is a

ramen is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle di ...

dish that originated in

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

on the Kyushu island of Japan, and it is a speciality dish in both Fukuoka and Kyushu. The soup broth is based on pork bones and other ingredients, which are typically boiled for several hours, and the dish is traditionally topped with sliced pork belly and served with ramen noodles that are hard in the center. In

, Japan, tonkotsu ramen is referred to as Hakata ramen. TonkotsuRamen

The

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

for tonkotsu ramen is based upon pork bones, and in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

means "pork bones". The soup broth is prepared by boiling pork bones in water for a significant amount of time, up to eighteen hours, and the broth is typically cloudy in appearance. Additional broth ingredients can include onion, garlic, spring onions, ginger, pork back fat,

pig's trotters A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe, or sometimes known as a pig's foot, is the culinary term for the foot of a pig. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s. Description Pigs' ...

, oil and chicken carcasses. For service, cooked ramen noodles and slices of roasted or braised

pork belly Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless and fatty cut of meat from the belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in Hispanic, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, Korean, Thai and Filipino cuisine. Regional dishes France In Alsatian ...

are added, and additional ingredients can include

kombu ''Konbu'' (from ja, 昆布, konbu or kombu) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' ( ko, 다시마) or ''haidai'' (). Kelp features in the diets of many ...

, kikurage,

shōyu Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' Asp ...

, chili bean paste, sesame seeds and others. The traditional preparation method for the ramen noodles used in tonkotsu ramen is for the noodles to be hard in the center. Some

ramen shop A ramen shop is a restaurant that specializes in ramen dishes, the wheat-flour Japanese noodles in broth. In Japan, ramen shops are very common and popular, and are sometimes referred to as ramen-ya or ramen-ten . Some ramen shops operate in s ...

s allow customers to select the level of firmness for the noodles, including ''futsu'' for regular or standard, ''harigane'' for very hard, ''barikata'' for al dente and ''yawamen'' for soft. Some restaurants also provide a second order of noodles if requested by the customer, in a system referred to as ''kaedama''.

History

Tonkotsu ramen originated in

Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 303,579 and a population density of 1,320 persons per km². The total area is 229.96 km². On February 5, 2005, the town of Kitano (from ...

, which is located on the northern shore of Kyushu island in Japan, and it is a specialty dish in Fukuoka and Kyushu. In Fukuoka, the dish is often referred to as as Hakata is the historical name of central Fukuoka, but can also be called "Tonkotsu Ramen". The dish is prepared in ramen shops in all other regions of Japan. Tonkotsu ramen was originally prepared as an affordable and easily prepared fast food for laborers at

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish markets, a type of wet ma ...

s. In contemporary times, tonkotsu ramen is renowned for the significant time it can take to prepare a proper version of the dish.

References

External links

* {{Japanese food and drink, state=autocollapse Ramen dishes Japanese cuisine

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links