Topic

Craft & Ingredients

Dashi, kombu, katsuobushi, noodles and toppings: what goes into the bowl, and why.

Craft & Ingredients Dashi: the quiet stock behind almost everything Two humble dried ingredients, a pot of water and a little patience. Meet dashi, the pale, savoury stock that Japanese cooking leans on more than any other. 4 min read

Craft & Ingredients Kansui: why ramen noodles are yellow and springy The secret of ramen's bounce and golden colour usually isn't egg. It's a dose of alkaline salts called kansui, and a bit of kitchen chemistry worth knowing. 4 min read

Craft & Ingredients Katsuobushi: the fish that turns to wood Simmered, smoked, dried and sometimes ripened with mould for months, katsuobushi is a block of fish as hard as timber that melts into the gentlest of broths. 4 min read

Craft & Ingredients Kombu: the kelp that seasoned a nation Harvested off Hokkaido and carried south by sailing ships, kombu became the quiet foundation of dashi. How to choose it, soak it, and leave its white powder alone. 4 min read

Craft & Ingredients Miso: white, red and everything between Sweet and pale or dark and fierce, miso comes in far more shades than most visitors realise. How to read the colours, the koji and the regions behind them. 4 min read

Craft & Ingredients Ramen toppings: a glossary for the counter Chashu, ajitama, menma, naruto. What all those words on the ticket machine mean, and which bowls they belong to. 4 min read

Craft & Ingredients Tare, stock, oil, noodles, toppings: the anatomy of a ramen bowl Every bowl of ramen is built from five parts, added in a set order. Learn to tell them apart and you will taste any bowl, anywhere, with new eyes. 4 min read