Ramen Types

Traditionally, rameni come in several styles, distinguished by the soup in which it is served. Because what the most popular or common soup/style is also dependent on region, often the region names also become synonymous with certain soup flavors.

Most common flavors are:

Shoyui

Shoyu, or soy sauce based soup, is most popular and common from the Kanto (east) region. It is a relatively thin and rather transparent dark soup.

Miso

Miso ramen soup is not like miso soup one might find at a sushii restaurant. Rather, it is miso dissolved in a broth of Dashi. It is generally opaque, and can be reddish brown to a darker brown color, based on the kind of miso used. Since the underlying miso itself has regional differences, the miso ramen flavor can be equally diverse.

Shio

Shio, or salt, ramen soup is relatively transparent and, not surprisingly enough, particularly salty even among ramen (which is known for being a salty food to begin with). While one might imagine a white color, when hearing "salt", it is actually pale yellow and even cream colored.

Tonkotsu

The name Tonkotsu is derived from "ton" (pork) and "kotsu" (bone). The pork stock based soup is rich, thicker than any of the other ramen soups. Sometimes, it can be so rich one might think it was a cream-based soup. It is typically served with a pinch of BeniShoga (red pickled ginger) which contrasts well with the white soup.