Since payment is already taken care of, people can eat at their own pace and leave after eating without hassle. The staff takes the ticket and brings the order to you. For convenience and efficiency, many ramen shops ask customers to order their specific orders in advance via a vending machine before finding a seat. Menus in ramen shops tend to have a lot fewer options than other restaurants as most people are there for the basic ramen, gyoza, and rice sets.īefore finding a seat you might want to check if there is a vending machine by the entrance. Many people also eat ramen when they are on the go so you will find most ramen restaurants have a lot of counter space for single diners as well as tables. Ramen shops are usually pretty casual and made for quick order, eating and exiting.

You will also find some shops that play with ingredients and sometimes mix and crossover ramen types. Here are some of the most popular and distinct types of ramen you will come across during your adventures in Japan. The color, texture, flavor and look of a bowl of ramen can be quite different yet still fall into the ramen category as long as both noodles and soup broth follow the ramen rules. As well, the variety of noodles from thick to thin, straight to curly are all different forms of the ramen noodle. You will notice that some soup broths are very thin and clear while others are cloudy and thick. It is kansui mixed in with other ingredients and the flour that is central to the creation and classification of ramen. The type of noodles used in ramen are made with flour and a salty alkaline liquid called kansui. Uncover and eat straight out of the jar or pour into a bowl if you prefer.Before getting into the details of each type of ramen, the main thing to note is the soup broth is usually made from pork, chicken, beef or fish bones that are boiled for a long time as well as a seasoning that is mixed in with it to create a distinct taste. Then reseal the jar and let it sit for 2 minutes. At this point, I swirl my spoon at the bottom of the jar to break up the flavoring pastes and incorporate them.

To serve: Add boiling water (from a kettle or your office water cooler hot water tap-the hotter the better) to cover all the ingredients. Seal and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then split the cooked noodles, cubed tofu, baby spinach, sliced mushrooms and scallions equally among the 4 jars. Put 1 teaspoon bouillon base, 1 teaspoon miso paste, 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha, and 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger on the bottom of each jar. Assemble your jars in any roughly 16-ounce container. Drain and rinse in cold water and shake off any extra water.Ģ. You want them to be fully cooked but not already breaking apart since we will be adding more hot water when we serve them. Cook your ramen noodles according to the package directions until very al dente, about 2 minutes in just boiled water. Instant Ramen Jar with Miso and Veggies recipeĤ blocks rice ramen noodles (10 ounces I buy Lotus Foods)Ĥ teaspoons low sodium Better than Boullion vegetable baseħ ounces (1/2 of a block) firm or extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubesĤ large handfuls baby spinach, roughly choppedġ 3.5 ounce container of shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly slicedġ. It takes the hot water and turns it instantly into a salty, umami broth that’s rich with body.Īny wide mouth 12-16-ounce glass tupperware or mason jar would work, but I like these wide mouth gasket jars. Miso is a fermented soybean paste that’s found in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores. What I love about this technique is that it’s nearly as easy as completely instant noodles, yet the flavor and quality is so much better. I've seen this Instant Ramen Jar idea floating around the internet, so I decided to create my own version based on my favorite way to make ramen at home: with ginger, miso, mushrooms, and spinach.

Soybean paste for ramen