Anyone know how to make "proper" Ramen

Raymond Lin · 2 Dec 2017 at 14:30

I've been back a week now, and I have not been stop thinking about the ramen I had in Japan. I went to Wagamama literally the very next day I got home and it was the single most disappointing meal of my life.

I went for the signature Wagamama Ramen

Broth - I asked for rich broth (option on the menu) and got what taste like nothing more than salty chicken stock
Noodle - don't have the firmness
chicken - just sliced cold chicken that they put on a pan until slightly charred on the edges

Since then I am trying to make an authentic one, i don't mind which one, although my favourite is a joint between tonkotsu ramen (pork bone broth), and tsukemen ramen (dipping sauce).

The problem is I am not sure how I can replicate proper tonkotsu broth….I had this last Friday, this place is tiny, 16 seats inside queues round the block all day long and if you can be seated under 30 mins you've gone at the "quiet time".

I think I can source proper noodles, even good roast pork belly and make my own tea eggs but that broth….anyone got any good recipes?

Raymond Lin · 2 Dec 2017 at 15:55

Strangely, I actually flew to Fukuoka for a bowl Tonkotsu ramen, for the authenticity, although it was EXCELLENT but the best bowl was that one in Tokyo...

Raymond Lin · 2 Dec 2017 at 15:57

Tyrone1Wils said:
Check out www.reddit.com/r/ramen and check out https://www.reddit.com/user/Ramen_Lord/submitted/ recipes.

Heard nothing but good things. Here's his Tonkotsu recipe. It's very ingredient and labour intensive. I've been meaning to make it but it's just having the time.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ramen/comments/2l2eas/here_it_is_the_granddaddy_of_them_all_homemade_18/

Serious eats even interviewed him and make an article about him.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2017/01/obsessed-interview-reddit-ramen-lord-mike-satinover.html

He does have a pressure cooker version but I can't find it atm.

Edit never mind, it was his latest post: https://www.reddit.com/r/ramen/comments/7arli8/fresh_dont_feel_like_spending_18_hours_making/

Thanks! I guess I have to look into getting a pressure cooker, or may be a slow cooker may be over 18 hours?

Raymond Lin · 3 Dec 2017 at 14:20

Lil old me said:
I had the exact same disappointment after living in Japan for a year! I have tried making my own, but much as I love a challenge in the kitchen, it was a LOT of work!

Best I have found in a restaurant in the UK is Shoryu Ramen

I’ll have to check them out, thanks! I literally went to Fukuoka for the Hakata ramen, you can’t get more authentic than that, so it’ll be interesting to compare.

Raymond Lin · 6 Dec 2017 at 21:34

I cheated, found a place that sells concentrated tonkotsu broth, it was £20 for a 1L portion, very expensive but as it turns out, incredibly good!!!! I mean it is light years ahead of Wagamama and almost on Japan level, if the bowl above is 10/10, this is easily an 8, may be even a 9 once I work out the ratio to my liking.

It even has fat on the broth, I am satisfied and I can say this will do nicely as a substitute, vs slogging away for hours.

Raymond Lin · 6 Dec 2017 at 22:47

FrenchTart said:
Nice. Is it local only or online? Was the concentrated broth a commercial product of some kind?

https://www.souschef.co.uk/tonkotsu-flavour-ramen-soup-base.html

It's not true pork bone but it is full of flavour, not the artificial one that you get from a packet powder.

Raymond Lin · 6 Dec 2017 at 22:54

FrenchTart said:
Ah, the stuff from souschef is generally decent so I'm not surprised that it's good

1L is actually quite a lot, it recommends 35ml per 315ml of water.

I did about 50ml for 300ml of water as I prefer a richer taste and it was perhaps a touch too strong. Might try 45ml next time. With that ratio, it's enough for almost 25 servings so that's ramen everyday for a month. Not to mention it says once open, use within 30days.

Raymond Lin · 6 Dec 2017 at 23:01

FrenchTart said:
I'd imagine you could get away with freezing it into portions if you want to spread out your ramen habit.

Good idea, I think I will split them, as much as I love the stuff, everyday for a month is too much.

Raymond Lin · 7 Dec 2017 at 19:17

Begbie said:
I feel you, I had serious Ramen cravings when I got back from Tokyo. I still have them, nearly a year later.

I've made some 'easy' stuff in the slow cooker but it was never the same, albiet quite tasty. I've tried a few restaurants. Nothing, nothing comes close. I swear I'll be back in Tokyo soon, mostly for some delicious Ramen.

I shall now be ordering some of that soup base.

I have had it again tonight, slightly less strong and I think about 40-45ml to 300ml of water is the right proportion. If I had to knock it, it may be a touch salty but perhaps I am using 45ml instead of 35ml as instructed. The flavour is not the tonkotsu of the ones in Fukuoka or Ichiran Ramen as it has a slight shoyu taste to it.

Again, totally satisfied and i am 100% certain it is streets ahead of Wagamama, as close as I can get from a packet I think and I would say if I were served this in Japan, I would be perfectly happy. That is saying something I think….below is my noodle adventure in Japan and this is what I am comparing it to.

*So compare to all that below, if the bowl in Mutekyia is a 10 (it is rank 1 out of over 3,000 restaurant afterall), and most of the other ramen here are 8 or 9. I think mine can easily be a 8 provided you have good ramen, pork belly and manage to get all the good toppings that they usually do in Japan to complete the experience.

First stop.

Tonkotsu in Fukuoka, Ramen Stadium

Second was a Shoyu ramen in Kyoto

Then some Soba noodles also in Kyoto

Then I went to Ichiran Ramen, also in Kyoto, but ichiran is a chain, specialises in tonkotsu ramen, it originally started in Fukuoka.

