Food. There are a lot of things we silly humans have in common, but a need to feed oneself is one of the most unifying. Although, depending on culture and available materials, what one consumes can be very different from what one’s neighbor does--an observation I would like all of you, dear readers, to remember applies not just to the food we’ll discuss here, but also to culture and media.
But back to what we have in common: Ramen.
Of course we would start with ramen. You laughed at the title of this blog, or you wouldn’t still be reading. You’re expecting noodles, and we’re all acquainted with this particular food whether as gourmets or college students who couldn’t afford anything else for dinner. American, European, Japanese, or Chinese (where the soup actually originated from, btw) we have our own versions of this soup. For an irrefutable example of this, please refer to episode 2 of Space Dandy, entitled "The Search for the Phantom Space Ramen, Baby" or "Maboroshi no Uchū Rāmen o Sagasu Jan yo" (幻の宇宙ラーメンを探すじゃんよ).
In all seriousness, though, this soup is so popular that Shinichiro Watanabe’s portrayal of a galactic ramen culture—complete with ramen bowl themed space stations that serve everything from strange blue globs to Fullmetal Alchemist puns in a bowl—doesn’t come off as far-fetched. Perhaps because the soup can be easily customized to suit many different palates.
Often thought of as a Japanese soup, ramen actually hails from China. Much like their writing system, Japan took the concept of this Chinese soup and modified it to suit themselves. This is why you’ll almost never see “ramen” written in hiregana--katakana is used for “foreign” words, and the name of this soup comes from China, which is why every banner and advertisement for ramen reads ラーメン.
An already modified soup lends itself well to continued modification. Let’s break it down shall we? What is ramen made of? Noodles, water, seasonings... anything else?
At its core, no. That’s it. That’s the essence of ramen. Simplistic, yes, but a fantastic foundation to build off of.
Slices of pork, a soft boiled egg, and three leaves of Nori seaweed plus a miso based soup broth are the key components of this particular ramen. With only these few modifications an adequate foodstuff is turned into a satisfying meal. Most ramen shops offer customers ways to customize their ramen, both on the menu and off. Usually, a ramen shop will ask customers to choose their broth base (the standard choices are miso, pork bone, and salt/soy sauce) and sometimes even noodle type (if you’re getting really fancy). But even after the ramen is served there are choices to be made! Restaurants often set out jars of seasonings, ranging from chilies to seasoned vegetables to Japanese pickles, that can be added to one’s ramen to further modify the flavor. This kind of ramen is a common breed in Japan, but not something that’s impossible to find outside of the country. For those of you on the West Coast who live in the Portland area, there is a particular ramen shop that may be of interest to you.
This is the Kakuni Ramen from Yuzu. Yuzu is a cozy little restaurant just outside Beaverton and definitely worth the trip--it’s native approved as you’ll often over hear bits of Japanese conversations when you enter, and will definitely be greeted by the hostess’s call of “Irasshaimase!” Be sure to go with someone who’s been before or have very specific directions (and definitely a reservation or time to wait if you’re taking more than three) because not only does the restaurant not have its name posted anywhere, it’s usually packed. Although everything on the menu is great (and I encourage you to try anything that calls to you) the real selling point of the Kakuni Ramen is that it’s made with pork belly. But don’t be fooled: this isn’t Portland’s spin on ramen! It’s a Japanese recipe, but still decadent enough to rival your go-to comfort food, so throw those ideas about all Japanese food being healthy right back out the window.
In fact, there are several instances of ramen being used like comfort food in manga and anime--let’s not forget how much energy Dandy put into finding the perfect bowl of space-ramen, or the story about being moved and comforted by the taste of ramen he was told by the ramen-making alien once he found it. However, one of my favorite, more mundane examples of ramen as comfort food is the way ramen is used in the manga What Did You Eat Yesterday.
What Did You Eat Yesterday is the story of Shiro and Kenji and the daily challenges they face as a middle aged gay couple in Japan, such as what to have for dinner. In this particular chapter, Kenji is spending the New Year alone because Shiro’s parents have asked him to come visit for the New Year. Normally, in a relationship as committed as Shiro’s and Kenji’s (cohabitating in the way that Shiro and Kenji do is the societal equivalent of marriage in Japanese gay culture since Japan doesn’t recognize gay marriage) when Shiro is invited home the invitation would extend to his spouse—but since Shiro’s partner is a man, both Kenji and Shiro are unsure if the invitation includes both of them, and Shiro ends up going home alone. One would expect poor Kenji to be sad. Instead he makes ramen for his New Year’s meal.
In Japan there’s a tradition of eating long soba noodles on the New Year to bring long life and good fortune. Before Shiro leaves for his parents’ house he offers to prepare toppings for Kenji’s New Year’s soba, but Kenji turns him down.
Here we see Kenji customizing his ramen just the way he likes it, showing off the versatility of this particular dish once again. But we also see him using it as a way to deal with Shiro’s absence. Since he can’t eat Shiro’s cooking on the New Year, and prepared toppings would only remind Kenji that Shiro can’t be there with him, Kenji takes the opportunity to cook and indulge himself in a meal he could never get from Shiro. The reason this is one of my favorite examples of ramen as comfort food is because Kenji took a potentially sad situation and turned it into an opportunity to really be with himself for a while.
In this sense, the New Year’s meal of ramen instead of soba seems like it will bring Kenji more luck because it’s helped him to stay confident about his relationship in the coming year.
And that’s why we all know ramen. It’s quick, it’s customizable, it’s comforting, and above all damn is it delicious. Try investing in some quality ramen noodles from a specialty store and making your own variations on this dish. Who knows, you might just create your new favorite meal!
No comments:
Post a Comment