Toyama Ramen (Toyama Pref.)
What is Toyama Ramen?
It is said that “Daiki(大喜)” was developed and spread as a refreshing and refreshing soy sauce-flavored ramen.
There is a type of ramen that uses boiled down dark soy sauce for the soup and garnishes it with lots of pepper and green onions. The latter gradually began to be called by the common name “Toyama Black(富山ブラック)” and became common throughout the country.
Two soy sauce flavors
Toyama is a humble yet unique ramen town.
First of all, when talking about the history of Toyama, you cannot leave out Suehiroken(末弘軒), which was founded in 1931 as a food stall. Chewy handmade noodles with a refreshing soy sauce flavor. It’s made with chicken bones and dried sardines(ウルメイワシ round herring big-eye sardines), and apparently no pork bones are used. The melt-in-the-mouth handmade wontons are also popular. The soup at the other famous shop, “Marutakaya(まるたかや)”, is pork bone-based and has a refreshing soy sauce flavor, contrary to Suehiroken. The greasy residue and grated garlic on the table are the characteristics of “Marutakaya”, and it is no exaggeration to say that “Marutakaya” ramen is only complete when these are present. Now, the number of stores has increased, and there are about six shops. These two houses can be said to be representative of Toyama. Kuzuryu (九頭竜,now Kokuryu古久龍) is another large and popular shop with over 100 seats that serves clear soy sauce ramen.
If these clear soy sauce flavors are to everyone’s taste, then there is a more impressive Toyama-like shop that caters to connoisseurs. Its name is “Daiki(大喜 founded in 1947)”. The head office does not appear in the media much as they refuse to be interviewed, but the Nezuka branch is often seen. This “Daiki” has several characteristics. The soup looked black and salty, and it was actually quite salty. And there’s a lot of pepper thrown in from the beginning. And there is a lot of chashu. There are also many green onions. The menu only includes Chinese noodles(Chuka Soba), which come in small, large, and extra-large sizes. Small is the standard amount of ramen, so first-timers should not make the mistake of ordering large. The menma and chashu ingredients were also very salty. It’s so salty that I wonder if the people of Toyama will be okay with this. However, since I myself want to eat again, the attraction is strong.
This dark colored soup is common in Toyama. At some point, people started calling it “Toyama Black(富山ブラック),” which is now the common name for Toyama ramen. “Bonten(ぼんてん)” has two types of ramen: strong-flavored “Bon ramen” and light-flavored “Ten ramen”, but the lighter flavor is more like other regular ramen. Similarly, “Menpachi(めん八)” comes in a regular flavor and a rich (dry) flavor. This soup is not as salty as “Daiki”, but it is a wonderfully black soup with a normal flavor. There used to be a popular shop called “Ryuho(竜豊)” that also had black soup, but it seems that it has closed. There are many other black soup shops in Toyama.
Also, if you go to Takaoka, there is an Asahikawa ramen shop called “Shoryu(翔龍)”. Many people who trained here have opened shops in the prefecture, and the number of shops is increasing so quickly that it will soon be called Takaoka-kei rather than Asahikawa-kei. I didn’t know this, so I ended up following Shoryu into a shop that was in the same line.
Suehiroken(末弘軒)’s Chinese noodles(中華そば)
A popular shop that started out as a food stall. Refreshing soy sauce flavor made from dried sardines and chicken bones.
Marutakaya(まるたかや)’s Ramen
It has a refreshing soy sauce flavor, but it is commonly eaten with garlic and fat scraps added.
Daiki (大喜)’s Chinese Noodle Small(中華そば 小)
A strong taste that will appeal to enthusiasts. The black soup is salty and peppery. But it leaves an aftertaste.
