Reddit reviews Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyo's Most Unlikely Noodle Joint [A Cookbook]

Start here: /r/ramen

and here: http://www.amazon.com/Ivan-Ramen-Obsession-Recipes-Unlikely/dp/1607744465

There are several other books, that I haven't read yet.

One of the things that book explains well is that there isn't really a 'traditional' Ramen. It is a fairly recent food innovation i.e. <150years as opposed to the other Japanese food categories >1000 years.

There are some staples. When I started on this quest I gotta say, I got too inventive too fast. Concentrate on your basics first:

Noodle
Tonkotsu Broth
Menma
Chashu
Soft boiled egg.

Make a perfect bowl with that and you can improvise from there.

p.s. I'm just a hobbyist and still working on those.

Ivan Ramen

Try this book: Ivan Ramen

It's part cookbook, part autobiographical story of a New York deli owner who moves to Tokyo and opens up a very popular ramen shop.

Ivan Ramen became famous for his shio ramen.

I'm a bit of a cookbook junkie, so I have a bunch to recommend. I'm interpreting this as "good cookbooks from cuisines in Asia" so there are some that are native and others that are from specific restaurants in the US, but I would consider these legit both in terms of the food and the recipes/techniques. Here are a few of my favorites:


Pan-Asian

• Asian Dumplings - the masterpiece on all things dumpling
  
• Asian American - Dale Talde's (Top Chef) book with lots of Asian cultures' food in the US
  
• Asian Pickles - pickles and fermented foods from throughout Asia
  
• Lucky Rice - recipes from the Asian festival of the same name
  
• The Asian Grandmother's Cookbook - traditional cooking passed down to American cooks
  
  Burmese
  
  
• Burma:Rivers of Flavor - good focus on difference in Burmese cuisine from other regional
  
  Cambodian
  
  
• Num Pang - Cambodian sandwich restaurant in NYC
  
• Cambodian Cooking - GREAT book on Cambodian cuisine, supporting refugees
  
  Chinese
  
  
• Ken Hom Complete Chinese Cookbook - great primer for cooking Chinese food using ingredients commonly available in US
  
• China Moon - classic SF Chinese restaurant food
  
• Feeding the Dragon - modern culinary journey through all of China
  
• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking - omnibus focused on the home chef
  
• Breath of a Wok - focus on wok technique at home
  
• Every Grain of Rice - wonderful Sichuan food for home cooks
  
  Indian
  
  
• Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking - actually, any of her cookbooks are wonderful for Indian cooking
  
• Savour Mumbai - looks at Indian cuisine as a melting pot in Mumbai
  
• The Indian Family Cookbook - modern South Indian food
  
• Indian Harvest - Vikas Khanna's family cookbook
  
• Made in India - classic Indian food, from street to home
  
  Indonesia
  
  
• The Food of Indonesia - everything you need for a rijstaffel!
  
  Japanese
  
  
• Japanese Farm Food - authentic rural Japanese cooking
  
• Preserving the Japanese Way - how to make awesome Japanese pickled vegetables
  
• Sushi Chef - not strictly speaking a cookbook, but "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" book in English
  
• The Japanese Grill - authentic hibachi and Japanese grill recipes
  
• Japanese Comfort Food - lots of traditional Japanese recipes
  
• Nanban - Japanese "soul food"
  
• Tokyo Cult Recipes - hip modern urban food from Tokyo
  
• Yum Yum Bento Boxes - updated modern take on bento boxes
  
• Ivan Ramen - traditional ramen for a Western audience
  
• Izakaya - traditional Japanese pub food & small plates
  
• Nikkei - emigrant Japanese food culture in South America
  
• Donabe - traditional Japanese hot pot recipes
  
• Kyotofu - very unique Japanese dessert cookbook
  
  Korean
  
  
• K Food - modern take on Korean street food
  
• Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking - great resource for Korean cooking in a non-pro kitchen
  
• Traditional Food - omnibus of four regions of Korean food
  
• Koreatown - authentic, approachable guide to Korean food in a US context
  
• Smoke & Pickles - Edward Lee's fusion of his Korean heritage and southern barbeque
  
• The Kimchi Cookbook - many, many recipes for kimchi...
  
