洛二神

Many varieties of ramen typically include dried fish as an ingredient. Niboshi ramen takes this style up a notch. Sardines, harvested domestically in Japan and dried, give this style a smoky, fishy kick. If you boil them for about an hour, you can extract a lot of umami. Any longer and you run the risk of the soup becoming very bitter.

In the case of Rakunijin, the master opened his shop in 2001 and modeled his ramen after some he had eaten in Tokyo. At the time, Osaka didn’t have much in the way of niboshi ramen. He is completely self-taught, blaming the lack of internet at the time for his hundreds of prototype bowls.

I asked Mr. Orangutan what to order. Super thick niboshi (超煮干そば), regular niboshi (煮干そば), or clear style (和風中華そば). I’m sure everything is good. Rakunijin has been on the Tabelog East Japan 100 list for four years.

The normal niboshi came recommended. They also have a 2004-style bowl with three kinds of dried fish to kick up a bone-based broth. It’s a bit more mellow. The normal bowls use 100% sardine.

Dried sardines from Kujukurin in Chiba (九十九里産の煮干鰮) and kelp from Hidaka in Hokkaido (日高昆布) are simmered to pull out the maximum amount of umami. Each bowl uses around 50 grams of dried sardines. Seasoning uses a soy sauce called Soba Zen (そば膳), a flavoring used by soba restaurants in Japan’s Kanto (Tokyo) area. Noodles are made in-house to match the soup.

The shop is located on one of Osaka’s many covered shopping arcades. This one goes by the name of Oideyasu Street (おいでやす通り). Some of these streets are shuttered remnants of Osaka’s past, but this one is bustling. In fact, there is another Top 100 shop called Chukasoba Ibuki (中華そばいぶき) just down the road. Why not go for a bang bang?

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Ramen Adventures

Ramen Shop Reviews from Japan and Abroad

洛二神 (Rakunijin in Osaka)

麬にかけろ中崎壱丁中崎商店會1-6-18号ラーメン (Kasumanikakeru in Osaka)

麺屋たけ井 R1号店 (Takei in Kyoto)

洛二神 (Rakunijin in Osaka)

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麬にかけろ 中崎壱丁 中崎商店會1-6-18号ラーメン (Kasumanikakeru in Osaka)

麺屋 たけ井 R1号店 (Takei in Kyoto)

麬にかけろ中崎壱丁中崎商店會1-6-18号ラーメン (Kasumanikakeru in Osaka)

麺屋たけ井 R1号店 (Takei in Kyoto)