Interest
Ramen Burgers and Pizzas in Your Own Kitchen
posted on by Bamboo Dong
The ramen burger craze has been storming the country, with foodies and bloggers and news outlets alike salivating over its appearance in the US. It first popped up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn when Japanese-American chef Keizo Shimamoto turned his love for ramen and hamburgers into Ramen Burger, a Saturdays-only establishment at the Smorgasburg flea market that's gotten crazy press and even crazier lines. It features a mouth-watering all-beef patty, sandwiched between two ramen noodle buns, and topped with arugula, chopped scallions, and secret sauce. There're already a few copy-cats showing up, like RakiRaki in San Diego, Jidaiya and Ikemen in Los Angeles, and Buzz Bar in Chicago.
Ramen burgers in one form or another aren't necessarily new... fast food chain Lotteria has made burgers with ramen patties in a hamburger bun, while Kitakata has made ramen buns stuffed with ramen toppings, but Shimamoto's creation is perhaps the first time good ol' fashioned beef has been paired with a ramen bun.
But, unless you live in New York, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Chicago (and more are sure to pop up soon), you're out of luck.
Until now, that is. Food blog and community Serious Eats has been running what they're calling Ramen Week 2013, and it's full of articles about ramen, ramen shops, and ramen styles... and yes, lots of ramen recipes, including their popular recipe for a DIY ramen burger, and their latest, ramen-crust pizza. The latter involves a skillet, a couple of packets of instant-cook ramen noodles, lots of cheese, and then any toppings you want. The end result looks mouth-watering, and the writer claims it looks, smells, and tastes just like pizza.
There's no telling how long this new food fad will last, but just to be safe, we should all hop on the bandwagon.
[images from Serious Eats and Ramen Burger.]
