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