楢製麺 (Naraseimen in Shinjuku, Tokyo)

0 Reviews

楢製麺

Naraseimen, just minutes from Shinjuku Station, does a simple, elegant ramen that some people don’t even consider to be proper ramen.

The shio is the popular one. Salt from Okinawa is matched with a clam-rich soup. Sounds elegant.

The kodawari of this bowl is written for customers, as is customary in most “high-end” shops these days. Naraseimen goes a step further and produces a full-color, professional menu book with the info.

The broth is made from two kinds of specialty chickens. Daisen Jidori from Tottori and Shingen chicken from Yamanshi are combined with rausu kelp from Hokkaido.

Naraseimen has some craft beer bottles if you want to go that route.

Three kinds of meat and a specialty egg. Yamanashi Shingen chicken breast, low-temperature cooked pork shoulder from Miyazaki, and fatty pork belly from Hokkaido. The wannabe food writer in me always loves these details. The Hokkaido pork is a brand called Dreamland (夢の大地). Are you interested in the various types of brand pork in Japan? Here’s a website for you.

Noodles are made in-house without the use of salt or kansui. This is significant, as these ingredients are considered indispensable to ramen noodle production. Kansui, known as alkaline salt, helps the wheat gluten bind together chemically and gives ramen its signature chewy texture. Salt in the raw noodles forms tiny holes inside the noodle that melt away when boiling to help the cooking process. Here at Naraseimen, though, it’s just flour and water. I found them to be on the softer side, but not in an accidental “oops, I cooked the noodles too long” way.

The big standout, obviously, is the massive fresh takenoko bamboo shoot. It’s a special matake (真竹) from Kagoshima Prefecture. In contrast, most bamboo shoots in Japan are reconstituted from dried, imported products. This isn’t a bad thing, as the dried things undergo a fermentation process the gives a lot of flavor. This big piece has a more pleasant taste and a fantastic crunchy texture.

The location feels hidden, even though it’s only a few minutes from the South Exit of Shinjuku Station. Let me know if you think this should count as a ramen shop.

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