Tsukemen facts for kids
Tsukemen at a Tokyo restaurant
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| Alternative names | Dipping ramen |
|---|---|
| Type | Noodle soup |
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Region or state | Tokyo |
| Main ingredients | Cold ramen noodles, broth |
Tsukemen (which means "dipping noodles" in Japanese) is a special kind of ramen dish. Instead of the noodles being in the soup, they are served separately. You pick up the noodles and dip them into a bowl of flavorful soup or broth before you eat them.
This fun way of eating noodles was created in 1961 by Kazuo Yamagishi. He was a restaurant owner in Tokyo, Japan. Since then, Tsukemen has become super popular all over Japan. It's even found its way to other countries, like the United States!
Tsukemen is a Japanese noodle dish where you get two separate bowls. One bowl has the noodles, and the other has the soup. You dip the noodles into the soup to eat them. Noodles like soba and udon can be used for Tsukemen.
Usually, the noodles are served cold. The soup, however, is almost always hot. This hot soup helps to give the cold noodles lots of flavor and makes them moist. Sometimes, the noodles can also be served at room temperature. Other tasty things are often added to the noodle bowl or served on the side. These can include nori (seaweed), chashu (sliced pork), menma (bamboo shoots), and tamago (Japanese omelet) or boiled eggs.
The soup for Tsukemen is like a super-rich dipping sauce. It's much stronger and has a deeper flavor than the regular soup you find in a bowl of ramen. Sometimes, a special Japanese soup base called Dashi is used. After you finish eating your noodles, some restaurants might offer to add hot water to your leftover soup. This makes the soup less strong, so you can enjoy drinking it like a regular soup to finish your meal.
History of Tsukemen
Tsukemen was invented in 1961 by a man named Kazuo Yamagishi. He lived from 1935 to 2015. Mr. Yamagishi owned a very famous ramen restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, called Taishoken.
In 1961, he added this new dish to his restaurant's menu. He called it "special morisoba." It was cold soba noodles with a soup for dipping. Back then, it cost only 40 yen! This dish quickly became very popular at his Taishoken restaurants. By 2015, there were more than 100 Taishoken restaurants all across Japan.
In recent years, especially since the early 2000s, Tsukemen has become super popular in Tokyo and all over Japan. Many restaurants now focus only on making and serving Tsukemen.
You can also find Tsukemen in restaurants in the United States and other countries. Around 2013, Tsukemen started to become a popular dish in some ramen shops in Los Angeles. However, in other parts of the U.S., like Chicago, it's still quite rare to find this special noodle dish.
Gallery
- Various tsukemen preparations
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Tsukemen with nori (seaweed) on top of the noodles.
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Tsukemen with a sheet of nori (seaweed) on the noodles.
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A close-up view of the flavorful soup for Tsukemen.
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Tsukemen with fried pork, a soft-boiled egg, and greens, served in Singapore.
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Tsukemen with extra foods served on the side.
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Tsukemen noodles being dipped into the soup.
