Intro: Why Ramen?

One of the things that changed most when I met Jamie (my wife) was discovering Japanese food and cooking. Through most of our dating, we either went to a restaurant I liked or one she liked. Rarely did we find places both of us loved. I am your regular 'meat-and-two-veg' Brit - I grew up (very happily) eating steak & kidney pie, fish & chips or having a Sunday roast with a bottle of plonk. My wife grew up in California and is fourth generation Japanese. I didn't much like sushi when I moved to US in 2011 much less know what delights like Spam Musabi or Katsuon would have to offer.

The gateway to Japanese food for me was ramen. For most people, it is sushi - but I instantly loved the comfort factor and taste of ramen and it is one of those foods that the more I discover, the more I want to explore.

The Japanese word "umami" interests me - it is literally a fifth taste receptor used to describe a rich savory flavor (Europeans might call this 'body' - especially in soups and stocks). It is the common thread shared by all good bowls of ramen - the only must have.

This set me on quite a course when I started exploring how to cook ramen. The limitless possibilities yet clear distinction between good and bad. I set myself a goal to create my own ramen recipe and this blog is in part my working notes. I plan sharing recipes cooked, thoughts on individual aspects of ramen (and Japanese food and cooking more broadly) and ramen shops I visit along the way.

PS: there is no umami in the picture for this post ... it was a plastic display I once saw in the window of a ramen shop in Japan Town, San Francisco!