Who’s Hungry For Ramen?
I love Ramen. I love wet food and what is wetter than this? I also love to film myself digging into those long ramen noodles for the first time…my favorite thing is to take my chopsticks and pull up all of the noodles when my ramen bowl arrives at the table – it unleashes a flood of delicious flavor!
Take a look:
One of my favorite meals ever! Since it’s Oscar weekend, I thought I’d make some food with a cinematic past. As part of my “Dinner And A Movie” series, I decided to make some ramen noodles and dig into the classic Japanese film “Tampopo!”
Slurp Up The Goodness Of “Tampopo!”
This 1985 comedy is the story of food, family and the search for the perfect bowl of ramen!
“Tampopo” means “Dandelion”, the name of our female Chef, a widowed owner of a struggling noodle shop…their journey toward the perfect bowl of ramen will make your mouth water!
A pair of truck drivers stop at her roadside ramen noodle shop. Outside, one of them rescues a boy who is being beaten up by three schoolmates. He’s the son of Tampopo, the widowed owner of the struggling business.
“Sincere” Noodles And The Creation Of A Great Bowl Of Ramen!
When Tampopo asks their opinion of her noodles, they tell her they are “sincere, but lack character.”
After such a downbeat assessment, they offer to help he master a great bowl of ramenr, and their deliciously cinematic food journey begins!
The trio turn her establishment into a paragon of the “art of noodle soup making”.
Check out the film’s trailer:
This is a delicious blend of food and film…heartwarming, funny, imaginative – and it will make you hungry for your own bowl of ramen noodles!
Some Ramen Facts!
Here’s what I found out about the original of Ramen.
A messenger from China brought the flour food culture to Japan in the 8th century. That is when the first form of noodles were first seen in Japan. BY the Edo period (1603-1867), there was a noodle boom in Japan. During the period of 1854-1859, there were 3,700 noodle shops in Edo (old Tokyo).
In the movie, “Tampopo,” the heroine is in search if authentic ramen, not realizing that ramen is one of Japan’s most versatile noodle dishes. These days, anything goes. It is true that there are standard tastes one expects at a ramen shop or stall, or when eating an instant ramen mix. That is only the beginning in terms of a multitude of tastes and variations.
Let’s Get Cooking!
Ramen has three main tastes: soy sauce, salt or miso (fermented soybeans). Ramen has made regional modifications. For example, Sapporo Ramen, one of the most famous, always uses butter as a garnish. It began in 1923, in Hokkaido, at a noodle shop called Takeya Shokudo.
Here are your ingredients for making a delicious, rich ramen noodle broth:
- 1 chicken carcass or 7 ounces chicken wings cleaned**
- 1 Japanese leek negi, cut in half
- 1 medium-sized onion peeled and halved
- 1 medium-sized carrot peeled and halved
- 1 large knob ginger peeled and halved
- 3 to 4 egg shells***
- 7-1/2 cups water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place all ingredients in a soup pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a high simmer, and cook, covered, for two to three hours, skimming of the scum occasionally. Strain the stock using a cheesecloth-lined colander; pressing down on the remaining ingredients with the back of a large wooden spoon to release all the flavor. If not used immediately, cool and freeze the stock until needed.
***The egg shells help to kill the smell of the carcass and/or bones, and to absorb some of the scum.
The toppings are your choice: sliced pork, a poached egg, sliced water chestnuts, and of course shredded scallions…time to eat!
Of course, I have shared several of my “ramen noodle” adventures with you, like these magical “glow in the dark” noodles:
It was a night of neon food art, and if you click here I’ll show you who did I, why they did it, and how it tasted!
I also have shared several of my terrific meals on the west side of Los Angeles, win a neighborhood known as “Little Osaka” – and where I eat this:
This incredible restaurant makes your ramen to order – and has a cafeteria style tempura bar as well! Here’s what I experienced:
What a feast! Click here to see more of my meal:
Of course, “Bite! Eat! Repeat!” is focused solely on the greatest food and food trends from around the world!
My friend Carol shared an incredible Thai Chicken Soup recipe, and you can make it yourself by clicking on my blog here:
If you like my “dinner and a movie” series, why not cook up Clemenza’s meatballs for the next time you are in a fmob feud?
That’s right, here is the recipe for Clemenza’s meatballs from the great film of all time, “The Godfather!”
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Thanks so much for reading and let me know if you love ramen as much as I do! Also, I you enjoy this story please share with your friends on social media!
Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Writing, Movies, Recipes, Restaurants, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Hi John, thanks for the movie recommendation. I think I’ll look for this one. It sounds unique. Ramen noodles are very popular in Japan. You can get them everywhere.
Yes and this is a great film about a young woman’s passion for ramen noodles and the mysterious guy who helps save her shop…it’s funny, heartwarming and full of ramen!
the perfect meal for Oscar night, (or any night really). I absolutely love this movie as well
Yes it’s such a perfect “foodie film” isn’t it? Thanks for the comment!
I had no idea when I watched it that it was going to be and what a great surprise
It’s a great film, full of heart and wit. It also made me hungry watching it. 😊
Best wishes, Pete.
Pete, I love ramen and make it often…store bought noodles of course but it’s a dish you can dress up anyway you want, and there’s a terrific Korean grocery store 5 blocks from me called “H Mart” where I can get all the fresh noodles and ingredients I need!
I’ve never thought about “wet food!” Interesting! Great post. I’ve got to look into that movie. Happy Oscars!!!