Curry Miso Milk Ramen? Yes, you read that correctly. This unique regional ramen style hails from Japan's Aomori prefecture. Among toppings, you can't forget the butter!
In this series we zoom in on regional styles of ramen across Japan! The goal - to profile 100 regional ramen!
From Sapporo to Aomori
It all started in 1968. Kiyoshi Satoh, a ramen chef from Hokkaido, decided to move South to Aomori. This whole area of Northern Japan (Hokkaido and Aomori) is known for its brutal winters. With this wintry backdrop, piping hot ramen only makes sense!
Satoh-san moved from Aomori to Sapporo, which is Hokkaido's largest city. Furthermore, Sapporo famous for its miso ramen.
In short, Satoh-san brought his Sapporo miso ramen recipe to Aomori.
Curry Miso Milk Ramen Is Born
Satoh-san was originally all about serving Sapporo style miso ramen in Aomori City. He prepared these bowls at at Aji no Sapporo Onishi (味の札幌 大西), his newly established ramen shop.
But at one point, he got the urge to changes thing up.
After back and forth conversations with customers and local students, he added curry and milk to the soup in the early 1970s. These additions created a smash hit, and one that stuck.
Today, Curry Miso Milk Ramen is a wacky but important part of Aomori's regional cuisine.
What's It Taste Like?
In terms of flavor, it’s like eating a milder and milkier curry ramen with miso in the background. The soup itself isn't that heavy. Many modern Sapporo miso ramen shops tend to use a lot of pork bones or pork lard. This is what I mean by heavy.
This isn't the case with Satoh-san's miso ramen. It's lighter. Just like in classic Sapporo miso ramen, there are thick and wavy yellow noodles to soak up soup.
The toppings are classic as well - stir-fried bean sprouts, wakame seaweed, menma (bamboo shoots), and chashu pork. We can't forget the big slab of butter though! It works with the milk to bring extra dairy richness to the soup.
In summary, this lesser known regional ramen from Aomori is fun and tasty! There's even an instant ramen version that's sold from time to time!
Aji no Sapporo Onishi Hours: 7 am ~ 8:45 pm (open every day)
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