New Touch Sugomen: Local Ramen Instant Noodles
As you know, ramen is a quintessential Japanese noodle dish. It is available in various types and numerous flavors in Japan where many regions have their own specialty ramen.
Examples of such local ramen noodle soups include Aomori Ramen, Sendai Karamiso Ramen, Niigata Ramen, Yokohama Ramen, and Kyoto Ramen.
Among those, have you ever heard that there are bowls generally known as Japan’s three major ramens? They are Sapporo Miso Ramen, Kitakata Ramen, and Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen.
As you can see from the above, there is a wide variety of local ramens in Japan, and each has distinguishing features.
Accordingly, there are even instant noodles that recreate the taste of such regional ramens, which include what I introduce here, the “New Touch Sugomen (ニュータッチ凄麺)” series.
New Touch Sugomen from Yamadai
New Touch Sugomen is a popular cup ramen series from Yamadai that specializes in local ramen. I love this series because the noodles are not only non-fried with a pleasantly chewy texture, but the broth is also quite tasty.
The product line-up includes the below, and here, for those who are interested, I will give a brief explanation of each bowl.
Sapporo Miso Ramen
Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido, the northernmost prefecture of Japan. Sapporo Ramen uses thick noodles and features its flavorful miso-based soup.
Kitakata Ramen
Kitakata is a city in Fukushima Prefecture. Kitakata Ramen uses thick flat noodles and features its clear, light soy sauce-based pork bone broth.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen
Hakata is a ward of Fukuoka City, the capital of Fukuoka Prefecture. Hakata Ramen uses thin wheat noodles, known for its pork bone tonkotsu broth.
Aomori Ramen
Aomori Ramen from Aomori Prefecture features soy sauce-based soup made with niboshi or dried young sardine.
Sendai Karamiso Ramen
Sendai is the capital of Miyagi Prefecture. Sendai Karamiso Ramen features its spicy and savory miso-based soup.
Niigata Ramen
Niigata Ramen is a noodle soup that Niigata Prefecture boasts. This instant ramen faithfully recreates the taste of Tsubame-Sanjo Seabura Ramen, featuring its rich soy sauce-flavored soup with some backfat of pork.
Kyoto Ramen
Kyoto Ramen also features its rich soy sauce-based soup with pork backfat. The topping of this bowl includes Kujo Negi (Kujo leek), a specialty of Kyoto.
