Is Ramen Actually Considered Soup?

Imagine that you're sipping ramen right now. You're probably picturing a deep bowl filled with a warm, comforting broth that's accompanied by firm noodles and, some sort of meat or vegetables. As you're savoring this fantasy, think of what ramen would be like without the broth. Strange? Certainly. Impossible? Not really.

Ramen is considered a soup in most cases, but not always. Broth is an integral part of the way we conceptualize the dish. You could argue that it's a huge part of why the food is so comforting. There are countless variations of ramen — be it fresh or the instant cup kind —, which somewhat explains it's impressive worldwide popularity. You can make ramen your own with recipes that include pretty much anything, from heavy and spicy birria to more traditional miso, or creamy tonkotsu. But the variations normally come from different styles of broths and toppings, not from whether there is broth or not.

There are two exceptions to this rule. The first is tsukemen, a kind of ramen that serves the noodles and the broth separately. To eat it, you dip the noodles into the broth as if it were a sauce. Whether this is a soup is up for debate. You could argue that it's deconstructed ramen that still needs the broth to work. Or you could also argue that if you don't drink it, it's not soup. 

The second exception is more definitive: abura soba, which doesn't have any broth at all.

Abura soba has almost all the elements of regular ramen: noodles, meat or vegetables, eggs, seaweed, and sauce — but it completely does away with the broth. The theory is that since the broth is the most expensive and labor-intensive part of ramen, taking it out of the equation brings down costs. This makes abura soba very popular with college students.

But, why is abura soba considered ramen if it isn't a soup? It turns out that what really defines ramen isn't the broth but the noodles. For a dish to be ramen, it needs to have noodles made with kansui, a mix of alkaline salts. Kansui is what makes ramen noodles so special, since it gives them their unique texture and adds flavor. Basically, as long as you're using the right type of noodle, you have ramen, even if you don't have the broth or the regular toppings. This is also why dishes like udon are not ramen, even if they have similar elements and ingredients. Although preparation and the use of eggs differ, these two dishes are mainly distinguished by the type of noodle used.

In conclusion, ramen can be soup and is usually soup, but it doesn't have to be. As long as you're using the right noodle, you can make the dish with or without broth. The choice, it turns out, is yours.