Eating your way through Japan – a photo gallery

by Jeremy Kressmann on

The phrase “Japanese food” has a fairly standard meaning in the United States, conjuring images of sushi, instant noodles, seafood and teriyaki chicken. But as I discovered during my recent trip to Japan, the cuisine is far more diverse, delicious and surprising than I could have ever imagined.

Over the course of his trip, this intrepid Gadling blogger left no culinary stone unturned and no meal uneaten. Not only did I taste some of the freshest sushi and most savory ramen, I also ate some of the tastiest French creme puffs and the most tender Italian spaghetti. Let’s also not forget the many slimy, tentacled, raw and downright horrific things I ate too, which I’ve included as well for your viewing pleasure.

A special thanks to Gadling blogger Matthew Firestone for serving as my Japanese translator and food guide for this post. Don’t let him in front of a menu after he’s had a few cocktails!

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Big in Japan: An Ode to Ramen (Part II)

by Matthew Firestone on

This week, Big in Japan will be bringing you a four-part series on the most perfect of foods. Part I of the series aimed to debunk the myth of ramen as being mere instant noodles. Today’s column will trace the hundreds of years of history behind this savory snack.

I really love ramen.

I mean, how many other foods out there are the products of centuries of culinary revision? How many other foods out there crossed oceans of antiquity on multiple occasions? How many other foods out there have been adapted and re-adapted to local tastes time and again?

Bananas may have colonized the New World, coffee may have catapulted itself out of Arabia and salt may have built empires. But, none of these foods hits the spot quite like a steaming bowl of miso ramen topped with minced garlic and fresh bean sprouts.

The history and lore behind Nature’s most perfect food is worthy of textbooks.

Originating in China, scholars debate exactly when this hardiest of noodles was first introduced to Japan. Although it may have crossed over at several times during the history of Japan, the first recorded record of ramen-eating was in the late 17th century by the shogunate of the Tokugawa.

Needless to say, the Tokugawa dynasty was the first to unify Japan, so I think the connection between ramen noodles and empire-building is obvious.

Of course, ramen was not introduced to the Japanese masses until the Meiji era when the country first opened its doors to foreign interests. For most of Japan’s history, the diet consisted simply of steamed rice, vegetables and seafood, which is partly to explain why the country suddenly became incessant gourmands in the late 19th century.

During the Meiji era, American and European cuisine became the height of fashion, which sparked a large cattle- and pork-rearing industry in Japan. However, the real culinary revolution of the late 19th century was taking place in the Chinatowns of Kobe and Yokohama, where Chinese immigrants opened up food stalls in the busy ports. Here, along with gyōza (dumplings, ギョーザ), another one of my favourite dishes, Japanese commoners tasted their first bowls of sweet, delicious ramen.

As history will have it, World War II put something of a damper on the Japanese obsession with eating gourmet, though the food industry was quick to bounce back. In the 1950s, cheap US flour imports flooded the Japanese market, while ex-soldiers who had previously been in China proceeded to set up ramen shops across the country. In a few short years, ramen shops took Japan by storm, becoming something of a neighborhood landmark.

Much like McDonald’s in 1950s America, a family trip to the ramen shop was good eating.

The 1950s also brought about the invention of the instant noodle at the hands of the late Momofuku Ando, founder and chairman of Nissin Foods. Now, I don’t want to diminish the accomplishments of what has been regarded as one of the greatest Japanese inventions of the 20th century. After all, it’s Ando’s noodles that swept the world and the made ramen a household name. But, as I’ve no doubt tried my hardest to explain to you the reader, instant noodles are not ramen.

Still don’t believe me? In Part III, I discuss the varieties and flavors of ramen that you can find in Japan. In Part IV, I’ll highlight a few regional specialties, and share some of my own ramen recipes.

Getting Hungry? Check out our delicious photo gallery of Japanese food. %Gallery-6477%

** Special thanks to Flickr users kk+ (Noodle Chef) and Joey-Tigger (Cup o’Noodles) **

Big in Japan: An Ode to Ramen (Part I)

by Matthew Firestone on

This week, Big in Japan will be bringing you a four-part series on the most perfect of foods.

I love ramen.

For some, it’s the heady aroma and subtle flavor of a finely aged cheese. For others, it’s the enticing sizzle and juicy goodness of a T-bone steak.

For me, it’s gotta be ramen – Nature’s most perfect food.

Now, I know exactly what you’re thinking. Ramen?!?! That cheap, instant ‘just add hot water’ garbage that they sell at the supermarket for ten cents a pack. That high-salt, high-fat, chemically-flavored staple food of starving and poor college kids the world over. That Styrofoam-packaged and MSG-coated food-like product that is about as nutritious as it is natural.

Well, let’s just say that you don’t know ramen like I know ramen!

Forget everything you think you know, and allow me to explain to you how ramen is SO much more than Cup o’Noodles.

For starters, Japanese instant noodles were first imported to North America in the 1970s, and since then have been commonly been referred to as ramen. In the 1980s, American manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon, and started marketing instant noodles as a cheap and filling food item for people on a budget. Needless to say, ramen has achieved cult status amongst teenagers and college students, who can eat their fill for less than a $1 a day.

Sadly, few people outside Japan have had the truly sublime experience of eating REAL ramen, which is nothing at all like the instant noodle garbage found at your local neighborhood supermarket.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Ramen (rāmen, ラーメン, らーめん or 拉麺) is a Japanese dish of boiled noodles that is typically served in hot broth, and garnished with a variety of toppings including sliced pork, hard-boiled eggs, garlic, green onions, bean sprouts and dried seaweed. Originating from China, ramen has been whole-heartedly adopted by Japan over centuries, and presently appears in a multitude of regional varieties and specialties.

Much like choosing a fine French wine or a particular Italian pasta, the allure of eating ramen is that there is a seemingly endless variety of dishes out there. Ramen noodles can be found in a dizzying assortment of shapes, sizes and thicknesses, while the broth can consist of anything from clear chicken to pork stock and chili to miso soup.

While the love of ramen may be the great social equalizer in Japan, it’s the toppings that distinguish your trucker’s stop noodles from your boutique bowl in Ginza. Indeed, ramen has undergone a number of transformations in recent years, and is now just as much as working-class staple as it is a high-end delicacy.

Still think ramen is nothing more than instant noodles?

So, stop by ‘Big in Japan’ this week for an in-depth look at the world of ramen. In Part II, I’ll trace the history of ramen from China to Japan. In Part III, I’ll discuss the numerous varieties and flavors of ramen that you can find in Japan. In Part IV, I’ll highlight a few regional specialities, and share some of my own ramen recipes.

Getting Hungry? Check out our delicious photo gallery of Japanese food. %Gallery-6477%

** Special thanks to Flickr users adactio (ramen) and heyjoewhereyougoingwiththatguninyourhand (99 cent ramen) shibainu (don don men)**