AM on January 15, 2015
I agree with you about bad ramen. It's out there, and it's awful. It's even worse when you're hungry, and excited to try something new, and you end up with a big greasy bowl of suck.
posted by Ghidorah at 12:14 AM on January 15, 2015
Happiness is a bowl of shio (salt, or basically chicken broth) chashu-menshio, incidentally, is tons better than the ridiculously over-hyped tonkotsu that so many people seem fond of...
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 3:37 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 10:37 AM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
and they trembled, you clearly just haven't had good pork bone ramen. Even in Japan, it runs the gamut from life-changing to oh-God-why
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:42 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:42 PM on January 15, 2015
Just now got around to reading the regional ramen guide, and while informative, the dude's clear phobia of lipids reads like someone who isn't a particularly good writer trying to spice up a "health" piece on '90s TV news.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:49 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:49 PM on January 15, 2015
This is where I'm reminded of the privileges derived from geographic and ethnic proximity to Asia. I eat ramen at least once a week. Living in Hawaii I've always enjoyed access to a multitude of noodle soups, though I've only noticed an "explosion" of ramen options in the past 5 years. Shops selling tsukumen, tonkotsu, and tokkeri styles have only emerged recently (at least on my radar) even though the Ezogiku chain (Sapporo miso-style) has been in Hawaii since 1974.
Not sure how to explain the "hockey stick" curve of ramen availability hereabouts, but part of it might be because of the prevalence of saimin. Saimin is the localized version of ramen, which is basically shio-based broth with Chinese garnishes - typically char siu pork, wonton (with mustard for dipping), and won bok cabbage . One of the oldest (and maybe oddest) saimin joints is Shiro's, which dates back to '69. I'd posit that Hawaii residents grew up with saimin as the default flavor profile of noodle soups, and might have been a bit slower to accept the flavor and texture profiles provided by other ramen styles. So even though I thoroughly enjoy all the new ramen options, every now and then I just need the classic pairing of saimin and a teri-beef bun. And maybe just throw whatever is left in the fridge on top.
posted by krippledkonscious at 7:09 PM on January 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Not sure how to explain the "hockey stick" curve of ramen availability hereabouts, but part of it might be because of the prevalence of saimin. Saimin is the localized version of ramen, which is basically shio-based broth with Chinese garnishes - typically char siu pork, wonton (with mustard for dipping), and won bok cabbage . One of the oldest (and maybe oddest) saimin joints is Shiro's, which dates back to '69. I'd posit that Hawaii residents grew up with saimin as the default flavor profile of noodle soups, and might have been a bit slower to accept the flavor and texture profiles provided by other ramen styles. So even though I thoroughly enjoy all the new ramen options, every now and then I just need the classic pairing of saimin and a teri-beef bun. And maybe just throw whatever is left in the fridge on top.
posted by krippledkonscious at 7:09 PM on January 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
I grew up in Hawaii and now I want saimin so bad it's scary.
posted by rtha at 8:41 PM on January 15, 2015
posted by rtha at 8:41 PM on January 15, 2015
you guys
i wasn't joking about the super fancy high end taco
from the instagram jordan kahn (of vietnamese-fusion turned nordic restaurant red medicine, now closed)
the "rod taco"
white truffle, jamon iberico, osteria caviar
raise your hand if you'd pick carne asada anyday
posted by Juliet Banana at 8:06 AM on January 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
i wasn't joking about the super fancy high end taco
from the instagram jordan kahn (of vietnamese-fusion turned nordic restaurant red medicine, now closed)
the "rod taco"
white truffle, jamon iberico, osteria caviar
raise your hand if you'd pick carne asada anyday
posted by Juliet Banana at 8:06 AM on January 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
idk i would probably kill someone for some jamon iberico but the caviar can go right into the trash where it belongs.
posted by poffin boffin at 8:24 AM on January 20, 2015
posted by poffin boffin at 8:24 AM on January 20, 2015
Like a character in an early Terrence Malick film, ramen used to wear a scuffed-up leather jacket and slouch around outside the prom. Today, it’s had its teeth done and votes Republican. And Chang feels betrayed, personally affronted, by the umami-rich broth, which has become “the very establishment it once stood against”. [...] So have we achieved peak ramen? Is it all downhill from here? No, of course we haven’t.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:48 AM on January 22, 2015
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:48 AM on January 22, 2015
Umami Mart here in Oakland think Chang's opinion is "a whole crock of horse shit". From a blog post they put up today: Furochan Eats: Ramen Is Not Dead. It’s Just Getting Started.
posted by Lexica at 3:52 PM on January 22, 2015
posted by Lexica at 3:52 PM on January 22, 2015
I literally cannot express how great it would be, in my opinion, if ramen were as big a thing in America as it is in Japan.
posted by DoctorFedora at 9:40 PM on January 24, 2015
posted by DoctorFedora at 9:40 PM on January 24, 2015
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posted by maryr at 8:29 AM on January 14, 2015 [5 favorites]