On 11/12/2010 10:53 AM, James Silverton wrote:
> dsi1 wrote on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:39:04 -1000:
>
>> On 11/11/2010 11:30 AM, James Silverton wrote:
>>> dsi1 wrote on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 11:18:31 -1000:
>>>
>>>> On 11/11/2010 2:37 AM, ravenlynne wrote:
>>>>> On 11/10/2010 9:55 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Your best bet is to try the katsu curry from a ramen shop if you
>>>>>> can find one where you live.I
>>>>>
>>>>> There are days when I miss living in japan....I could
>>>>> really go for a bowl of real ramen today. With a plate of
>>>>> homemade gyoza.
>>>>>
>>>> A bowl of ramen is a great thing. It has to be made by
>>>> people that love the stuff.
>>>
>>> I don't go in for mysticism in cookery :-) There's got to be a good
>>> recipe for the ramen broth or sauce that an ordinary
>>> person can follow.
>
>> The reality is that a bowl of ramen doesn't lend itself easily
>> to mass production and you pretty much have to make each bowl to
>> order. You can have shortcuts to a bowl of ramen but it
>> just won't be right. Most ramen will be fine with people that consider
>> a bowl of noodles just a bowl of noodles but I grew
>> up with the stuff and I have definite ideas about good ramen
>> and just another average or mediocre bowl of noodles. A guy that cares
>> about making a great bowl will always make a better
>> ramen - at least, that's what I'd like to believe.
>
> This is not being asked in any spirit of sarcasm, but just what makes a
> bowl of Ramen great?

Combination of perfect chicken stock, perfectly made miso, seasonings,
from scratch noodles, peak vegetebles, roasted meat and topped off with
a perfectly cooked egg.

A true, classic bowl of ramen in Japan is art in cooking and arrangement.

As far as I can tell, it's a rather simple bowl of
> noodles in a reasonably good tasting sauce or soup. Commercial dried
> Ramen, as sold in supermarkets, is remarkably high in sodium and fat and
> is not something I am attracted to. Is making Ramen one of those
> Japanese things where a seven-year apprenticeship is necessary for
> mastery, like that alleged for Miso production?

Yes actually. There is a government department for this sort of thing,
believe it or not.

I'd like to know how to
> make Ramen but details are surprisingly hard to find on the net.

It's usually passed down from family to family as far as I know. Each
shop is *usually* individually owned...there are no big ramen chain
restaraunts.




--
Currently reading: the thirteenth tale by Diane Setterfield