DIY Ramen N' Harajuku!
- j4music77
- Apr 2, 2016
- 2 min read
You've heard of make your own beef meal at Yakiniku, now there’s a make your own Ramen in Harajuku! If you're anything like me I grew up making instant ramen noodles from the little colorful packs when I was young. Never did I think I would get the privilege of making the real Japanese ramen from scratch.
Located in the narrow streets of Jingumae Harajuku is a little ramen shop called JinGu. Just a 10 minute walk from Harajuku Tourist Information Center, JinGu offers foreigners an opportunity to experience the ramen making process. Not to mention you eat what you make! In all my time in Tokyo I have eaten at countless ramen shops and tasted a variety of different flavors from Shio (Salt), Shoyu to Miso ramen.
Nearly every region in Japan has its own variation of these ramen types. However, I got my hands busy making one of Japan's most rare and delicious ramen flavors thats a little outside of normal called Gyukotsu Ramen.
Gyukotsu is a thick broth made from boiling cow bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours, which suffuses the broth with a hearty beef flavor. Gyu means (Beef) while Kotsu means (Bone). In order to make the GyuKotsu broth, it takes anywhere from 10 hours! This is because it takes time to dissolve and break down the fat, marrow, calcium and various minerals and proteins into tiny pieces to turn it into a broth.
I remember walking into that narrow hot steamy kitchen full of amazement seeing gigantic boiling pots full of boiling beef bones and flavorful ingredients. The chef was eager to teach me and I was itching to learn. The ramen experience began with the chef showing me how to make a fully prepared Gyukotsu ramen dish.
After sanitizing our hands he grabbed some ramen bowls. Next he went to the giant pots with boiling beef bone flavors and began to stir the broth with a large wooden stick. Next he boiled the ramen noodles in these net-like holders for about 50 seconds. You have to almost sling it downward and bounce it up and down a little until the noodles stop dr ipping. He then poured the noodles into the broth and neatly layered some toppings and seasonings to the ramen dish.
A true work of art! Now it was my turn to get my hands on my ramen! Wearing my chef apron and feeling unbeatable I grabbed a bowl, stirred the hot beef broth and poured in it into the bowl, grabbed the ramen and boiled it for 50 sec and tried to sling it downwards without making a mess, then my favorite part came--the toppings!
Nori- Dried seaweed
Horenso- Spinach
Chashuu- Pork Slices
Negi- Spring onion
Memma- Bamboo
Tamago- Egg
Chill pepper
Black Pepper
My ramen dish didn't come out looking as beautiful as the chef’s but it sure was delicious! Get your hands on your ramen with this unique and fun Tokyo experience by visiting the Tourist Information Center in Harajuku.
【Harajuku Information Center】
Address:150-0001, 1F Harajuku Ash Building,19-11, Jingumae 1 Chome,Shibuya-ku Tokyo Tel：03-5770-5131 Fax：03-3401-0245 Open：11:00～19:00 *open everyday (except new year holidays
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