The Soul of the Bowl
The broth is the foundation of any good ramen bowl. It bestows the literal and figurative heart warming quality to a good bowl of ramen. With a hearty sip from a good broth, your body will let out a sight happiness, "Ahhh~". The soup starts with base ingredients that are often composed of chicken, pork, seafood, and/or vegetables. The key to a good broth is to extract flavor and body from ingredients.
Flavor tends to be extracted from meat and vegetables, while the body or mouthfeel of the soup comes from connective tissue, fat, and bones.
All in the Details
Like the people who drink it, Ramen broth has different personalities and colors. There are chintan (清湯) or "clear soups", which are extract from ingredients at a low temperature and are commonly found in shio and shoyu ramen. On the other end of the spectrum there are paitan (白湯) or "white soup" broths such as tonkotsu ramen or tori paitan. To achieve their thick and cloudy characteristics, ingredents must be heated at higher temperatures to create emulsions between the higher collagen and fat content.
