“Ramen” or “Chuka-soba”, That is the question!
Ramen originated from a type of Chinese noodle (lamian), which became popular in Chinese restaurants throughout Japan in the 1940’s. Lately, ramen has been evolving into varieties of noodles, soups and other ingredients. These days, it is as famous as sushi or tanpura, and there are many ramen shops in big cities all over the world like NY, Honolulu and Sydney.
Chuka-soba literally means Chinese soba. Soba what the Japanese call buckwheat, and is also the name of a traditional dish dating back to the Edo period that consists of both soba noodles and fish broth with soy sauce. After the World War Ⅱ, people started to make chuka-soba with Chinese-style noodles in the soba broth. Chuka-soba was provided in family-owned eateries as it was both cheap and nutritious. Even now, it is commonly eaten in local diners. To be honest, even we Japanese do not know the difference between the two noodles and their definitions. We call both noodles with both names. Pictured above is a typical bowl of chuka-soba which reminds me of the good old days
