Ramen Noodles

Ramen is believed to have originated in China and it's unclear precisely when it was introduced to Japan. But ramen is a mainstay of Japanese cuisine and throughout Asia. Though it's commonly associated in the U.S. with packaged, dried noodles, the way to truly understand ramen is to think of it as a soup dish that contains noodles, not merely the noodles themselves.

There are four basic categories of ramen and each one is distinguished by the type of broth the soup is made from. Shoyu ramen, the most common, is made from a chicken broth base flavoured with soy sauce. Shio ramen features a thinner chicken broth seasoned with salt. Miso ramen is thicker and heartier, with a rich, brown broth flavoured with miso, or fermented soybean paste. And tonkotsu ramen is made from simmered pork bones, resulting in a thick, creamy, fatty broth.