Comforting flavours and warmth in a bowl. The tender meat and stringy ramen noodle is exactly what you need after a long day of work. The soup and noodles are perfectly combined and balanced in the bowl.
What is Ramen
Ramen is actually a type of pulled noodle that is served in a broth. This dish can be eaten for any meal time. For breakfast, lunch and dinner, ramen is good to be enjoyed with your loved ones. The savoury soy sauce broth is the perfect pair for the chewy and dewy ramen. The dish itself is served with ramen noodles, soy sauce broth, egg, and a tenderly cooked meat slice.
History of Ramen
Contrary to popular belief, ramen actually originated from Chinese wheat noodles. In the 1660s, a Chinese neo-Confucian scholar, Zhu Shunsui who served a Japanese named Tokugawa Mitsukuni introduced the ramen to Mitsukuni.
In another story, ramen was reported to be first introduced by a Chinese immigrant at the Yokohama Chinatown in the 19th century. Ramen was first a Chinese dish that made its debut in Japan in 1859.
By the 1900s, Chinese restaurants that are mainly from Canton and Shanghai served a simple plate of wheat noodles. The simple ramen noodles were thinly cut, topped with green and submerged in flavourful broth. More Chinese restaurants were opened to sell ramen and gyoza to the working-class people.
In the 1950s, Chinese restaurants were greatly popular, and there was a cutthroat competition between the owners. Restaurants started to advertise using a musical instrument called charumera. Charumera was used to attract customers to visit their restaurant.
Aside from that, they would also record their voice to attract the customer by playing the recording over a loudspeaker on loop. The Japanese word, ramen is actually transcribed from the Chinese word ‘lamian’.
Ramen was called “shina soba” until the 1950s. Shina soba which means “Chinese soba” was no longer used to describe wheat noodles. Instead, the locals referred to the wheat noodles as ramen. The noodles were so popular that stores even began selling instant ramen in packets.
In 1950s, ramen noodles were invented to allow people to enjoy eating ramen whenever and wherever they want.
Types of Ramen
People have been recreating and developing new recipes in order to find new ways to enjoy the dish. One of the most well-known ramen is the original shoyu ramen. Shoyu ramen features a soy sauce-based broth and is served with fish cakes, boiled egg and bean sprouts. The ramen in the dish is curlier than regular ramen noodles.
Besides, shio ramen is famous as well. The ramen dish is flavoured with chicken meatballs, pickles and fish roll.
Another classic is the miso ramen, which is flavoured with spicy bean paste, butter, corn, ground pork, white pepper and desirable greens. The wheat noodles in miso ramen are thicker and curlier than the average ramen.
Where to Find Ramen in Malaysia
You can try delicious ramen in Marutama ramen. Ramen also can be ordered from Super Ramen restaurant. Both of these restaurants have their own signature style and flavour of making ramen dishes.
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