Explore everyday life in Japan
This is tsukemen, which can, perhaps, be thought of as the sibling who has been lost and forgotten in the shadows of his brother’s fame. His brother, of course, being the famous noodle dish ramen.
Before I came to Japan, I was well aware of many of Japan’s noodles—ramen, udon, somen, and soba—but I had never heard of tsukemen. Maybe things are different now, maybe many of you already know all about tsukemen, but for those of you who don’t, here is a quick introduction.
Tsukemen is a noodle dish. As with ramen, the thickness and the type of noodles that are served vary depending on the store and the flavor of the soup they are served with. The main difference between tsukemen and ramen is that, with tsukemen, the noodles and the soup are served separately. In addition, the soups that are served with tsukemen tend to be a little bolder in flavor than those that are served with ramen. The reason for this is that with tsukemen the noodles don’t sit in the soup for a long time and soak up the soup’s flavor. They are just dipped, or possibly soaked for a short period of time, in the soup and then eaten. If the soup’s flavor isn’t strong enough, the noodles will be bland.
I tend to prefer tsukemen to ramen. I don’t know what it is about it, but I like picking the noodles up myself and dipping them in the soup. As opposed to ramen, I don’t feel rushed when I eat tsukemen. I feel more relaxed. Maybe that's what I like about it.
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