The recipe that chef
Rafa Zafra
serves at the
Estimar
restaurant
is not ramen nor does it pretend to be.
Inside Galician spider crab shells, he mixes the crustacean juices with elvers as noodles, bits of the shellfish itself and quail eggs, according to the photograph.
A gastronomic game with the sense of humor that characterizes it.
All a success.
What is ramen?
“Street food of Chinese origin (lamiàn) that in the last decades the Japanese have turned into a national dish of which they are proud, beyond sushi, sashimi and tempura,”
Jhon Husby
, American chef, patron
replied
from the
Chuka Ramen Bar
on the occasion of my first visit to this house five years ago.
A tavern with a Japanese air where the best ramen in
Madrid
is prepared
by far.
"The dish is sweeping
Tokyo
, triumphs around the world and has been consolidating in Spain for years.
It was introduced by Chinese emigrants in the
China Town of Yokohama in the mid-19th century
and it has become so integrated into Japanese culture that it even has a museum in that city
. "
Husby
worked for a few years at the
Momofuku Noodle Bar
in New York, together with
David Chang
, before doing an internship at
El Celler de Can Roca
and passing through the
Alicia Foundation
.
Is there a basic recipe?
“None, although roughly three families are involved, the broth, the noodles and the side dishes.
Chinese or Japanese noodles that float in large bowls with plenty of broth and sprinkles: seaweed, boiled eggs, mushrooms, pork belly, bamboo shoots, cashews or chives.
No two are alike, each city has its specialty, there are as many recipes as there are prefectures, regions and chefs.
Creativity without restrictions ”.
Secrets of the best?
"The ramen is valued according to the quality of the wines -
shio (salt), tonkotsu (pork bone), shoyu (soy sauce) and miso
-
,
spicy or not, we prepare boiling abundant bones, vegetables and herbs aromatic for eight hours in giant pots.
After resting another eight hours, we strain them and they are ready for the final soup with the addition of seasonings.
Ramen
is said to
be cheap and easy to make, huge mistake
.
Neither the broth, nor the pasta are anything.
We buy noodles in the State of
New Jersey
, fresh, not dry, made with alkaline water and flour, with a different PH and texture.
Ramen is eaten fast, but you have to cook it slowly
, the complexity of the good ones is tremendous.
Young people in Japan support the dish, perhaps because of its rebellion against the traditional rigidity of Japanese culinary norms ”.
At
Chuka Ramen Bar
I just enjoyed two magnificent specialties.
First the
Tantanmen Ramen
a fragrant and spicy broth with
sansho
pepper
in which thin elongated noodles swim mixed with a stew of minced meat, poached eggs and abundant fried leek on top.
Superb.
After the
basic
Tokyo Shoyu
, consommé with soy sauce and chicken fat, chunks of
char siu
(roasted pork belly) and vegetables, bamboo shoots, daikon radish and Chinese chives.
In both cases maliciously addictive bowls.
The chef Alberto Pacheco and the sommelier Juanma Galán, in Estimar.
JC CAPEL
What is the secret ingredient in your ramen? “
The sake lees, half clandestine, that we eventually add to our wines and whose export is not allowed.
They provide dairy touches.
Friends provide them to us.
As important as
shitake mushrooms, kombu seaweed, and katsuobushi,
with which we get depth and umami ”.
For creative originality, the ramen prepared and improvised by
Julio Zhang
, a virtuous Chinese wok chef, daring and unstoppable, who
runs two venues
in
Madrid
.
In
Lámiàn
, in
front of the
Mostenses
market
,
where his adventure began, he has turned ramen into a journey through the gastronomic culture of Asia.
It amuses me to listen to him, although I confess that I hardly ever understand him.
At
Soy Kitchen
,
his second place where he boasts a signature Chinese cuisine inspired by ancient traditions, I dared to ask him to improvise two
lamiàn
(in Chinese, hand-stretched noodles).
“They don't always have broth, there are dry versions,” he told me before he presented a bowl of noodles drizzled with very hot sesame oil, garlic, coriander juice, Sichuan pepper, and seafood oil.
Composition rich in nuances, although somewhat pasty.
Earlier he had served me a bowl of knuckle trimmings floating in fragrant pork broth, with chopped chives, pickles, and vinegar.
Succulent.
I finish with
Kuraya
, a very busy place, serving
Tsukumen ramen,
a popular specialty in
Tokyo
.
The thick noodles (udon) are presented in separate bowls for dipping in the hot soup.
A different concept that unfortunately in this house does not reach the gastronomic value it deserves.
I have never understood the criteria that the
Michelin guide
applies in Asia.
The reasons why street restaurants, without room service and in poor condition, are awarded stars.
Something unthinkable in Europe.
I mean the self-service regime that is prevalent in Japan at the
ramen restaurants
I've visited, all with one star.
The order is paid and placed in a vending machine such as tobacco and the ticket is delivered to the counter where the cooks serve.
Usually after waiting in long lines on the street.
I leave the link of my last experience at the
Takiryu
in Tokyo, one of the Michelin winners in the great city.
Street food
in its purest form that in the culinary aspect and only in certain cases reaches refinements of haute cuisine.
Tantanmen Ramen, at Chuka Ramen Bar. JC CAPEL
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Tokio Sohyu, at the Chuka Ramen Bar restaurant. JC CAPEL
Tonkotsu Ramen, at the Chuka Ramen Bar restaurant. JC CAPEL
Jhon Husby, with his kitchen team at Chuka Ramen Bar. JC CAPEL
Tantanmen ramen noodles, at the Chuka Ramen Bar restaurant. JC CAPEL
Jhon Husby, at the door of Chuka Ramen Bar. JC CAPEL
Ramen, at the Soy Kitchen restaurant.
JC CAPEL
Ramen without broth, at the Soy Kitchen restaurant.
JC CAPEL
The restless and creative chef Julio, in his restaurant Soy Kitchen.
JC CAPEL
Preparing the ramen, in Soy Kitchen.
JC CAPEL
Ramen Tsukumen, at the Kuraya restaurant.
JC CAPEL