Tonkotsu ramen
Ramen variety from Fukuoka, Japan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン) is a ramen dish that originated in Kurume,[1][2][3] Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and is a specialty dish on the island of Kyushu.
Tonkotsu ramen | |
| Alternative names | Hakata ramen |
|---|---|
| Type | Noodle soup |
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Region or state | Fukuoka |
| Created by | Tokio Miyamoto |
| Invented | 1937 |
| Main ingredients | |
| Variations | Kagoshima ramen |
The broth for tonkotsu ramen is based on pork bones, which is what the word tonkotsu (豚骨/とんこつ) means in Japanese.[4][1][5] It is prepared by boiling the bones in water for up to eighteen hours, at which point the soup becomes cloudy in appearance.[4][1][2] Additional broth ingredients can include onion, garlic, spring onions, ginger, pork back fat, pig's trotters, oil, and chicken carcass.[4] The dish is traditionally topped with chāshū (sliced pork belly), and additional ingredients can include kombu, kikurage, shōyu, chili bean paste, and sesame seeds.[4][1]
The traditional preparation method for tonkotsu ramen is for the noodles to be hard in the center.[2] Some ramen shops allow customers to select the level of firmness, including futsu for regular or standard, harigane for very hard, barikata for al dente, and yawamen for soft.[2] Some restaurants also provide a second order of noodles if requested by the customer, in a system referred to as kaedama.[2]
History
Tonkotsu ramen was invented in 1937 by Tokio Miyamoto, a yatai food vendor, in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, in northern Kyushu. The dish was further refined to its milky appearance by Katsumi Sugino when he accidentally overcooked the broth.[3] In Fukuoka, the dish is often referred to as Hakata ramen (博多ラーメン), with Hakata being the historical name of central Fukuoka.[1] It was originally prepared as an affordable and easily prepared fast food for laborers at fish markets.[2]
Noodle firmness
Some ramen restaurants in Fukuoka offer customers a choice of noodle firmness levels, which has become a recognizable feature of tonkotsu ramen culture.[6][7]
Common firmness levels:
- bari-yawa (バリ柔) – very soft
- yawa (柔) – soft
- futsū (普通) – regular (standard firmness)
- katame (硬め) – firm
- bari-kata (バリ硬) – very firm
- harigane (針金) – "wire-like", extremely firm
- kona-otoshi (粉落とし) – literally "flour dusting", noodles barely boiled
- yuge-tōshi (湯気通し) – "steam pass", noodles exposed only to steam