What is ramen?
Broth, tare, noodles, oil and toppings. Here’s how they come together.
Ninja City
The five parts of a bowl
Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish made with wheat noodles. For a bowl of ramen soup, we usually talk about five parts: broth, tare, noodles, aromatic oil and toppings.
Broth is the base: pork, chicken, seafood, vegetables or a combination.
Tare is the concentrated seasoning that gives the broth its salt and flavor.
Noodles bring the chew. Their dough, shape and cooking all affect the bite.
Aromatic oil adds fragrance and richness.
Toppings add meat, egg, vegetables, seaweed and different textures.
Where the oil fits
The little sheen on the broth can come from a finishing oil. Garlic, scallion or chili can flavor it; the choice depends on the bowl. It adds aroma as well as fat.
We finish our Tonkotsu with mild house togarashi oil. It adds another aroma to the pork broth.
Putting it together at Ninja City
We cook pork bones over two days for our Tonkotsu broth. We add fresh ramen noodles made locally by Ohio City Pasta, braised pork chashu, half a soy egg, roasted corn, sprouts, scallions, sesame seeds and nori.
Our Spicy Korean Fried Chicken Ramen uses pork tonkotsu broth too, with a spicy tare, gochujang and chili heat. The chicken is the topping. If you’re choosing by meat, check both the broth and what comes on top.
You’ll also see names such as shoyu, shio and miso on ramen menus. Those describe seasoning styles: soy sauce, salt and miso. Tonkotsu describes pork-bone broth, so a bowl can be both tonkotsu and shoyu.
Keep reading
What are ramen noodles made from?
Pho vs. ramen: how the bowls differ
Further reading