For a long time, ramen has been the famous Japanese noodle. Ramen was originally from China, but with local adaptation and various topping, it becomes one of the most famous Japanese food. When you come to visit Japan, make sure to stop by any ramen shop and try this famous noodle. Ramen taste the best when it is hot. However, ramen is the not the only noodle in Japanese cuisine. Try another Japanese twist on noodle, the tsukemen which the locals usually eat during summer. Want to know the differences between ramen and tsukemen? Read below to check it out!
Tsukemen
Compare to Ramen’s soup, tsukemen’s soup is thicker and richer. The soup usually miso based, but there is some shouyu based. The locals usually eat hot ramen during winter and choose tsukemen during the summer. This is because Tsukemen serves their noodle cold and separated from the sauce. How to eat Tsukemen? Easy! Just take the appropriate amount of noodle and then dipped it in the sauce that usually been placed in a stone bowl. After you're finished with the noodle and still have the soup left, try to ask the waitress to put some hot soup into it to make it less thick and you can finish the delicious soup.
Ramen
It is opposite for ramen, all the noodle, soup and toppings are served within one bowl and are best to served hot. The soups and toppings varies between restaurants. The ramen has 4 types of base soup, such as shouyu (soy-sauce), shio (salt), tonkotsu (pork bone), and miso (fermented soybean). Shouyu ramen is popular in Tokyo, Tonkotsu ramen in Kyushuu, and Miso ramen in Hokkaido.
Manners when eating Tsukemen and Ramen are still the same: using a chopstick, and contrary to other culture, the bigger the slurp, the better.
How to eat Ramen in Japan and what not to do
By watching this video, you will learn how to eat and appreciate ramen and tsukemen, what to do when eating and what not to do when eating any kind of ramen in Japan! It also mentions about the ingredients and curiosities about the Tsukemen ramen!
Enjoy eating Ramen and Tsukemen in Japan.
