You’ve probably already booked your ticket to visit Japan’s ramen museum and rented Brittany Murphy’s finest work, The Ramen Girl.
And what better way to enjoy the occasion than with a bowl of pure steaming comfort?
Miso happy!
Noodle dishes have a long, slurpable pedigree in Asia, migrating from China to Japan. Atop the base of hearty noodles (“lamain” means “hand-pulled” in Chinese, probably giving the dish its name) a lot of great ingredients give great contrast in taste and texture. Ramen bars and carts are a staple of the Japanese food scene, with each region showcasing their own twist on the dish.
During post-war hunger shortages, businessman Momofuku Ando experimented with flash-frying wheat noodles for easy consumption. Ando’s company Nissan introduced Cup Noodles to the United States in the 1970s, for anyone who could boil water to”enjoy.”
Ando ate them daily, which he claimed let him live to 96.
Ramen really took off in America in 2004 when David Chang opened the first great New York ramen bar, named Momofoku after the noodle pioneer.
Want some reasons to not settle for the 89 cent version from the convenience store? Fantastic enoki mushrooms. Sweet corn. Shredded sea vegetables. Roasted pork. Boiled egg. Slices of pink-edged cured fish called komoboku. Miso gives the distinctive unami, or savory taste to the broth. Ramen should be a experience, greater the sum of its parts.
No more Cup Noodles!
Come in for a bowl: it’s the culinary equivalent of a warm blanket on a cold day!
A Taste of Central 