Sapporo Ramen Miso and Butter-Corn Style

Sapporo ramen is traced to Aji no Sanpei restaurant in Susukino, which introduced miso-based ramen in 1955; the butter and corn additions became associated with Sapporo ramen in the 1960s–1970s as Hokkaido's agricultural identity was incorporated into the regional ramen character; Sapporo's Ramen Yokocho ('Ramen Alley', established 1951) is a preserved historic alley of ramen shops that became a model for ramen yokocho culture nationally

Sapporo ramen is the defining ramen of Hokkaido and one of Japan's four great regional ramen styles — a miso-based tare, pork or chicken broth, thick wavy noodles, and a final tableside addition of corn and a knob of butter that melts on the surface and enriches the bowl. The development: Sapporo's Susukino district ramen culture traces to the 1950s, when Sapporo ramen shops began combining the city's abundant local dairy production (Hokkaido butter), sweet corn from Hokkaido farms, and local white miso with conventional pork-bone broth. The result is categorically different from Kyushu tonkotsu or Tokyo shoyu: the miso tare is prepared separately and added per bowl (the same tare system as all ramen); the pork-and-chicken broth is lighter than tonkotsu (not boiled to opacity); the miso used is typically white miso or a blend of white and red for different shops; the corn is fresh (summer) or sweet canned corn; the butter — specifically Hokkaido butter, notably from the Yoichi and Tokachi regions — is served as a single large pat placed at the bowl's edge that the diner can optionally stir in. The butter addition is not standard in Sapporo ramen — it is an optional enhancement (optional additions are called 'toppings' in Japanese ramen culture) rather than required.

Not yet written for this entry.