Yokohama-style ramen is best known as iekei ramen, a powerful, pork-and-soy–forward style that originated in Yokohama in the mid-1970s and has since become one of Japan’s most recognizable ramen traditions. The style traces back to Yoshimuraya, opened in 1974 by Minoru Yoshimura, whose goal was not to invent an academic regional specialty but to create something filling, bold, and satisfying for working people. Drawing on the richness of Kyushu tonkotsu ramen and the salty clarity of Tokyo shoyu ramen, Iekei emerged as a hybrid that favored impact over delicacy, with a dense, opaque, and assertively seasoned broth. Over time, shops connected by lineage or inspiration adopted the character 家 (“ie,” meaning house), and the term “Iekei” came to describe the style as a whole rather than a single restaurant. The soup begins with pork bones and chicken carcasses, cooked aggressively to extract fat, collagen, and umami. Unlike lighter shoyu ramen, the goal is body and opacity rather than clarity, though shops vary in how emulsified they push the broth. This stock is not fully seasoned on its own; instead, saltiness and structure come from a separate soy-based seasoning called tare, added to each bowl individually. Floating on the surface is chicken oil (chīyu), an essential aromatic element that adds richness, traps heat, and gives the soup its characteristic sheen. Japanese sources and modern analysis alike emphasize that this trio—pork-and-chicken stock, shoyu tare, and chicken oil—is non-negotiable; remove any one of them, and the ramen no longer reads as Iekei. This ramen traditionally uses thick, straight, alkaline noodles that are shorter than average, lightly flattened, and firm enough to push back against the heavy broth rather than dissolve into it. Kansui gives them their springy bite and pale yellow color, while the thickness allows them to carry fat and soy without turning mushy. This balance is crucial: the noodles are not meant to be elegant, but structural, providing chew and contrast to the richness of the soup. Many descriptions of the style stress that noodle choice is as defining as the broth itself. Toppings in Iekei ramen are not decorative; they are part of the identity of the dish. A classic bowl almost always includes sheets of nori, a mound of blanched spinach, and slices of chashu pork. Spinach, in particular, plays an important functional role, cutting through fat and salt with bitterness and freshness. Chashu varies by shop and cook—pork belly is popular for its richness, while traditional shops often use loin and may smoke it after cooking, but it is typically cooked until very tender, cooled, and sliced thinly. Chopped scallions and marinated eggs are common additions, and many shops keep a range of condiments at the counter, reflecting the style’s roots in casual, customizable ramen culture. Assembly is fast and intentional: tare goes into the bowl first, followed by hot soup and oil, then noodles and toppings. Lekei ramen is meant to be eaten immediately; even with sturdy noodles, the texture changes quickly as they absorb the broth. Many shops serve rice alongside the ramen, a pairing that makes sense given the soup’s saltiness and depth. Customization is another defining feature. Customers are often asked to choose noodle firmness, soup strength, and oil level, allowing the same kitchen to produce bowls that range from relatively restrained to unapologetically heavy. This flexibility has helped Iekei spread widely without losing its core identity. At the same time, the style has diversified: some shops emphasize a sharper soy profile, others a rounder, fattier broth; some lean closer to tonkotsu, others toward shoyu. Personal additions like pepper, garlic, ginger, chili, sesame seeds, or vinegar are common and culturally accepted, reinforcing the idea that Iekei is as much about satisfaction as it is about precision.
Milky, lip-smacking broth and extra thin wheat noodles are the main charachteristics of this ramen, originally from Fukuoka. Although at its basic, ramen prepared this way consists of nothing more than pork bones broth, noodles, chashu pork, and green onions — additional toppings are often included as well, though — each said component takes time and care to prepare, most notably the broth which can cook for as little as 8 to 12 hours to up to 36 to 60 hours, depending on the recipe and the desired outcome. The preparation begins by simmering the bones, pork skin, and pig's trotters in water first, which is a step that helps remove the dirt and scum. The bones are then washed and scrubbed of scum under running water, and placed in a fresh pot of water so they are completely covered and then simmered for a minimum of 8 to 12 hours. At some point, while the broth cooks, roasted vegetables can be added to give it a more complex flavor. Once cooked, the broth is filtered to rid of it of all impurities. Also, while the broth is cooking, other components of the ramen are prepared. Chashu pork is made with pork belly which is rolled and tied with a kitchen twine, so it cooks more evenly and it doesn't fall apart as it cooks. It is cooked typically in a mixture of mirin, soy sauce, sake, and sugar, together with some herbs and aromatics like ginger, scallions, and garlic. When cooked, the cooking liquid is filtered and can be used to make a ramen egg, if desired. Once all of these components are made, it's time to cook the noodles. The key is not to overcook them, so only a 10-second boil will suffice. The basic rendition of hakata ramen consists of only broth and thin, straight noodles, topped with slices of chashu pork and chopped green onions, seasoned with just salt or either soy sauce, mayu sauce, and/or tare. However, this basic rendition can be upgraded with additional toppings such as mayu, sweet corn, ramen egg, menma, crushed garlic, and nori sheets.
