Brekky: ramen with tomato & salami?!

Ramen with tomato, salami and onsen tamago

Ramen is a noodle dish invented by the Japanese, but it is actually of a Chinese origin. It's called ramen after 'lamian', the Chinese word for handmade noodles.

Though the first ramen shop is said to be opened in 1910, ramen became widely popular in Japan after the World War II. Nowadays, it starts to become a beloved dish throughout the world.

Ramen is more ....

A lot of people associate ramen with Japanese cuisine, in that it uses traditional Japanese ingredients such as dashi (stock made from japanese sardines or bonito and/or kelp), miso (fermented bean paste) and shoyu (soy sauce).

The herbs I bought on the Wollongong
market, grown on our balcony

I used a variety of Ozzie tomatoes, for
flavor complexit

Today a lot of Japanese ramen chefs are inspired by other Asian cooking styles as well as Western cuisine, resulting in unusual ramen dishes with stocks that don't use dashi, miso or shoyu, but just shio (salt) instead, or a coconut curry base. Not only the soup base is influenced by the world's culinary traditions, also the ingredients used as a topping. So, don't be surprised to find ramen shops that serve tomato ramen topped with parmesan and basil.

You can use Ozzie products!

Since I am here, living in Australia, I thought it was a good idea to introduce you to this unusual style of Japanese ramen, clearly influenced by Western cuisine. Isn't Australia
the country where you can find so many Asian ingredients, as well as those beloved Western products, e.g. cheese, olives and  salami? And don't forget there is nothing wrong with going local if you cook yourself ramen: the Japanese embrace local produce, just like the Ozzies do!

My brekky

Why not cook myself a brekky using Ozzie produced salami, fresh locally grown tomatoes. I prepared my own noodles from locally grown Ozzie wheat flour. The soup is has a chicken and (kombu) dashi stock base with fermented chili bean paste, all topped with Ozzie grown basil, salami, an onsen tamago  (Japanese half boiled egg, often used for ramen because it lacks the runny yolk while the egg white is still soft, you have to cook it on a low temperature for 30 minutes), chili & garlic oil.

I know I am lost in translation, products and nations: I just prepared myself an Italian influenced Japanese noodle dish with locally grown Ozzie product. Never mind, I am confused already.