The Ramen_Lord Book of Ramen

By Mike Satinover (Ramen_Lord) and Scott Satinover, Ph.D.

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Copyright © 2020-2022 by Michael T. Satinover and Scott J. Satinover

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

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Introduction 3

Starting with the Basics: What is Ramen? 2

A Note on Measurement 4

Common Abbreviations for Units of Measure 5

Chapter 1: Noodles 5

What is a Ramen Noodle? 6

Noodle Ingredients 6

Wheat 6

Kansui 9

Water 11

Other Ingredients Worth Discussing 13

Final Noodle Ingredient Remarks 14

Making Noodles 15

Step One: Ingredient Prep 15

Step Two: Partial Hydration 16

Step Three: Remaining Hydration 16

Step Four: The First Rest 17

Step Five: The First Pressing 18

Step Six: Rest it (AGAIN) 19

Step Seven: Roll and Cut 19

Step Eight: Mature Noodles 20

Noodle Recipes 20

Tokyo Style Noodle 20

New Wave Tokyo Style Noodle 21

Jiro Noodle 23

Sapporo Style Noodle 24

Makeshift-Hakata Style Noodle 25

Kitakata Style Noodle 26

Akayu Style Noodle 28

Thick Tsukemen Noodle 29

New Tsukemen Noodle 30

Taishoken Style Tsukemen Noodle 31

Tapioca Tsukemen Noodle 32

Mazesoba / Soupless Ramen Noodle 33

Chapter 2: Soup 35

Collagen Conversion to Gelatin 36

Myoglobin Denaturation and Scum Formation 37

Fat Rendering 38

Aroma and Flavor Extraction 38

Emulsification 40

Gelatin As An Emulsifier 40

Other Emulsifiers: Starch and Protein Blending 41

Measuring Gelatin and Emulsion Quality 41

Cooking Soup: Many Approaches 42

Sous Vide 43

Pressure Cooking 43

Finalize Soup and Storage 45

Cooking Times by Ingredient 46

Dashi 46

Basic Dashi 47

Clam Dashi 48

Bacon Dashi 48

Basic Chintan Method 49

Tokyo Style Chintan 49

“Doubutsu Kei” Style Chintan 49

All-Purpose Chintan 50

New Wave Chicken Chintan 51

Eifukucho Taishoken style Chintan 51

Yamagata Style “Akayu’ Chintan 52

Basic Paitan Method 53

Tonkotsu Soup 54

Roasted Bone Tonkotsu Soup 55

Jiro Style Tonkotsu Soup 56

Tonkotsu Gyokai Soup 56

Chicken Paitan 57

“Cement” Ramen 58

Tsukemen “Thick” Soup 59

Additional Techniques for Soup 60

Double Soup 61

Soup Clarification 62

Chapter 3: Tare 63

Salt 64

Flavor 66

Beyond Salt and Flavor: Adding Umami Concepts 66

Umami From Glutamic Acid 66

A Personal Note on MSG 67

Umami From Synergistic Nucleotides 67

Final Thoughts on Tare 69

Shoyu Tare 69

Standard Shoyu Tare 70

Toasted Shoyu Tare 70

New Wave Shoyu Tare 70

Lighter Shoyu Tare 71

Mushroom Shoyu Tare 71

Black Shoyu Tare 72

Easy Meat Shoyu Tare (Aka Jiro-Style Tare) 73

Kitakata Shoyu Tare 74

Smoked Shoyu Tare 74

Bacon Shoyu Tare 75

Mole Shoyu Tare 75

Shio Tare 76

Bare Bones Shio Tare 77

Sake-based Shio Tare 77

White Wine Chicken Shio 78

Soy/Shio Blend Tare 79

Miso Tare 80

Ramen_Lord’s Miso Tare 80

Kara Miso (Spicy Miso) 81

Sweet Miso Tare (For Akayu Style Bowls) 82

Other Tares 83

Tantanmen Tare 83

“Hot” Tare 83

Chapter 4: Toppings 83

Steeped Egg (Ajitama/Ajidama/Tsuketamago/Ajitamago/Hanjukutamago etc.) 84

Steeping Method Zero: Do Nothing, Eat The Eggs As Prepared Now 88

Steeping Method One: Quick and Easy Brine 88

Steeping Method 2: Equilibrium Brine 89

Chashu 90

Cook in Soup 91

Standard Braise 91

Dry Roasting 92

Sous Vide 93

“Rare” Chashu 94

Combination Method: Braise then Roast 96

Sous Vide Chicken Breast 97

Green Onions 98

Menma 98

Roasted Tomato 99

Wood Ear Mushroom 99

Boiled Spinach 99

Pork Soboro 100

Spice Blend 100

Akayu Spicy Miso Ball 101

Chapter 5: Aroma Oil 102

Chicken Fat 106

Stovetop Method 106

Microwave Method 106

Lard 107

All-Purpose Negi (Scallion) Oil 107

Chicken and Scallion Oil 107

Negi Niboshi Oil 107

Ginger and Onion Lard 108

Celery Seed Oil 108

Chili Oil 109

Mayu 110

Chapter 6: Putting It All Together 112

Mise en Place 112

Preparation Process 113

A Note on Jiro 114

Standard Bowl Assembly 115

Step 0: Identify Your Serving Bowl 115

Step 0.5: Get Your Mise en Place Ready 116

Step 1: Preheat Your Bowl 116

Step 2: Cook Your Noodles 117

Step 3: Add Tare, Aroma Oil, and Soup 117

Step 4: Strain The Noodles 117

Step 5: Separate and Line Up The Noodles: Noodle Fold 118

Step 6: Add Toppings 119

Step 7: EAT 119

Assembly Alternatives 120

Sapporo Miso Wok Method 120

69'N'Roll One And Multiple-Tare Approach 120

Tsukemen 121

