Ramen is mostly sold in fast food-like shops

Ramen (ラーメン; pronounced roughly [r`a:mEn]) is the Japanese version of the Chinese noodle soup dish lā miàn (拉麵, lit. "pulled noodles"). The original Chinese la mian is believed to have resembled something closer to noodle and served with sauce. Ramen has been firmly integrated into the Japanese culinary landscape, and many regional variations exist.
Ramen is mostly sold in fast food-like shops with only a counter, or at food stalls in highly frequented areas (it is also common to make ramen at home, because it is such a cheap meal). Every prefecture in Japan is famous for its own special variation of ramen. It is also readily available as " instant ramen" in supermarkets and convenience shops; the two most famous brands are Maruchan and Nissin.
Despite health concerns, ramen is a popular food item among college students due to its ease of preparation and extremely low cost—as of 2004, one packet could be bought for about 10-15 cents. Ramen is also very resistant to spoilage and can be easily prepared with boiling water, making it a favorite of backpackers.

1 Types of Ramen

There are countless varieties of ramen and they differ from store to store even when they are sold under same name. They can be categorized by the type of ingredients: noodle, soup, and topping.

1.1 Noodle

Most ramen noodle are made from four basic ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water, and Kansui (かんすい). Originally, Kansui is water from Lake Kan in Inner Mongolia that contains a high amount of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate as well as a small amount of phosphoric acid. It gives ramen a yellowish color and a particular flavor to the noodle. For a brief time after World War Two, low quality "Kansui" that was tainted or thinned with water was sold and kansui is now manufactured according to JASJAS can refer to: # the Saab Gripen fighter aircraft # Japanese Agriculture Standards # Japan Air System # Java Analysis Studio TLAs. standards. Ramen noodle may also be made without kansui and eggs are used instead of kansui. Some ramen noodles are made with neither eggs nor kansui.
Four different noodle types exist: dried ramen noodle (Kansoumen, 乾燥麺), fresh ramen noodle (Namamen, 生麺), steamed ramen noodle (Mushimen, 蒸麺), and instant ramen noodle (Insutanto ramen, インスタントラーメン). Dried ramen are often prepackaged and can be stored for a long time in a cool dry space. They can be used for ramen, YakisobaJapanese cuisine Yakisoba , lit. fried noodles, is a very simple dish and is sold very cheaply. It is probably Chinese in origin and integrated into Japanese cuisines like Ramen. Even though it has Soba as part of the word, noodle for yakisoba is similar, Hiyashisoba (Cooled noodle), etc. Fresh ramen may be packaged and it should be stored in a refrigerator and eaten as quickly as possible. They are often used in a ramen restaurant delivered fresh every morning. Steamed ramen noodle should be stored in a refrigerator as well. They lack Koshi or chewy flavor and should only be used for yakisoba.
Ramen noodles may come in any shape and length. It may be fat or thin and even ribbon-like, straight or wrinkled. Thin and straight noodles are used in a ramen with thick soup as it catches less soup and thus taste wouldn't be too salty or fatty. Wrinkled ramen noodle are used in a ramen with thinner soup as it catches more soup and taste would be full and well.
According to Nissin, there are five types of noodles according to their traditional methods. They are "Handstretched noodle", "Oiled and stick stretched noodle", "Cut noodle", "Pushed noodle", and "Rice noodle".

1.2 Soup

Ramen soup are generally divided into four flavors: misoJapanese cuisine Miso is a thick paste made by fermenting soybeans with salt. Often grains and sometimes other ingredients are added. It tastes salty and, depending on the type of grain used as well as fermentation time, more or less sweet. Miso is often, Shio (salt), Shoyu ( soy sauceSoy Sauce Soya Sauce Chinese Name Pinyinjiang you Wade-Gileschiang-yu Mandarin Chinese ( Traditional) Mandarin Chinese ( Simplified) Cantonese, see yau Japanese Name Hepburn Romajisho-yu Kanji Korean Name Revised Romanizationganjang Hangul Soy sauce ( US)), and tonkotsu (pig bones). The Shio or salt falvor is probably the oldest of four flavors and like Maotan (毛湯) of Chinese cuisine is a simple broth taken from chicken bones. The Tonkotsu flavor is similar to Paitan (白湯) of Chinese cuisine and thick broth taken from boiling crushed pig bones for hours. The shoyu flavor is similar to salt flavor but instead of broth of chicken, it may be made with broth from Konbu, KatsuobushiJapanese cuisine Katsuobushi is the Japanese name for a preparation of dried and smoked bonito ( skipjack tuna). Katsuobushi is the main ingredient in dashi, a broth that forms the basis of many soups (such as miso soup) and sauces (e. soba no tsukejiru), and NiboshiJapanese cuisine Niboshi are Japanese dried baby sardines (but sometimes translated as anchovies). They are one of many varieties of small dried fish used throughout Asia in snacks and as seasoning for soup stocks and other foods. In Japan, niboshi dashi. The miso flavor is similar to shoyu and uses similar broth.
These are basic flavors and they may be even mixed together to make another flavor. Some of the ingredients commonly added to a soup are black pepperBlack pepper is a seasoning produced from the fermented, dried, unripe red berries, called peppercorn, of the plant Piper nigrum''. The same peppercorn, when unripe green, can be dried, or preserved in brine or vinegar, to make green peppercorn; or when r, butter, Chilli pepper, Five-spice powder, garlic, Gochujang (from Korean cuisine), sake, vinegar, wine, etc. Ramen soup recipes are heavily guarded in many ramen restaurants.

from- economicexpert.com/