[Mini bowls of ramen prepared for tour]
[Man eating ramen]
[Staff grilling toppings for ramen]
[Wok on fire, chef adding soup to wok]
[Mini bowls of ramen being prepared for tour]
[Man eating ramen]
[Woman eating ramen]
Frank Striegl (interview): “Noodles and soup around the world is consumed in so many different countries. A lot of countries in the world have their own versions of ramen in a way, so I think because of that, it’s a dish that’s easy to understand, it’s the dish that’s easy to get behind.”
[Striegl leading tour]
[Participants entering ramen shop]
[Striegl explaining how tour works]
Frank Striegl (interview): “There’s all kinds of different ramen styles today. Even wacky ramen, you know, on the tour, for example, there’s Pork bone ramen with pesto.”
[Striegl explaining unusual ramens that the participants are about to try]
Frank Striegl (interview): “And yes, I think there will continue to be interesting ramen in Japan, especially Tokyo, where they’re experimenting. And then also outside of Japan, I think we’re gonna see some very interesting ramen.”
[Tour group being led to ramen shop]
[Kitchen staff at work at ramen shop]
[Waiter bringing out ramen bowls]
[Bowls of ramen]
[Participants trying ramen]
[Participant Katie Sell eating ramen]
Katie Sell (interview): “I think ramen is just… it’s so soothing, it’s so warm and it’s got such depth of flavor that trying the different ones is just like a very fun, very warm experience. So, I think a lot of fun just to get to try a lot of the different ones, but I think that’s why I like ramen. There’s so many different types of flavors that you can get with it, that doesn’t often pop up in the other food that I eat. So, yeah.”
[Man eating ramen]
[Gourmet Innovation co-founder and executive Kenichi Nomaguchi holding one of the company’s products, a frozen ramen]
Kenichi Nomaguchi (interview): “We freeze the noodle, soup and toppings made by the restaurant straight out of the pot and then sell them online.”
[Frozen ramen noodle, toppings and soup out of packaging]
Kenichi Nomaguchi (interview): “We pour the soup made at a ramen shop like this into the bag. We get it directly from the shop and then freeze it.”
[Gourmet Innovation staff demonstrating how to cook frozen ramen at home]
Kenichi Nomaguchi (interview): “To cook ramen, you have to boil bones and meat for a very long time to make its soup. Dishes like curry or gyoza dumplings or udon are relatively easier to make at home. But if you try to make a bowl of ramen from scratch, it’s extremely troublesome. I don’t think anyone really tries to make it at home from scratch.”
[Gourmet Innovation staff demonstrating how to cook frozen ramen at home]
Kenichi Nomaguchi (interview): “There are so many types of ramen, I think that’s the appeal. There are so many ways to enjoy ramen.”
[Gourmet Innovation staff member putting final touches to ramen]
[Two ramens made from frozen packs on display]
[Kota Kobayashi, ramen chef and owner of “Ore No Ikiru Michi” chain, preparing ramen]
Kota Kobayashi (interview): “After I quit baseball, I decided to dedicate my life to ramen — nothing else. I said to myself: ‘This is it. Ramen is my way of life.’ And that’s why my ramen shop is called as it is (‘Ore no ikiru michi, or ‘The way I live my life’).”
[Kobayashi coming out to change shop sign]
[Kobayashi making ramen broth]
Kota Kobayashi (interview): “When I thought what is most important when making a ramen, I believe it was to give an impact with a memorable first impression. And when I was thinking about how to do this, I decided not to set back on the pork char siu topping – which is considered the highlight of jiro-style ramen. So, I decided to serve massive slices of pork.”
[Kobayashi taking out his marinated pork char siu]
Kota Kobayashi (interview): “The pork is boiled in the soup for two hours. Then it is marinated in soya sauce and let the flavour soak through. And cut it as thick as possible for the price of the ramen.”
[Pork being cut]
[Kobayahsi arranging pork slices on ramen]
Kota Kobayashi (interview): “What do ramen and baseball have in common? I think the balance. In baseball, you can’t just be good at hitting only, or just throwing, or just defending. Ramen is the same. You need a balance of soup, sauce, and noodles. You can’t have a ramen with just a great sauce or with only good noodles or just amazing soup. You need the balance of all three elements.”
[Kobayashi bringing out ramen he just made]
[Kobayashi’s jiro-style ramen]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.