Ramen is a popular dish served in many Japanese restaurants around the world. It has a reputation for being inexpensive, filling and highly satisfying. The noodle soup base is flavored with broth made from meat, chicken or fish and the noodles are typically thin, straight-edged and curly. The dish is topped with chashu or tamago (marinated egg), wood ear mushrooms, green onions and bean sprouts. The noodle itself is made from flour and water, which are kneaded together in a large copper vat to create a smooth texture. It is then cut into various lengths and tossed with a light sesame oil.

The broth, known as tare, can vary in both flavor and consistency. It can be simple, using just shoyu (soy sauce) and salt or it can be a complex combination of miso, shoyu, mirin, sugar, kombu, shiitake, bonito, etc. Some broths are also enriched with doubanjiang, a Korean chili paste or gochujang. There are 22 different ramen styles in Japan, all with unique flavors and ingredients.

Many ramen restaurants serve side dishes along with the noodle bowls, which include gyoza (potstickers) and various kinds of pickles like radish and melon. Almost all ramen-yas offer sushi, as well.

Creating your own ramen at home is relatively easy. You can buy noodle packages and simply add the seasoning packet and boil for three minutes. Alternatively, you can make your own broth and top it with the proteins and vegetables that you want. You can also add a variety of garnishes, like a soft-poached egg and sesame seeds, to make your bowl more colorful and flavorful.

If you dine in a ramen restaurant, don’t be surprised to see the dining neighbors loudly slurping their noodle soup. This is not impolite, but part of the experience. The flavorful slurping sound is a result of the fatty, collagen-rich noodle fibers soaking up the rich broth.

With ramen’s growing popularity, it’s important for restaurants to keep up with demand by optimizing their delivery service, especially with the growing number of mobile ordering platforms. By integrating online orders with your POS system, you can streamline and consolidate orders from multiple sources. This allows you to focus on your guests, and create more targeted offers to keep them coming back. Plus, it gives you the power to analyze purchasing trends, highlight popular dishes and promote seasonal items to boost sales.