The first Japanese person to eat ramen is said to have been Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628–1701) the second lord of the Mito domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture). According to this account, a Confucian scholar exiled from Ming China named Zhu Zhiyu (1600–82) became Tokugawa’s teacher and presented him with “Chinese noodles,” the forerunner of today’s ramen. Records indicate that the noodles were made of a mix of wheat and lotus flour, and were served in a broth. An updated version of this original dish is sold in Ibaraki under the name “Mito domain ramen.”
However, these “Chinese noodles” did not catch on immediately; it was not until the Meiji era (1868–1912) that they finally started to win over Japanese diners. At Chinese restaurants in Yokohama’s Chinatown and elsewhere, noodles and soup were supplemented with braised pork (chāshū), bamboo shoots (menma), and halved boiled eggs. Its origins are the reason ramen is often known as Chinese soba (chūka soba) in Japan.
Bowl of ramen from Komurasaki in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture
After World War II, after returnees from China began selling ramen around the country, it became a favorite down-to-earth dish, rivaling Japanese curry in popularity. At that chaotic time, when food was scarce, ramen was embraced as a cheap and tasty dish sold at street stalls. These modest stalls developed into shops that soon were everywhere in Japan.
The steady proliferation of shops has sparked intense competition, leading to many new kinds of ramen, including upscale variations topped with crab or lobster that can cost as much as ¥10,000 (roughly $100) a bowl. The flipside of this are chains that sell ramen for as little as ¥300 (roughly $3) or less. Despite the occasional expensive bowl, ramen essentially is a cheap, tasty, and fast food, and most chefs try to produce the ultimate variety within those constraints.
The first Japanese person to eat ramen is said to have been Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628–1701) the second lord of the Mito domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture). According to this account, a Confucian scholar exiled from Ming China named Zhu Zhiyu (1600–82) became Tokugawa’s teacher and presented him with “Chinese noodles,” the forerunner of today’s ramen. Records indicate that the noodles were made of a mix of wheat and lotus flour, and were served in a broth. An updated version of this original dish is sold in Ibaraki under the name “Mito domain ramen.”However, these “Chinese noodles” did not catch on immediately; it was not until the Meiji era (1868–1912) that they finally started to win over Japanese diners. At Chinese restaurants in Yokohama’s Chinatown and elsewhere, noodles and soup were supplemented with braised pork (chāshū), bamboo shoots (menma), and halved boiled eggs. Its origins are the reason ramen is often known as Chinese soba (chūka soba) in Japan.Bowl of ramen from Komurasaki in Kumamoto, Kumamoto PrefectureAfter World War II, after returnees from China began selling ramen around the country, it became a favorite down-to-earth dish, rivaling Japanese curry in popularity. At that chaotic time, when food was scarce, ramen was embraced as a cheap and tasty dish sold at street stalls. These modest stalls developed into shops that soon were everywhere in Japan.The steady proliferation of shops has sparked intense competition, leading to many new kinds of ramen, including upscale variations topped with crab or lobster that can cost as much as ¥10,000 (roughly $100) a bowl. The flipside of this are chains that sell ramen for as little as ¥300 (roughly $3) or less. Despite the occasional expensive bowl, ramen essentially is a cheap, tasty, and fast food, and most chefs try to produce the ultimate variety within those constraints.
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