Eating ramen in Lakeland restaurants can be a little intimidating if you have only tried the ones that come in packets. Though ramen is a staple food of college students, they are consumed mostly for its cost-efficiency and not for their delicious broth and al dente noodles. In authentic Japanese restaurants, you will be given a few options for your ramen—shio (salt-based), shoyu (soy sauce-based), and tantanmen (spicy).
Most ramen restaurants would offer a fourth option—something that will set them apart from their competitions and contemporaries in the industry. Forget about restaurants that offer all kinds of Japanese food with ramen as an afterthought. A ramen dish should be the star of a restaurant. Most ramen broth has been flavored by boiling pork for more than 24 hours, so all the umami is right there in the broth.
If you are trying ramen for the first time, there are a couple of things you must remember. Check them out here:
Slurp the broth
It’s perfectly okay to be a little noisy when slurping the broth. In fact, in Japanese culture, the louder the noise of the slurp, the more you’re showing your appreciation of the chef’s expertise. Chefs love to hear that you are slurping your way into the ramen.
Many restaurants would also give you this little tip: slurp the broth first before digging your way into the noodles and the meat and the veggies. The point is to taste and finish the broth while it’s piping hot.
Eat the noodles with the vegetables
When you begin to eat the noodles, make sure to bring some veggies to your mouth as well. Since the noodles have been submerged in the broth, they will bring some of that flavor, too. Coupled with the vegetables, you should be sampling a delicious concoction of flavorful noodles and rich umami sauce.
As for the meat, try to eat it separately though some people prefer to bite into the meat before bringing the noodles into their mouth. In Japanese culture, they would rather see you sample the meat on its own.
Treat the egg as a side dish
You may have noticed that a single tamago (soft-boiled egg) is sliced open on top of your ramen. That’s probably the best-boiled egg you’ll ever taste in your life so unlike with your college ramen, don’t mash it and mix it with the broth and noodles.
Place that egg on the side since it is supposed to be served as a side dish and cut into it only when you’re going to eat it. You will notice that a little bit of the egg yolk is still runny. That’s what makes the tamago so perfect for a bowl of hot ramen.
Finish it fast
A ramen is supposed to be finished fast. The faster you finish your ramen, the better tasting the chefs think it is. A ramen is a quick meal. It is not a dish that you sit on while sharing stories with your friends. When you let the ramen sit for too long, the broth will grow cold and the noodles will start to be soggy. And that’s a bad thing because nothing tastes better than piping hot ramen broth and al dente noodles.