Japanese Kyushu Ramen Diversity Nagasaki Champon and Kumamoto Tonkotsu Styles

Ingredients

• For the Nagasaki champon
• 400 g thick wheat champon noodles, fresh or par-cooked; distinct from ramen noodles
• 150 g squid, cleaned, cut into rings
• 150 g shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 150 g pork, sliced thin
• 120 g green onion, cut into 3 cm lengths
• 1.2 litres pork-chicken broth, combined stock, seasoned
• 30 ml neutral oil, for sautéing
• For the Kumamoto tonkotsu with mayu
• 4 portions tonkotsu broth, pork bone base, prepared separately; should be opaque and rich
• 400 g ramen noodles, cooked separately, drained
• For the mayu (burnt garlic oil)
• 40 g garlic, sliced thinly
• 60 ml neutral oil, e.g. vegetable or rice bran

Method

1. 1
   To make the mayu for Kumamoto ramen: heat the neutral oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Add the thinly sliced garlic and fry, stirring continuously, until the slices blacken fully — not golden, but carbonised to a deep, bitter-smoky state. The oil will darken and carry a pronounced bitter-smoky aroma. Remove from heat. The garlic-blackened oil is the mayu; reserve warm.
2. 2
   To assemble the Kumamoto tonkotsu bowls: ladle the prepared tonkotsu broth, hot and opaque, into four bowls. Place the separately cooked and drained ramen noodles into each bowl. Spoon mayu — burnt garlic oil — over each portion. This is where the Kumamoto dish lives or dies: if the mayu is merely golden and fragrant rather than blackened and smoky-bitter, the defining flavour dimension of Kumamoto ramen is absent and the bowl becomes indistinguishable from a plain tonkotsu.
3. 3
   To make the Nagasaki champon: heat the neutral oil in a wide, heavy pan or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add the sliced pork and sauté until the surfaces colour. Add the squid, shrimp, and green onion and continue to sauté over high heat until the seafood is just opaque and the aromatics have softened, releasing their combined umami into the oil. The base of the pan should carry a light fond.
4. 4
   Pour the pork-chicken broth directly into the sautéed toppings in the pan. Bring to a vigorous simmer. Add the thick champon noodles directly into the broth-topping mixture — do not cook the noodles separately. Cook the noodles in the broth until they are tender and have absorbed the combined flavour of pork, seafood, and aromatics. The broth will thicken slightly from the starch released by the noodles. Taste: the broth should be rich and carry both pork depth and seafood sweetness simultaneously.
5. 5
   Ladle champon — noodles and toppings together — into four deep bowls, ensuring an equal distribution of seafood, pork, and vegetables. The broth should be neither clear nor opaque white, but a pale, emulsified pork-chicken colour, visibly laden with toppings.