The ramen restaurant G Men 7’s chuka soba has been the inspiration for this old-school shoyu ramen recipe, which, unlike other shoyu ramens, does not have dashi components — there is only one kind of broth made with pork and chicken. The soup and the tare should be made a day in advance so the flavors have time to develop. The recipe is adapted from the YT channel Way of Ramen, a popular and respectable channel that is the go-to place for any and every ramen lover.
Laksa is a versatile savory dish that originated in Southeast Asia, consisting of broth, noodles, and a variety of other ingredients, such as meat, seafood, and vegetables. Generally speaking, it is made by cooking a flavored broth, then cooking, frying or blanching the chosen ingredients, and finally assembling the dish in a bowl, with the addition of some noodles and toppings. Laksa is often prepared and sold in hawker centers across the region. There are two main kinds of the dish, depending on the type of broth being used as the base — curry laksa and asam laksa. Curry laksa is a creamy, curry-based dish usually made with coconut milk, rice noodles, prawns, chicken, bean sprouts, fish cakes, and eggs. The commonly used spices include ginger, galangal, turmeric, cloves, and chilies. Curry laksa is often served with some sambal chili paste and laksa leaves, also known as Vietnamese coriander or Vietnamese mint. The numerous varieties include laksa lemak, laksam, Bogor laksa, Cibinong laksa, Thai laksa, and Katong laksa. Asam laksa has a sour flavor and is made with a fish and tamarind-based broth accompanied by an array of thinly sliced vegetables, such as onions, chilies, cucumber, pineapple, and mint. It is served with rice noodles and topped with some prawn paste. Versions of asam laksa include Penang laksa, Kedah laksa, Perlis laksa, Medan laksa, and Kuala Kangsar laksa. The combination of the two previously described main kinds of laksa makes for a third type, which includes both coconut milk and tamarind, fish, chicken, and prawn. This combination laksa also comes in a number of different versions, such as Sarawak laksa, Johor laksa, Terengganu laksa, Kelantan laksa, and Tambelan laksa.
The following recipe is published in Adam Liaw's Destination Flavour cookbook and is adapted from the Good Food website (www.goodfood.com.au). The ingredients for the laksa rempah make up for two batches, so use half now and refrigerate the other half for another laksa.
Typical for the Japanese city of Nagasaki, champon is a rich, filling noodle dish with pork, seafood, and vegetables simmered in a savory broth. Generally, it belongs in the ramen dish family, and the main element which differentiates it from ramen is the fact that all the ingredients are cooked in the same pot or wok. The first step is frying the ingredients in lard — generally, the meat, cabbage, carrots, and onions are fried first, followed by more delicate ingredients such as seafood, sprouts, and mushrooms. Then, a stock seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, and sake is poured in, and the ingredients are simmered shortly before the finishing touch — the addition of champon noodles. Champon is served piping hot in deep serving bowls, and has several regional varieties. The cities of Tottori and Amagasaki season it with extra soy sauce, in Akita miso soup is used instead of broth, while in the city of Okinawa topping includes a scrambled egg, and noodles are substituted with rice.
Belonging to the shoyu ramen group and originating from Kitakata, Kitakata ramen is consists of a soy sauce base, pork bone broth, and hirauchi jukusei takasuimen noodles, which are thicker than most ramen noodles and wavy. Still, although the broth is typically made with pork bones, different restaurants make the broth differently, but in any case, it will include naiboshi (sardines). Also, unlike most ramen noodles, noodles for this type of ramen have a higher ratio of water to flour and need to mature before they are ready for use. The finished bowl of Kitakata ramen is usually topped with chashu pork, bamboo shoots, naruto fish cakes, and spring onions.
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