  Malaysian
  
  
• Malaysian Cooking - good overview of Malay cooking
  
  Middle Eastern
  
  
• The New Persian Kitchen - modern Iranian food
  
• Ottolenghi - Israeli-Palestinian collaboration
  
• Persiana - dynamic modern recipes from throughout the Middle East
  
• Zahav - modern Israeli food
  
• Sweet Middle East - traditional and modern desserts
  
  Philippine
  
  
• Filipino Homestyle Dishes - good intro to classic Filipino dishes
  
  Russian
  
  
• Mamushka - focus on Ukraine
  
  Sri Lankan
  
  
• Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka - beautiful photo-cookbook on Sri Lankan cuisine
  
  Taiwanese
  
  
• The Food of Taiwan - um... food... from Taiwan
  
  Thailand
  
  
• Nong's Thai Kitchen - she beat Bobby Flay in pad thai
  
• Pok Pok - Portland's most AWESOME Asian restaurant
  
  Turkish
  
  
• Istanbul:Recipes from the Heart of Turkey - lovely focus on urban Turkish food
  
• Anatolia - wonderful approachable approach to Turkish cuisine
  
• Essential Turkish Cuisine - focus on history and evolution of Turkish food
  
  Vietnamese
  
  
• The Slanted Door - great Vietnamese restaurant cookbook
  
• Vietnamese Market Cookbook - focus on simple Vietnamese from fresh ingredients
  
• Into the Vietnamese Kitchen - traditional Vietnamese home cooking
  
• The Banh Mi Cookbook - the greatest sandwich in the world!
  
• Vietnamese Home Cooking - another great overview
  
  (edit: screwed up a couple links)

It's worth a buy IMHO, cool to read about story behind his shop too. https://www.amazon.com/Ivan-Ramen-Obsession-Recipes-Unlikely/dp/1607744465

The recipe is about 30 pages altogether. It is from Ivan Orkin's book. Ivan Ramen

Only slight adjustments by me, like using the left over liquid from the pork to marinade the eggs instead of his recipe.

>magari comprare uno di quei kit con tutti gli ingredienti non freschi

Poco si sposa con la frase precedente sul farlo alla perfezione :-)

Comunque dalla mia esperienza farlo bene bene è veramente difficile e ci vuole tanto lavoro e tentativi. A Milano recupero quasi tutti gli ingredienti di base nei vari market asiatici ma rimane comunque un'approssimazione. Ho ad esempio difficoltà a trovare il fresco, tipo le ossa di maiale da usare come base per il tonkotsu. Ti consiglio di leggere questo libro per farti un'idea.

​

Qualche altra fonte che ho usato:

• General: https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/09/the-serious-eats-guide-to-ramen-styles.html
  
• Chashu Pork: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/chashu-pork-marinated-braised-pork-belly-for-tonkotsu-ramen-recipe.html
  
• Recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-txwWeSfNg4&t=205s
  
• Recipe 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAutaiTYatU
  
• Recipe 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAG48p1ryn0&index=23&list=PL-n3QwW7lTJfmMNg1nN2tHpvZhYUu5TRd
  
• Recipe 4 con miso tare: https://www.reddit.com/r/ramen/comments/1j2pda/homemade_miso_ramen_10_hour_porkchicken_bone/
  
• Soba https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-soba-noodles-from-scratch-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-191038

Ivan Ramen kirja haltuun ja eikun keittelemään.

https://www.amazon.com/Ivan-Ramen-Obsession-Recipes-Unlikely/dp/1607744465

Love the idea!

Maybe add some cookbooks too. I love these two in particular for history, variety and recipes that consistently taste great.

Ramen Fusion

Ivan Ramen

Accessories

• Noodlestrainer or two is nice Noodle Strainer Example
  
• Ramen bowls (found some I like at Pier 1)
  
• Unique chopsticks /soup spoons
  
  Ingredients
  
• A block of high quality katsuobsushi + blade to shave (can find on amazon)
  
• Variety of soy sauces and sesame or chili oils (dark, light, mushroom etc.)
  
• High quality Kombu
  
• Gift card to Asian Market/grocery store for more ingredients
  
  
  
  I’m sure there are other items too but those are all things I’ve collected over time (except the katsuobushi- I just use the lower quality packets)
  
  What an awesome and creative gift though. I might borrow that idea sometime too!
  
  
  

Ivan Orkin wrote a book, [Ivan Ramen,] (http://www.amazon.com/Ivan-Ramen-Obsession-Recipes-Unlikely/dp/1607744465/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408377883&sr=8-1&keywords=ivan+ramen) which has his famous Chicken broth based recipe. It doesn't take as long as pork based either!

I used Ivan Orkin's recipes from his cookbook, making some modifications - I simplified the dashi recipe to just rely on konbu and bonito, based on a recipe I got from a chef while in Tokyo. I also changed the noodle recipe, using buckwheat and bread flour instead of the prescribed flours. This was quite an undertaking; I think in the future I may try to use a less time-intensive shio tare recipe as well!

Ivan Ramen (https://www.amazon.com/Ivan-Ramen-Obsession-Recipes-Unlikely/dp/1607744465/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519661816&sr=8-1&keywords=Ivan+Ramen) is the best English ramen cookbook I've found.