Onomichi Ramen: Hiroshima’s Local Ramen with Pork Back Fat
Ramen is a quintessential Japanese noodle dish that is widely enjoyed around the world and comes in numerous varieties in Japan including various local ramens.
In fact, almost every region of Japan has its own unique ramen, among which Sapporo Miso Ramen, Kitakata Ramen, and Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen are especially famous.
Actually other than these, there are a number of popular regional ramens that are much loved around the country, which include Kumamoto Ramen and Nagoya Taiwan Ramen.
Accordingly, leading Japanese instant noodles manufacturers, such as Nissin and Acecook, have been developing and sold a variety of cup ramens that recreate the flavors of such local ramens, which include what I have now.
Onomichi Ramen (尾道ラーメン)
The instant ramen I bought the other day is this Onomichi Ramen instant noodle soup from Acecook which is soy sauce-based and features having back fat of pork.
Originator
Image: tabelog.com
As its name indicates, the local ramen, “Onomichi Ramen (尾道ラーメン)” originated in a ramen shop located in the city of Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, whose name is “Shukaen (朱華園)”
It is said that the first owner of Shukaen created the original Onomichi Ramen in 1947, which consists of flat chewy noodles in a soy sauce-based soup broth with mincemeat made of pork’s back fat.
Amochinmi (阿藻珍味) and Shukaen (朱華園)
In the 1990s, a food company located in the city of Fukuyama, Hiroshima, “Amochinmi (阿藻珍味)” developed Onomichi Ramen for souvenirs whose broth was made with chicken dashi stock and sardine.
After that, many ramen restaurants in Hiroshima started to offer noodle soups with Amochinmi-style broth, so now, when those living in the prefecture just say “Onomichi Ramen”, that usually refers to the Amochinmi-style ramen.
However, Onomichi Ramen is considered to have its roots in both Shukaen and Amochinmi and thus mainly comes in 2 types.
(Reference Page: Wikipedia 尾道ラーメン )
