Ramen 101 – The Basics of Ramen

When you think of ramen, you may think of the instant noodles you can buy at the store. This is not the type of ramen we serve at our restaurant. Our ramen is the real deal and once you try it for yourself, you’ll be able to taste the difference right away. If you’re not familiar with traditional ramen, this article gives you some of the basics to know. Of course, you don’t need to know all the details to enjoy a tasty bowl of ramen, but it is fun to get to know this delicious dish a bit better.

The Origins of Ramen

Where does ramen come from? If you answered Japan, you’re partially correct. While the dish is most commonly associated with Japan and did gain popularity in this country, it actually has Chinese roots. It is an adaptation of the Chinese noodle dish Lamian. In the early 1900s, Chinese immigrants to Japan started noodle shops that sold what eventually became known as ramen.
Eventually, Japanese ramen shops started to add their own touches to the dish. They added traditional Japanese ingredients such as dried fish and kelp.

Components of Ramen

There are three main components of ramen: the broth, the noodles, and the toppings. Each one of these contributes to the overall flavor and we’ve perfected our recipe with attention to every component of our ramen.

Broth

There are various flavors for broths and at Fat Noodle, we serve shoyu (soy) and miso. We use a combination of chicken and pork for our broth and also offer a vegetarian mushroom broth. No matter which broth you choose, we make sure it is flavorful and delicious. The pork/chicken broth is simmered for eight to ten hours to develop the flavors and the mushroom broth is simmered for four hours.

Noodles

Noodles are a key component of ramen and we make ours from scratch using locally-sourced Sonoran wheat. This gives our ramen a unique Tucson twist while still maintaining the traditional flavors you’d expect from an excellent bowl of ramen.

Toppings

Ramen can include a variety of toppings and each of our bowls feature slightly different options.
Here are some of the toppings we offer:
● Pork chashu
● Karaage (fried chicken)
● Tofu
● Soft egg
● Enoki mushrooms
● Green onions
● Nori (seaweed)
● Baby bok choy
● Shiitake mushrooms
● Sesame
● Menma (fermented bamboo shoots)
● Pickled ginger
● Bean sprouts
● Chili oil
● Our signature FN sauce
You can browse our menu to see the various types of ramen bowls we offer. You can also add extra toppings to make your bowl exactly as you would like it.

Our Tucson Ramen Restaurant

If reading about ramen made you hungry, stop by our Tucson ramen house and grab a bowl. We also offer other delicious menu items like our Fat-Snacks and our unique ramen burger with a noodle bun. We offer delivery through DoorDash and GrubHub, as well as pick-up and dine-in options.

Try our delicious Tucson ramen today.