Ramen is the ultimate Asian comfort food: a warm hug in a bowl. At its best, the broth has been simmered for hours until it\u2019s rich with soul and deep umami. The noodles should have just the right chew, the marinated eggs a gloriously jammy centre, and the crunchy veg toppings enough bite to keep things interesting.<\/p>\n
Right now, Helsinki has two restaurants dedicated entirely to ramen \u2013 Ramen Ichiraku and Katana Ramen \u2013 plus a handful of other spots that serve good bowls alongside the rest of their menu.<\/p>\n
The different types of ramen<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no single \u2018correct\u2019 way to make ramen. Across Japan, every city has its own signature style, but they all share the same obsession: finding the perfect balance between broth, noodles and toppings.<\/p>\n
While there are endless variations, ramen is usually divided into four main styles based on the broth\u2019s seasoning and texture:<\/p>\n
Shio (Salt): The oldest and lightest style. A clear, refined broth usually made from chicken bones or fish. In shio ramen, the toppings get to shine in all their pure, delicate glory.<\/p>\n
Shoyu (Soy Sauce): The classic Tokyo style. Soy sauce gives the broth its clear brown colour and layers of savoury depth. Best paired with thin, wavy noodles that slurp like a dream.<\/p>\n
Miso: A hearty favourite from Hokkaido. The broth is seasoned with fermented soybean paste, giving it a nutty, slightly sweet and deeply comforting flavour. Think of it as the ramen equivalent of a proper winter stew.<\/p>\n
Tonkotsu (Pork): The creamy king of ramen. Pork bones and trotters are boiled so ferociously that the broth turns milky white and collagen-rich. Tonkotsu is an all-out flavour bomb for anyone chasing maximum richness.<\/p>\n
The perfect ramen broth<\/p>\n
A proper tonkotsu broth takes serious patience: at least eight hours on the boil, preferably much longer \u2013 sometimes up to 20 hours. Shio and shoyu broths are lighter work, usually needing around three to six hours.<\/p>\n
That marathon simmer is exactly why finding truly great ramen feels so rewarding. In rich broths like tonkotsu, heat and time emulsify bone marrow and fat into a silky, milk-white meatshake of pure umami. Clear broths, meanwhile, are all about elegance: flavours coaxed out gently enough to keep the soup crystal-clear.<\/p>\n
It takes passion in the kitchen, while plenty of places cut corners with ready-made mixes and shortcuts. Which makes hunting down the perfect bowl of ramen feel a bit like a culinary Holy Grail quest. So strap on your (samurai) armour and get slurping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ramen is the ultimate Asian comfort food: a warm hug in a bowl. At its best, the broth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[87],"tags":[2618,158,113,2617],"class_list":["post-93580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-helsinki","tag-categories-restaurants","tag-finland","tag-helsinki","tag-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116649610950552923","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}