Spotlight on Cuisine: Yes, Ramen

So I'm guessing, dear reader, that you've heard of ramen before. Most often, outside of Japan, you'll see it prepackaged in styrofoam cups or little bricks, with the packet of suspicious-looking powder that's supposed to be soup stock. While this is convenient and cheap, those who have had the good fortune of eating more authentic (and fresher) forms of ramen know that it is a far cry from the good stuff.

But there are a lot of varieties of ramen, and northeastern Japan has a few of its own! At left is a photo of one, the famous Kitakata ramen. For more on Tohoku variants of this staple food, read on!

Ramen is Chinese in origin. In fact, "ramen" itself is, if I'm not mistaken, the Japanese pronounciation of "lo mein," which aficionados of Chinese cuisine will surely recognize. Ramen came to Japan in the mid to late 17th century, along with the wave of refugees from the collapsing Ming dynasty China. There's a story (according to author and modern day "head" of the Tayasu-Tokugawa family, Tokugawa Munefusa) that Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628-1701), who was the second generation lord of Mito, was the first to eat it in Japan-- he also claims that Mitsukuni was the first in Japan to drink wine and eat yogurt, too. Whether or not it's true is secondary to the fact that in a short time, the popularity of ramen soared. It remains a staple food today, along with many other varieties of noodle.

There are four types of ramen from the Tohoku region that I'd like to introduce.

• Kitakata ramen: Probably the most famous, from Kitakata in Fukushima Prefecture. The noodles are curly and it's flavored with niboshi (dried baby sardines) and soy. Kitakata ramen is also probably the easiest to find outside of its "birthplace," both elsewhere in Japan and also elsewhere in the world.
• Yonezawa ramen: First made by a Chinese restauranteur who came to Yonezawa in the early 20th century.. Cooked with chicken broth and dried sardines, and often served with fishcake (naruto) and bamboo shoots, too. This one I've had, and the smell is strong-- even (in my opinion) kind of awful-- but the taste is amazingly good.
• Sendai ramen: Ramen using the particularly strong variety of miso that's native to Sendai.
• Sakata ramen: From Sakata (in Yamagata prefecture) and characterized by a soy base, and a variety of toppings including seaweed, dried baby sardines, leeks, and pork.

What kind of ramen do you enjoy? Please share it in the comments!


Works Cited

• Photo of Kitakata Ramen at Wikimedia Commons (accessed 25 Mar. 2013)
• "Food," from the Yonezawa Tourist page. (accessed 25 Mar. 2013)
• Aizu, Bandai, Kitakata. Tokyo: JTB, 2004.
• Elsey, Teresa. Let's Go Japan. New York: Macmillan, 2003.
• "Kitakata: A Legendary Ramen Town," on Chopsticks NY Website (accessed 25 Mar. 2013)
• Tokugawa Munefusa. Tokugawa 400nen no Naishobanashi. Tokyo: Bunshun-bunko, 2005.