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Have you always wanted to try that delicious-looking Japanese delicacy, ramen, but have sadly had to refrain because you don't or can't eat gluten? Well, your noodly prayers have been answered! Produced with the cooperation of its ramen restaurants, gluten-free ramen will be available at the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum from June 1!
Click here for the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum gluten-free ramen homepage.
The Globalisation of Japanese Cuisine
As an island country, Japan tends not to have a large population of foreign residents, and unlike many western countries it doesn't have a substantial mixture of different religions and ideologies. Accordingly, during the eras when Japan didn't have many foreign visitors, it also didn't experience many problems with foreigners with dietary requirements struggling with the local cuisine. This is quite different to places where a variety of nationalities and races co-exist, like the cultural melting pots of New York and Toronto or European countries like Germany that are home to a great number of foreign residents.
In European and American ramen restaurants, you'll almost always find vegetable ramen on the menu, and about 20 to 30% of all ramen sold is vegetable ramen. And it's not just ramen restaurants - it's said that without vegetarian options on the menu, many restaurants in America and Europe couldn't stay in business. Over 10 million foreigners travelled to Japan in 2013, and by last year that number had soared to almost 20 million 1. As the number of foreign visitors to Japan rises, the number of visitors with dietary requirements will increase, too.
What's Required to Achieve True Globalisation of Ramen?
Recently the most common request from customers at the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is gluten-free ramen. Gluten-free foods were originally created for people with allergies, but lately the number of people who avoid gluten for ideological reasons is growing, especially in Western countries. The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is on a mission to teach the entire world the joy of ramen, and to achieve this globalisation of ramen it honed in on the constantly increasing demand for gluten-free foods around the world.
The Difficulty of Making Gluten-Free Ramen
The biggest problems that the museum faced in its efforts to create gluten-free noodles were the noodles, which contain wheat flour, and the soy sauce that's used in sauces and seasonings, which also contains wheat flour. The answer to the first problem was to use rice noodles or harusame noodles made from bean or potato starch. However, when it comes to boiling these noodles, they can't be boiled in water that has been used to boil wheat noodles, so a separate pot is required. Next up is the problem of the soy sauce - almost all soy sauces contain wheat flour. Soy sauce is used in the tare sauce, the vital ingredient that decides the taste of the ramen, and as a seasoning for toppings like chashu (roasted pork fillets) and menma (simmered bamboo shoots). So to make gluten-free ramen, toppings have to be seasoned with soy sauce that doesn't contain wheat flour, or with other seasonings like salt or miso. Based on these conditions, gluten-free ramen was developed at the following two restaurants:
Gluten-free ramen at Muku Zweite and Komurasaki
**German - Muku Zweite; Gluten-free Ramen (Miso)**
Price: ￥950 (incl. tax)
These days the miso used in miso ramen is produced using soy sauce that contains wheat flour, so for this gluten-free ramen a brand new miso-dare sauce that doesn't contain any wheat flour was specially developed. In addition to carrot, bean sprouts, onion, and cabbage, this ramen's toppings include the traditional German cuisine sauerkraut seasoned with chicken fat, and the soup is a combination of Muku soup and miso. The chashu is roast pork confit, cooked sous-vide to lock in flavour. The seasonings are salt and Muku's own special blend of pepper, Sieben. Instead of the traditional wheat noodles, this gluten-free ramen is made with straight rice noodles. (A Vegetable Ramen version of this gluten-free ramen is available upon request.)
Kumamoto - Komurasaki; Komurasaki-style Taipien (Tonkotsu pork bone)
Price: ￥700 (incl. tax)
Komurasaki's take on gluten-free ramen is a Komurasaki-style version of Kumamoto's popular regional cuisine Taipien, which is often served at Chinese restaurants and as part of school lunches in Kumamoto. The creamy and mild Komurasaki tonkotsu pork bone soup is prepared using a wheat-free shio-dare salt-based sauce. This ramen definitely doesn't scrimp on the toppings, with an impressive selection featuring shrimp, squid, clam, wood ear mushroom, cabbage, bean sprouts, and onion. The finishing touch of a splash of sesame oil provides a seriously rich flavour. Instead of wheat noodles, this ramen contains harusame noodles made from green bean starch.
The gluten-free options at these restaurants are prepared in kitchens where foods that contain gluten are also cooked. Customers who suffer from coeliac disease or who are allergic to gluten are advised to assess their own level of risk and consume dishes at their own risk.
What is "Gluten-Free"?
Gluten is a type of protein found in the endosperm of cereal grains like wheat and rye. It's used to add elasticity or stickiness to food, and it's also essential for creating the chewy texture of noodles. Gluten-free foods were initially created for people who can't digest gluten (coeliac disease sufferers) and for people who suffer reactions to gluten (gluten hypersensitivity). The symptoms of such conditions can include migraines and constipation, and it's thought that around 1 to 2% of Americans and 0.7% of Japanese people suffer from coeliac disease. However, for many people the reasons behind the gluten-free way of life that's spreading around the world right now are similar to the ideological reasons of those who follow a vegetarian lifestyle.
In cities in advanced countries like the US, thanks to the huge demand for gluten-free products many supermarkets have gluten-free corners and many restaurants have gluten-free menus, and there are even ramen restaurants that offer gluten-free ramen. To put it very simply, "gluten-free" means products that don't contain wheat, and you might spot gluten-free items that are made using rice flour, starch, or corn instead of wheat.
^1^ According to the Japanese Government Japan National Tourism Organization
Source: @Press
