Finding Ramen Noodles Abroad Can Be Tricky
The lack of ramen restaurants on every corner like there are back home is a common issue for Japanese ramen lovers like myself who live overseas. I spent years living in a small English city, and one of my biggest problems there was never finding ramen.
Of course, it would be completely unrealistic to anticipate other nations to have the same atmosphere as Japan, but since I was raised on ramen, I doubt that my sporadic ramen craving will ever go away.
Sadly, cup noodles and instant noodles cannot sate that craving. Of course, I also enjoy cup noodles, but in my opinion, they are two entirely different dishes from ramen from a restaurant.
Based on my personal experience, this is my personal opinion regarding whether or not I would advise against using known solutions for a problem like not being able to reach ramen.
The Chemistry Behind The Ramen Hack
The characteristic chewiness and yellowish color of Ramen noodles are attributed to “lye water,” or “kansui” (かろ水) in Japanese. “During preparation, lye water, an alkali salt solution, is mixed into the flour.” Without it, all you would be doing is kneading udon noodles made with regular wheat flour. However, pasta doesn’t have this lye water component, which gives it a different texture that is less chewy and firmer than ramen noodles.
The crucial ingredient in lye water is sodium carbonate. The idea behind adding baking soda to boiling pasta is to simulate a simple setting that promotes a reaction between the gluten and the base, much like when you make ramen noodles in the first place.
Now, baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, has extra hydrogen. But when heated, it breaks down into carbon dioxide, water, and sodium carbonate. Accordingly, the idea is that adding baking soda to boiling spaghetti makes it resemble ramen noodles.
Making it from scratch at home
I decided to take on the ramen puzzle head-on by getting my hands dirty and attempting to make the noodles at home. Believe me, it’s not for the faint of heart. Back then, making pasta involved a messy process that tested my patience as I struggled to put the ingredients together and operate a manual machine!
It took a lot of time and effort to make the soup and chashu from scratch, but the end result was definitely a victory! Incorporate freshly made noodles into the mixture, creating a meal that lasts all day. The requirement for equipment like a pasta maker is another disadvantage.
Therefore, while making real ramen noodles at home is totally doable, it also requires a commitment of time, energy, and additional cleanup. In my opinion, if you have the time, you should definitely try making your own ramen noodles.
