1

If you grew up eating instant ramen noodles or survived through university on the stuff, you would probably scoff at someone who says that making ramen is difficult. They’re probably not talking about the just-add-boiling-water stuff you can find in your supermarket for 10 cents a pack, though – in Japan, true ramen doesn’t come easy, taking many hours to make the perfect broth and lots of skill and precision to serve up a perfect, steaming bowl of noodles.

If you’ve ever been to a ramen shop in Japan, the speed and accuracy with which the chefs whips up some noodles and broth makes it look super simple. But as American YouTuber Ramen Adventures found out, it’s a lot harder than it looks! Check out the video of his experience and see what all goes in to making a good bowl of ramen.

YouTubers Ramen Adventures and 2minJapan took a trip to Ni-Chome Tsukemen GACHI, a popular ramen shop in the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo, and were taught the tricks of the trade by ramen master Shono-san. They quickly learn that their instructor only makes it look easy.

There are a lot of little details that can’t go over-looked, and accuracy is everything: you can’t have too much or too little of one ingredient, or you’ll throw off the balance of flavors. You also have to time everything just right, otherwise your soup won’t be hot, and your noodles will get too soggy…

How did the first-timers do? While Ramen Adventures’ soup cooled off too much, and his noodles were too soggy from being boiled too long, Shono-san gave him a thumbs up for flavor, and five out of 10 points overall. 2minJapan also got a five out of 10 (be sure to check out his side of the experience below).

Do you think real ramen is worth the extra effort, or are you content with the instant stuff? Let us know in the comments section below!

Source: YouTube (1, 2) via Donguriko
Featured image: YouTube (Ramen Adventures)