Aburasoba/Mazesoba/Mazemen 122

Example Component Combinations 122

Shoyu Ramen 122

New Wave Shoyu Ramen 122

Miso Ramen 122

Shio Ramen 123

Akayu Ramen 123

Tonkotsu 123

Tantanmen 123

Chicken Paitan 123

Tonkotsu Gyokai Tsukemen 123

Jiro Ramen 123

Appendix: Ingredient Discussion (In Progress) 124

References 124

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Introduction

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Thank you for reading this book! This has been a long time coming. Over the last several years I have tinkered with the idea of making a book, to help everyone - from hardcore ramen-lovers to those simply intrigued by interesting food - find an all-inclusive resource of recipes and ideas on how to make ramen. I felt like it would make sense to make this as widely accessible as possible. An e-book format made the most sense, free for anyone to view at any time.

Many of you probably have never had ramen beyond the dry noodle packages found regularly at your local grocery store. This book is not about that kind of ramen, which is more akin to instant noodles. While tasty in its own right, instant noodles aren’t quite the same thing as the dish discussed in this book. Ramen, a dish originating from Japan, is a complex soup that is challenging to make and, even to this day, still has quite a bit of mystery. I’m hoping I can at least break apart the ambiguity a little, primarily through discussing concepts rather than solely relying on recipes.

As for the rest of you, I know what you are thinking. A book on ramen? That sounds awfully specific. Who is this guy? Why should I even care? Why is an American making ramen? Is this a poor man’s Ivan Orkin?

Not exactly.

My name is Mike. I’m a food nerd who lives in Chicago, and I am particularly obsessed with ramen. Most folks know me by the name “Ramen_Lord” on Reddit, which is pretty ostentatious, I know. The username was tongue-in-cheek at first. I thought I might post some of my creations to the ramen subreddit, /r/ramen, have some fun in the process, and learn along the way. I did not, however, expect my posts to catch on at all. And despite this, people started paying attention.

But what sparked this weird obsession? In all sincerity, it was kind of a coincidence. Many years before my interests really kicked in, I’d been studying Japanese in highschool and college, eating ramen with some mild regularity. Usually, I’d go out to a Japanese market in Chicago called Mitsuwa and splurge on miso ramen. The bowls I had were good, but nothing that really sparked the passion I had now. Driven by my interest in Japan, I stumbled on an opportunity in college to move there as part of a study abroad program at Hokkaido University. Naturally, I applied and was accepted to the program, where I moved to Sapporo for a year. Coincidentally, miso ramen was designed, created, and invented in that city. I thought, hey, I like Japanese food, and ramen is good, I ought to get a taste of the real deal. I mean, surely, it must be better than what I’d eaten before.

I tried a few bowls in touristy destinations like Ramen Yokocho. Felt fine. Packed it up.

But it wasn’t until a friend suggested I try out a shop named Sumire that my total worldview on ramen changed. I remember the experience vividly: I climbed some shambly metal stairs to the side of an office building in the drinking district of Sapporo known as Susukino. I walked past a hanging curtain over the door, and selected “miso ramen” from a ticket machine, sitting down, oblivious to what would happen next.

What arrived was ethereal. A scalding hot bowl of rich intense miso and pork soup, with punches of garlic and ginger and a slight tinge of spice. A blanket of melted lard floating on top, trapping the soup’s heat in the bowl. The aggressively chewy, crinkly yellow noodles, the delicate sprinkling of thinly sliced green onion, tender slices of braised pork. This was unlike ramen, no, any food,I’d ever had. Prior, I’d assumed ramen was tasty junk food. With Sumire, this whole idea of “kodawari”, or obsession with quality, became obvious to me.

All I could think was, “THIS is Sapporo’s legacy!” I had to find more of the stuff.

For the next year in Sapporo, I basically went out for ramen whenever I could. I bought guide books, rented textbooks from the library, and asked frie