Today is an exciting day! It's the first post in what will hopefully be a long and productive adventure into the World of Ramen!
The intent of this blog is to document, explain, and try to better understand the World of Ramen, the culture behind it, to find and review the best Ramen Joints in each city and to share them with the world!
But first a little about me. My name is Ryan and I'm a Ramen Addict. The idea for this site came relatively spontaneously but not before a gradually building affinity for Ramen that has progressed into a borderline obsession. I'll try to explain why as briefly as possible. I'm an American, marrying into a Japanese family. To bridge the culture and language barrier I have been learning Japanese (speaking, reading and writing), I have been to Japan twice in the last two years, and I have begun enthusiastically exploring the world of cooking Japanese food.
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| Temaki Sushi at home |
About three months ago I found the book "Japanese Soul Cooking" by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat and it has changed my perspective on food, health, cooking, and how I appreciate food of all cultures! Its an incredible book with excellent recipes and explanations of the history and subtleties of Japanese food both iconic and some less well known. I highly recommend it!
Through my adventures cooking Kara-age, homemade Gyoza, Oyakodon, Gyudon, Kani Cream Korokke, as well as cooking with the future "in-laws," the intricate yet straight forward method of Japanese recipes and cooking opened my mind to new ideas and my palate to amazing new flavors!
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| My attempt at Oyakodon |
Some of the most delicious and most complicated recipes in the book Japanese Soul Cooking are the Ramen Noodle Soup recipes, and after reading them countless times, making the dashi (soup), and realizing it was nothing even close to what a REAL Ramen chef makes on a daily basis, I couldn't help but have developed an overwhelming respect for them and for the amazing detail that goes into their craft. Finally, three weeks ago I realized I wanted to eat Ramen once a week at a minimum. I will most likely eat it more often in the pursuit of creating the website "Ramen Guru" (www.ramen.guru) and in creating a thriving community around it but my personal preference is for "fattier" ramen types (ie: miso, tonkotsu ramen) and I am trying to exert some form of self control and limit myself to only a couple bowls a week if possible.
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| The Real Deal |
But I digress...
When I realized three weeks ago that I LOVED Ramen and wanted to learn about it, appreciated all of its types and flavors, and eat it as much as possible I knew my enthusiasm had become and obsession. One thing led to another and I founded ramen.guru on february 15th in hopes of creating a place where Ramen Enthusiasts can get REAL reviews (not watered down reviews from people eating Ramen for the first time on a review site that reviews everything....) And a place that will hopefully grow into something bigger. Ramen Guru will hopefully be a community of people who love Japanese food and exchange their thoughts and tips on restaurants, recipes, etc, united by their love for the most delicious food on the planet.... Ramen!!!
I would love any input, advice, or help on creating this community, specifically with website design and restaurant recommendations and reviews. Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email!
- (Your Aspiring) Ramen Guru
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