Quiz on Ramen

Ramen is fundamentally what kind of dish?

• A noodle soup ✓ (Correct answer)
• A rice bowl
• A grilled skewer
• A dumpling platter

Source: Ramen is a noodle soup—the word even ends in 'men,' the Japanese term for noodles.

How is ramen traditionally served?

• As a cold salad
• In a hot broth ✓ (Correct answer)
• In a pastry shell
• In a dry box

Source: Ramen swims in hot broth; its chilled summer cousin, hiyashi chuka, is the exception.

Which noisy habit is considered acceptable when eating ramen in Japan?

• Slurping ✓ (Correct answer)
• Burping
• Smacking lips
• Blowing on it

Source: Slurping cools the noodles and is said to boost flavor—eating in silence can even seem rude.

Creamy tonkotsu broth is made by boiling what for hours?

• Vegetables
• Tofu
• Pork bones ✓ (Correct answer)
• Beef bones

Source: Tonkotsu's milky look comes from pork bones boiled until the collagen emulsifies—no dairy involved.

Ramen noodles are made primarily from which flour?

• Rice
• Wheat ✓ (Correct answer)
• Buckwheat
• Corn

Source: Despite Japan's love of rice, ramen noodles are wheat—closer to pasta than to a rice bowl.

Ramen's noodle soup roots trace back to which country?

• Italy
• Korea
• Thailand
• China ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Ramen descends from Chinese wheat-noodle soups; the name likely comes from 'lamian,' hand-pulled noodles.

A 'shoyu' ramen broth is flavored mainly with what?

• Salt
• Miso
• Vinegar
• Soy sauce ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: 'Shoyu' is simply the Japanese word for soy sauce, the backbone of Tokyo-style ramen.

What is the sliced braised pork served on ramen called?

• Chashu ✓ (Correct answer)
• Menma
• Narutomaki
• Kamaboko

Source: Chashu is rolled pork belly braised in soy and sake, then thinly sliced over the bowl.

Which dried seaweed sheet is a common ramen topping?

• Wakame
• Kombu
• Nori ✓ (Correct answer)
• Hijiki

Source: Those crisp dark squares are nori, the same toasted seaweed that wraps your sushi.

Miso ramen is the signature style of which Japanese city?

• Tokyo
• Sapporo ✓ (Correct answer)
• Osaka
• Kyoto

Source: Snowy Sapporo invented miso ramen in the 1950s as a hearty defense against Hokkaido winters.

In tsukemen, the noodles and broth are served how?

• Mixed in one bowl
• Stir-fried together
• Separately for dipping ✓ (Correct answer)
• Inside a bun

Source: Tsukemen keeps noodles and concentrated broth apart so each mouthful is dipped, staying firm.

The pink-swirled fish cake on ramen shares its name with which anime hero?

• Naruto ✓ (Correct answer)
• Goku
• Luffy
• Ichigo

Source: Naruto is named after narutomaki, the pink swirl modeled on the famous Naruto whirlpools.

What alkaline ingredient gives ramen noodles their yellow tint and bounce?

• Eggs
• Yeast
• Rice flour
• Kansui ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Kansui, an alkaline mineral water, gives ramen noodles their color and signature springy chew.

Who invented instant ramen in 1958?

• Jiro Ono
• Momofuku Ando ✓ (Correct answer)
• David Chang
• Ichiraku Teuchi

Source: Momofuku Ando launched instant ramen in 1958 and later sent it to space, eating it almost daily into his 90s.

Cheap imported wheat from where fueled ramen's post-war boom in Japan?

• The Soviet Union
• France
• Australia
• The United States ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Floods of cheap American wheat after WWII turned ramen from a treat into Japan's everyday staple.

Abura soba, or 'mazemen,' is a style of ramen served how?

• With no broth ✓ (Correct answer)
• Deep-fried
• Served frozen
• As a dessert

Source: Abura soba ditches the soup entirely—you mix the noodles with tare and oil pooled at the bottom.

Which 1985 film was nicknamed the 'ramen western'?

• The Ramen Girl
• Udon
• Tampopo ✓ (Correct answer)
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Source: Juzo Itami's 'Tampopo' followed a quest for the perfect bowl and coined the 'ramen western' label.

In a 2000 poll, Japanese named what their best invention of the 20th century?

• The Walkman
• Karaoke
• The bullet train
• Instant noodles ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: In a 2000 poll, Japanese ranked instant noodles their proudest 20th-century invention, above karaoke and the Walkman.

Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen originates from which city?

• Kumamoto
• Fukuoka ✓ (Correct answer)
• Nagasaki
• Hiroshima

Source: Hakata, in Fukuoka, gave the world tonkotsu ramen, served with ultra-thin, quick-cooking noodles.

At a ramen shop, what does ordering 'kae-dama' get you?

• A spicier broth
• A free egg
• An extra portion of noodles ✓ (Correct answer)
• A loyalty stamp

Source: Order 'kae-dama' and the shop drops a fresh ball of noodles into your leftover broth—a Hakata tradition.