What is ramen?

In its simplest form, ramen is a delicious mix of wheat noodles, a tasty broth and various carefully selected toppings. That sounds simple enough, but the variations are endless, both within Japan and in fusion form elsewhere. In Japan alone, for instance, the broth can be rich or light, opaque or cloudy, while the toppings range from the chatsu pork typical of Hakata ramen and the pork curry ramen found in Muroran, or ones that feature intensely umami beef, to lighter tofu and vegetable toppings.