This kid loves ramen! Just the year before pandemic, these were some of the photos I took of him eating or about to eat this delicious Japanese dish. Anyway, who would say no to ramen? I, myself, love slurping its flavorful soup.
Do I look like Japanese now? 😀
Eleven years ago, I was given the opportunity to visit Japan and experience its culture, meet some friends, tried authentic Japanese food, and explore some of the places that Tokyo is known for. I definitely enjoyed the city’s ebi burger, its shopping district, flea market, and the safe night strolls. The guided tour to Mt. Fuji was also a big treat. But the best experience I had was in the island of Oshima about 100 km from Tokyo. I fell in love with the hospitality of the locals and their fresh, healthy, and delicious dishes.
Our group was fortunate to stay in a traditional inn being maintained by old Japanese women. We almost had the inn only to ourselves during our entire stay. There I also had my first (and probably the last) onsen bath experience!
In the early part of this year, my family tried ordering from some ramen stores. But the experience wasn’t comparable with dining in at Japanese restaurants pre-pandemic. Particularly, our favorite ramen store doesn’t deliver ready-to-eat ramen, but only the frozen to-cook-at-home version.
Last May 2, while still on lockdown, I had my first attempt at cooking ramen at home. Doing so was like a post-Labor Day experience (pun intended). It took me three hours from prepping to serving not considering the overnight marinade of the meat one day ahead.
The most challenging part was preparing the soup base. I just realized from the video I watched how pork fat played its part in the mix of flavors. I didn’t have the dashi kombu stock so I used chicken and shitake mushroom broth instead. The noodles, of course, I got from a Japanese instant ramen noodle pack!
I also didn’t realize that I had no proper soup bowl at home, thus I settled for the only bowl I had. I felt it was so small and narrow so I plated another one in a wider yet shallower bowl. Despite this plating challenge on my part, the family didn’t mind much the presentation as everyone was happy with the outcome. Unfortunately, we ran short of ramen noodles this time. 😀
Fast forward to this day, I tried cooking ramen again. This time, I already had enough ramen noodles, used kombu dashi stock, added black fungus, and made use of the leftover pickled radish as side dish from a takeaway Japanese food the other day. I just repeated the whole process as I also prepared chashu pork ramen again. But the highlight this time was I already had a ramen bowl for plating! 😀
I felt satisfied and proud of myself for patiently preparing this delicate dish. Anyway, taking joy in simple things and celebrating simple wins matter a lot in life! 😀
Wow!! It must have taken you hours to make the ramen, what a labor of love. It looks so tasty and worth the effort though!! My favorite ramen shop in Manila is Mendokoro/Yushoken, what’s yours po? 🙂
Thank you, DC! Yes, labor of love talaga. ❤ Our favorite ramen shop, I wil PM you. Haha. 😅
I always enjoy reading your story with some dishes and your life. The ramen looks like a real Japanese but I just wonder the taste~ It is a great hobby to make some food for you and your family. Keep enjoying with it~^^
Thank you, Brucy! I’m glad you enjoy reading my stories. The ramen tasted like ‘real’ ramen. Haha. I enjoy cooking. It is for me a self-expression and a stress reliever as well. 😀
All of your stories are so interesting. And i was surprised you put so much effort in making a dish just the way it is. Amazing. Hope i live your next door. Haha~:) yum!!
Thank you, Tammy! ❤ Happy to hear from you. I also have featured Korean dishes in one of my previous posts. 😊