TOKYO, Japan — Ippudo has revolutionized the tonkotsu ramen experience. The restaurant company perfected a formula for rich and delicious tonkotsu broth, a magnificent milky-white pork-bone soup, when it opened in 1985. The chain’s stores’ wood-themed décor offer a warm, soothing ambience. The sound of jazz in the background gives a sophisticated touch. The ramen is served in Arita porcelain bowls, which are both elegant and functional. The goal is to erase the stereotype of tonkotsu ramen as a stinky, unrefined meal. The tactic has paid off handsomely, drawing a large number of female customers to its stores. Ippudo is now planning a new ramen revolution. It’s created a tonkotsu meal that’s free of pork and other animal products. Hidenobu Tomita, a sales manager at Chikaranomoto, the Fukuoka-based firm that runs the chain, overheard a store manager bemoan that some customers couldn’t find a ramen dish they could eat owing to religious or other dietary restrictions, and decided to help. Ramen has been popular in many nations outside of Japan in recent years. Before the COVID outbreak, the country was having a tourism boom, but many would-be Ippudo customers were unable to enjoy their goods because the chain specializes in tonkotsu.
Ippudo’s initiative to make plant-based “tonkotsu” ramen was led by Hidenobu Tomita.
The chain started working on a vegetarian dish to reach out to customers who don’t eat pork. Market studies in Japan showed a surge in demand for vegan meals, which encouraged the project team. Furthermore, several of the chain’s international locations were already providing veggie broth ramen. The crew explored employing fish but decided to go with plant-based options instead. Creating a plant-based soup that tastes like Ippudo’s renowned tonkotsu broth was, unsurprisingly, the most difficult element. Tomita turned to Fuji Oil, a Japanese food processor, for assistance. They developed a soy milk-based soup with mushrooms and kombu seaweed for richness and flavor through trial and error. The plant-based soup, according to Ippudo, is probably the closest resemblance to true tonkotsu. The next task was to come up with a substitute for chashu, the braised pork belly slices that traditionally accompany tonkotsu ramen. This is created from scratch with a kidney bean paste. Vegan noodles are manufactured without the use of eggs. Ippudo’s vegetarian ramen was finally ready to serve after three years of hardship. 45 Ippudo restaurants in Japan began serving a limited amount of plant-based ramen dishes in February. They were a huge hit right away. “My husband like Ippudo, but my children and I are vegans who have never visited. This is our first time eating at Ippudo as a family “According to one happy client.
Soranoiro, a ramen restaurant chain specializing on plant-based noodles, was founded by Chihiro Miyazaki.
According to the chain, the plant-based ramen appeals to health-minded and environmentally conscientious clients. “We were overjoyed to hear from satisfied customers,” Tomita added, “since our objective is to provide them with the best ramen experience possible.” One of the chain’s restaurants in central Tokyo is being considered for conversion into a plant-based noodle eatery. It is also developing new vegan ramen variations. Ippudo also intends to assist other ramen restaurants in developing their own vegan menus. According to Tomita, “plant-based ramen has a significant role to play” in the industry’s overall sustainability. “Our projections show that the Japanese market for plant-based meals will increase at a 27 percent annual rate in the next years,” said Hajime Mizukami, TPC Marketing Research’s director of health and food research. The statistic, which was announced in May of last year, was intended to provide retail industry recommendations based on sales predictions for plant-based food products in supermarkets and other outlets. According to the Osaka-based market research professional, the similar tendency can be found in the restaurant industry. “Plant-based ramen has the potential to win the hearts and minds of health- and beauty-conscious consumers, as well as those who have shied away from ramen for religious or dietary reasons,” Mizukami added.
Soranoiro’s unique Veggie Soba ramen is a popular dish at its Tokyo Station restaurant.
Plant-based foods are becoming increasingly popular around the world. Concerns about the environment’s health are bad news for the livestock business, which releases a lot of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. For environmental, health, or other reasons, an increasing number of people are choosing vegetarianism or veganism and eliminating animal fat. Although demand for vegetarian and vegan meals in Japan is not as strong as it is in some other wealthy countries, businesses are rushing to the market due to “a rising surge of interest in healthy, low-calorie, low-sugar diets,” according to Mizukami. Soranoiro, a smaller ramen business, has gained a loyal following by catering to health-conscious customers with vegetarian and vegan ramen meals. Soranoiro is a Japanese restaurant chain with four locations in Tokyo. Its Veggie Soba is completely vegetable-based. It is a creamy broth with carrots that have a lovely sweetness to them. Because paprika is kneaded into the dough, the thick and springy homemade noodles are orange in color. It uses bright and tasty accents like tomato and sweet potato in some of its ramen dishes. Chihiro Miyazaki, the founder of Soranoiro, spent nearly a decade cooking ramen for Ippudo and is another ramen visionary trying to transform the business. Miyazaki launched a bakery near to Soranoiro’s flagship shop in Tokyo after the epidemic hit Japan. Yakisoba bread, savory stir-fried noodles wrapped into a hot dog bun, is a popular menu item. It’s not only a delightful addition to the bread, but it also helps to reduce waste.
Ramen in a mackerel broth is served at Mugen’s Shiifudo restaurant.
The menu reflects a dedication to sustainability across the board, but Miyazaki is no crusader. “It’s only reasonable to strive to provide clients with a variety of options while reducing food waste. I’ve never attempted to be particularly dedicated to the SDGs “He was referring to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. According to Miyazaki, sustainability is just an idea that underpins his business approach. In May, a new ramen restaurant in Tokyo’s Kanda area opened with the goal of turning food waste into a competitive advantage. Shiifudo, a spin on the word “fish,” serves broths made from seafood like mackerel, salmon, and squid. The majority of the fish used in the soup are deemed inappropriate for sale by wholesalers due to size and other factors, and would otherwise go to waste. The fish is also used by Mugen, the shop’s Tokyo-based operator, in its Japanese-style bars and sushi restaurants. Masahiro Uchiyama, the company’s president, believes that maintaining a variety of eateries can help reduce food waste of all kinds. According to Uchiyama, the technique not only reduces wastage of marine resources but also assists Mugen in strengthening relationships with fish merchants. These restaurant franchises demonstrate how improving people’s and the planet’s health can benefit the bottom line./n
