Most of us are familiar with ramen – the Japanese noodle soup that warms you up while, more often than not, embellishing your shirt with small dots of soupy splashes.
But have you met its lighter, summer-friendly cousin, tsukemen?
Tsukemen, which means ‘dipping noodles’, uses similar ingredients to ramen. However it could be likened to a deconstructed version of the dish in which cold noodles are served next to a small bowl of rich broth.
To eat, you simply dip your noodles into the soup – hence the name ‘dipping noodles’ or tsukemen.
While the history of ramen is about as clear as a bowl of tonkotsu broth, George Solt, author of The Untold History of Ramen: How Political Crisis in Japan Spawned a Global Food Craze, said tsukemen was invented by Tokyo ramen shop owner, Kazuo Yamagishi, in the mid-1950s.
After developing the flavour, Yamagishi's ‘special morisoba’ (now known as tsukemen) was added to the menu of his restaurant Higashi-Ikebukuro Taishoken menu in 1961.
Even though tsukemen hasn’t reached the level of popularity that ramen has in Australia, there are a number of Japanese restaurant owners here who are fans of the dish.
Yoshi Kurosawa, owner of Japanese restaurant Mensousai Mugen in Melbourne, is one. Having no formal training in making tsukemen did not stop Kurosawa from making his own version of the dish.
Kurosawa tells SBS Food, “I was just a tsukemen nerd and making tsukemen was my weekend activity.”
Every month for three years before opening his restaurant, he used his experience in mixology and cooking skills to develop his tsukemen.
His take on the dish has sat proudly on Mensousai Mugen’s menu since its doors opened in 2013, and he says it receives 70 to 100 orders every day.
It’s all about the noodle
The star of the tsukemen show is the noodle that’s typically served cold.
Many restaurants purchase their noodles from a wholesaler but some noodle-focused restaurants make their own using secret recipes that combine a unique mixture of different flours and ingredients.
Mensousai Mugen makes its own noodles, and its recipe was formed by trialling different flours and flour mixtures, and testing different moisture levels.
Kurosawa says, "Tsukemen is a hybrid of ramen and soba so it’s easier to pick up the characters of the noodle more than ramen. Tsukemen is a dish that you can appreciate the textures of the noodle.”
It’s all about the noodle, balance of different type of flours and moisture content.
“We believe that the soup is utmost key in creating a top-notch ramen. For tsukemen, it is the noodle that gives life to the dish,” says Nagao.
According to Nagao the thick, chewy and cold consistency of the noodles ensures the rich pork soup clings just as it should.
“We run it under cold water to tighten the noodle to finish off our signature tight chew,” he says.
The star of the tsukemen show is the noodle, which is typically served cold. Source: Ramen Zundo
The summertime noodle soup
“Regular ramen noodles are more popular than tsukemen all year round,” says Nagao.
“However tsukemen orders increase in summer as it's considered a 'cooler' dish with cool noodles and hot pork dipping broth.”
But tsukemen isn’t limited to being a dish for warmer months.
Kurosawa says you can request atsumori, which means the noodles are served warm, on colder days.
Wari soup: the final flourish
Eating tsukemen is fairly straightforward. But here's one tip that will enhance your tsukemen experience – especially if you’re still hungry.
Once you’ve finished your noodles, Nagao says, “ask for the 'extra soup' to add to the left over soup to create a lighter soup to down after your meal.”
This extra soup – known as wari – is a light broth that’s used to dilute your remaining bowl of rich soup, which you can drink straight from the bowl.
While tsukemen often takes a back seat to its older brother ramen, it's a noodle broth treat.
