The Fuji Research Institute conducted a poll of Japanese consumers in 2000 to determine the greatest inventions of the 20th century. The results were surprising. While headphone stereo sets and video games made the top 10, firmly ensconced in the No. 1 spot was instant noodles. This was a serious nod to Momofuku Ando, the entrepreneur who created instant noodles in the 1950s and then took them up a notch with his subsequent development of noodles in a cup in the 1970s. It also acknowledged the strong cross-cultural appeal of Ando’s brainchildren, which have become staples in American convenience stores and college dormitories, and provided a jumping-off point for creative reinterpretations of ramen by modern masters like chef David Chang.
Ramen is tasty. Chang opened his seminal Momofuku Noodle Bar in Manhattan in 2004, where he combined ramen requisites like soup stock and noodles with unconventional toppings, like kimchi, to reflect his Korean heritage. His success spawned a restaurant empire and ignited ramen mania from coast to coast. In Atlanta, BoccaLupo, an Italian-American, chef-driven operation, emphasizes extruded, hand-cut noodles, like BoccaLupo Ramen in collard and pork brodo with egg and hot peanuts. Nearby Victory Sandwich Bar puts ramen on the side-dish menu alongside baked beans and slaw; it’s served with sesame, scallion and peanuts. At Hot & Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Ala., the Hot & Hot Noodle Bowl starts with pigskin noodles in pork broth and is embellished with head-on Gulf shrimp. At trendy Two Boroughs Larder in Charleston, S.C., Bowl-O-Noodle, made with pork confit, pork broth, soft egg and house noodles, is a menu staple. Chicago, which is suddenly awash in ramen, has played host to a number of ramen smackdowns, including Ramenfest 2014, in which 20 local chefs, most from non-Japanese establishments, scaled the heights of slurpability. Audience favorites included Nico Osteria’s Al Dente Squid-Ink Noodles in spicy broth.
While some of these ramen-based flights of fancy appear to push the envelope, in fact Japanese ramen specialists freely innovate with their own touches and to suit their own tastes. Because ramen is relatively new to Japanese cuisine — it was introduced to Japan by Chinese cooks about 100 years ago — it is free from centuries of culinary codification and open to local and regional interpretation. While most of the ramen action here has remained firmly rooted in a bowl of broth, some restaurateurs have taken greater creative license. For example, Ramen Burger, based in Brooklyn, N.Y., serves up burgers on handmade ramen buns. In addition to a conventional beef option, there are also Chicken Karaage Ramen Burgers with Japanese fried chicken and Breakfast Ramen Burgers with bacon, egg and cheese. Sides include Ramen Fries: ramen noodles deep-fried in special batter. California Tortilla launched a special Ramen Burrito, in which a patron’s protein of choice was topped with sweet red chile sauce and Sriracha-pickled onions and then wrapped in a burrito with ramen noodles in place of the standard rice. Blue Bamboo in Jacksonville, Fla., promises hip Asian comfort food and delivers with Ramen-Crusted Shrimp, and Ramen-Crusted Chicken Wings were whipped up on NBC’s Today Show last fall.
Ramen is approachable. Few mass-market chains offer ramen on their menus, perhaps to avoid identification with cheap, microwaveable noodle cups. But they’re certainly not immune to the appeal of Asian soups. One of the most popular soup specials at sibling chains Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes is Asian Ginger Broth, and the recipe, which is posted on the chains’ websites, calls for sliced green onions, chopped spinach and cubed tofu in vegetarian broth, topped with wonton strips. Panera Bread’s Asian-inspired broth bowls put soba noodles in an umami-rich soy-miso broth; the Soba Noodle Bowl with Edamame combines fresh spinach, napa cabbage blend, cilantro and sesame seeds with fire-roasted edamame. Advertising invites patrons to slurp with gusto. Speaking of slurping, true ramen aficionados understand the importance of speedily and noisily slurping down the noodles in order to enjoy their just-cooked consistency. Since this convention is lost on most American diners, noodles in many restaurants in the U.S. are often shorter than their Japanese counterparts to facilitate their spoonability. This doesn’t mean we can’t learn, of course. After all, we’ve set aside our inhibitions and roundly embraced karaoke, the Japanese creation that scored second place in the Fuji Research Institute poll of great inventions.
Nancy Kruse, President of the Kruse Company, is a menu trends analyst based in Atlanta. As one of Linked In’s Top 100 Influencers in the US, she blogs regularly on food-related subjects on the Linked In website.
