Ramen Question

[Matt]

Are there any ramen places without pork based broth? Maybee seafood or chicken based? (I know Ryowa has a vegetarian ramen already)

Thanks

[Cary]

Ramen Rama in Cupertino has a vegetarian ramen broth.

[Niki Rothman]

I just ate at Suzu Noodle House in Japan Center today for the first time and it was terrible. The broth was very thin and the menu advertised meat and tofu were almost non-existent. And I was really hungry too - which can often convice me that mediocre food is OK. But I ate only enough to get me home where I could be sure there was something good to eat.

[artemis]

to revive this topic, i too am wondering if there are ramen houses who have fish or chicken-based broth. i'm not looking for vegetarian ramen broth, but i want to avoid pork-based broth. does such a thing exist?

[Skunk2Racer]

usually if you order "Shio" ramen shio meaning salt in japanese it's usually a light clear Chicken broth base....

[artemis]

yes, i would think so, but melanie's comprehensive posts give me pause. for example:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/36800 "But my faith was restored by the golden stock and chewy thin noodles of the shio ramen (right photo). The brilliantly clear and concentrated stock melded the high tones of rich chicken broth with porcine depth."

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/33637 "we both ended up with the asari shio ramen (clam salt-flavored ramen). Unlike the original version we had fallen in love with at Saratoga Tanto before the chef moved on, the broth here is pork-based and richly fatty."

[Melanie Wong]

As Skunk2Racer states, shio is usually based on chicken stock with a paler and more yellow color. But refreshing on the list of shio ramen that I've tried locally, I don't recall any of them that didn't have some pork fat or a proportion of pork bone stock added for richness.

I've not had the vegetarian ramen at Ryowa (Berkeley) yet, but a couple of red meat-eating friends prefer that one to the other offerings there.

You could also order one of the salad-like cold ramen preps offered during the summer time, have the slivers of bbq pork omitted, and be sure to check what's in the dressing served on the side. Tanto's cold zaru ramen is lovely. By taste, I don't recall any pork in it, but check to be sure.

Zaru ramen @ Tanto in Sunnyvale
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/38646

Hiyashi chuka ramen @ Maru Ichi in Mountain View
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[artemis]

thanks melanie. i'll be sure to try your suggestions.