Tsukemen Dipping Ramen Cold Noodle Warm Broth
Japan (Higashi-Ikebukuro Taishoken Tokyo, 1961, Yamagishi Kazuo invention)
Tsukemen (つけ麺, 'dipping noodles') is a ramen format in which chilled or room-temperature thick noodles are served separately from a small cup of intensely concentrated dipping broth. The diner dunks each chopstick-lifted portion of noodles into the broth before eating. The format was invented by Yamagishi Kazuo of Higashi-Ikebukuro Taishoken in Tokyo in 1961, initially as a staff meal. The dipping broth must be far more concentrated than regular ramen broth — because only a small amount clings to each bite of noodle, it must carry enough flavour to season the noodle adequately despite the dilution from the room-temperature noodles and the progressive dilution from contact. Tsukemen broth is typically shoyu or tonkotsu-shoyu base with added fish stock (niboshi, katsuobushi) producing a powerful, sweet-sour-savoury concentrate. Noodles are much thicker than standard ramen noodles — the thickness creates surface area for broth to cling and provides substantial chew. After finishing, diners typically add soup stock (warishita) to the remaining broth to dilute it into a drinkable soup — a practice called 'soupwari.'