Ramen Tour

TRANSCRIPT
Ramen Tour

NARRATOR:
Ramen is a popular Japanese dish made with noodles, usually served in a hot, tasty soup with a variety of toppings. It’s cheap, quick to prepare, and full of flavour—which helps explain why so many people love it. One thing that makes ramen so appealing is how many styles there are. Flavours can include salty, soy-based shoyu, or rich miso paste. Some bowls are spicy with chili, while others taste like curry. You can also choose from many toppings, such as seaweed, tofu, meat, bean sprouts, egg, or mushrooms. Sesame oil, green onions, or ginger can also add a lot of extra flavour. There are even different types of noodles: some are very thin, while others are flatter or thicker. Over the last 15 years or so, ramen has become very popular in places around the world, like South Korea, the US & Canada, and the United Kingdom.

SOUNDBITE - Frank Striegl:
“Noodles and soup around the world is consumed in so many different countries. A lot of countries in the world have their own versions of ramen in a way, so I think because of that, it's a dish that's easy to understand, it’s the dish that’s easy to get behind.”

NARRATOR:
Frank Striegl runs ramen tours for American tourists in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. On his tour, guests visit small restaurants hidden down narrow staircases or behind plain doors. Each stop serves a tiny bowl of ramen, about the size of a coffee cup. That way, people have room to try six different types of ramen during the tour.

SOUNDBITE - Katie Sell:
”I think that's why I like ramen. There's so many different types of flavors that you can get with it, that doesn't often pop up in the other food that I eat… so yeah!”

NARRATOR:
While the tourists are enjoying their ramen, Frank shares the history of the dish. The story begins hundreds of years ago, when a samurai leader became interested in Chinese noodles. Since then, Japan has made ramen its own, turning it into a dish loved around the world.