Then I had my first Tsukemen at the food court in Odiba. This is amazing. It looks so simple. Noodles on the side of a bowl of broth (the meat sinks underneath). but it because the idea that the broth is thick so it clings onto the noodles, you get this intense flavour from the broth. What you do at the end of the meal is that if there are broth left, you can ask for some hot water or weak soup to dilute it and then you can drink it.

This is a popular combination, Soba with some Tampura

2nd Tsukemen, this bowl was even better than the first one would you believe, from a random store that had queues outside in a shopping mall near Tokyo Skytree. Tskemen always comes with the egg on the side, uncut, noodles are also thicker and bouncier too than normal ramen.

On the last day I found an udon place, breakfast!

Finally was the Mutekyia one which is a predominately a tonkotsu broth but with a touch of shoyu added i recall. The meat here is also the best of the lot.

Raymond Lin · 7 Dec 2017 at 19:37

Begbie said:
Can't see pictures (on work pc). But I remember suggesting to you just to join random queues

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...aiichiasahi-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html

Is the first Ramen I tried in Kyoto, waited outside for about 20 minutes. If I didn't feel bad there was such a long queue outside I would've ate another two bowls. It set my love up for Ramen

The last bowl was partly like that. I went to Ikebukuro for the last day to see the area, and determine to get a bowl of ramen for lunch. Actually 1st choice (from an article in Time Out) was no where to be seen where it was supposed to be according to Google Maps so I went to the next spot on the article and the queue was round the corner. I am normally not a person for queues, I find them a waste of time, but perhaps at that point I have been in Japan for almost 2 weeks and it seems that's what people do, so I decided to join it instead to look for another place and it was amazing.

The Tsukemen near Skytree was where I just joined it randomly. I had not intended to eat there, just been to Skytree and was just leaving but saw it so I queue up just like everyone else.

Raymond Lin · 8 Dec 2017 at 18:06

memyselfandi said:
Whilst I love a good bowl of tonkotsu ramen (every time I've been in Fukuoka it's the first thing I go for) but the thing I really pine for is Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki ...

Had that too, in Hiroshima, then I had Osaka's version in Osaka.

Sorry, but I prefer the Osaka one, even though the Hiroshima style looks more impressive.

Raymond Lin · 8 Dec 2017 at 20:23

FrenchTart said:
Okonomiyaki is delicious. I'm not sure which 'styles' I've had however.

That will be my next dish to try to make, it can't be that hard. Just need the okonomiyaki flour, the special brown sauce and the special mayo. The rest is just seafood that you like, ramen noodles and beansprouts.

Raymond Lin · 8 Dec 2017 at 20:27

FrenchTart said:
Yeah, it's not hard to make at all. Good recipe on Serious Eats for an introduction to it

I presume you've got easy access to Chinese supermarkets so getting hold of okonomiyaki sauce and kewpie mayo should be pretty simple. Home made is better of course.

Well, I did, but I don't work in Birmingham anymore so I am getting everything online these days. It cost about £30 by the time petrol and parking kicked in so just cheaper to buy online.

Like this.

Ramen Noodles ID0021 2 £5.50
Nori Sheets JP0014 1 £2.95
Midori Soy Sauce & Pickle Bowl BA0144 1 £5.95
Kyurizuke Pickled Cucumber TZ0050 1 £1.60
Hojicha Japanese Roasted Green Tea JP0129 1 £2.95
Instant Miso Soup With Wakame TZ0016 1 £3.95
Matcha Mochi ID0201 2 £5.00
Melamine Red & Black Soup Spoon ID0208 1 £0.95
Okonomi Sauce JP0028 1 £3.80
Japanese Kenko Mayonnaise JP0026 1 £3.95
Katsuo Bushi Bonito Flakes 40g TZ0019C 1 £4.50
Okonomiyaki Set JP0110 1 £3.95

Raymond Lin · 8 Dec 2017 at 23:07

memyselfandi said:
Last one I had in Hiroshima used udon noodles not ramen ones ...

I was not in Hiroshima or Osaka long enough really to have time to try all the food, or enough meals. There is only so much I can eat and they are quite filling. In fact, in Hiroshima I started talking to the people sat next to me who are musicians on tour and I ended up sharing some of mine with them.

Raymond Lin · 26 Jul 2019 at 15:14

dulcificum said:
Necro thread but with a pressure cooker and a good butcher making a broth from scratch that will **** all over that sous chef stuff is dead easy. Not a slog at all.

Also, if you're making at home with concentrated base, make sure you spend a bit of time making a half decent tare and make a batch of mauy too. Really makes a big difference.

Also, always sous vide your char siu!

I already sous vide my meat, it's the easiest way.

Don't have a pressure cooker...I am trying to stop myself collecting cooking gadgets that only use once a year. I know how to make the broth from scratch but I am never at home for that long at a time so it is difficult to fit it in.

Raymond Lin · 28 Jul 2019 at 12:49

dulcificum said:
Wagamana ramen is utter trash. BD and Tonkotsu are okay but Wagamama is so so so far behind.

Good! Yeah, that was the problem for me. And with a full sous vide machine not even a smaller immersion version, space is at a premium. But the pressure cooker is definitely worth it. You can cut ramen stock down from 18 hours to just a couple (and you don't need to babysit it). Same with pho stock. Instead of a day it's just a few mins and ready a few hours later. Normal soups and bisques are simple. Braises are great and I have one that will cold smoke too.

Just looked at that sous chef ramen stock. Has it changed? I can't see how it's close to being useable. It doesn't have any meat in it at all?!

The taste though, it is REALLY good, better than a few ramen places I've had here in the UK, only bettered than the ones I had in Japan. I may be clouded by my memory but I am going back in a few months so will compare again.