Saimin is a Hawaiian noodle dish and ramen is a Japanese noodle dish.
In terms of taste, the biggest difference between them is…
Soup of saimin is shrimp and bonito base.
While ramen broth is made from chicken bone, pork bone, dried sardines, bonito, kelp, or other vegetables.
In my opinion, saimin soup has a similar taste as udon soup plus the flavor of the shrimp.
Soup of saimin and ramen taste really different.
1. Have you ever eaten saimin?
5 years ago, I went to a Hawaiian restaurant.
It had a high ceiling and a nice atmosphere.
I learned about the word “saimin”.
It sounded like a Japanese word, but it didn’t sound familiar at all as a food name.
I ordered it out of curiosity…
2. If Ramen is Luke, saimin is Princess Leia
They are like twins. Their root is Chinese style noodles.
And they are both developed by Japanese people.
Ramen is from Japan,
And saimin was created by Japanese immigrants in Hawaii.
3. Noodles of saimin and ramen are similar
They are made of wheat flour, water, and kansui.
Some saimin noodles are made of wheat flour, eggs, and cornstarch.
Usually, thick and wavy noodles are used for saimin.
Thickness of ramen depends on the type of ramen.
Miso ramen has thick noodles.
Tonkotsu ramen has very thin noodles.
And shoyu and shio ramen have medium- thick noodles.
4. Saimin soup and ramen soup are very different
Saimin soup has a light taste. The broth is made from shrimp.
Saimin soup doesn’t have oil floating on the soup.
Do you know why?
Because you don’t use chicken or pork for the soup stock.
This is the reason why saimin soup is transparent.
For me, saimin soup tastes like udon soup.
Do you agree?
5. Ramen soup is saltier and oilier than saimin soup
There are shoyu, tonkotsu, miso and shio ramen.
And all their soup is saltier and oilier than saimin soup.
6. Saimin and ramen have chashu, narutomaki and green onions
Their toppings are similar.
But there are some small differences…
For example,
Narutomaki in saimin has red outside like in the picture above.
And narutomaki in ramen is white outside like this.
Chashu in saimin is cut into strings or small cubes.
But chashu in ramen is just sliced thin.
7. Ramen has ajitama and menma, but saimin doesn’t have it
An egg topping for saimin is usually boiled egg.
Sometimes, saimin has spam instead of chashu.
Due to Covid, a lot of good ramen restaurants have closed
It makes me feel very angry.
I used to eat ramen out frequently,
But in this situation,
Ramen shops have started to shorten the hours, limit the number of customers, or even closed their shops.
It has affected the industry so much.
I am afraid good ramen will be gone
But meanwhile, you still can enjoy ramen in the comfort of your own home.
Here are some of my recommendations for ramen lovers.
1. Sapporo Ichiban Shio Flavor
MY THOUGHTS OVERALL ★★★★☆
In truth, Sapporo Ichiban delivers a good quality shio ramen experience.
Actually, it is very difficult to find good shio ramen.
Do you know why?
Because it is very difficult to make it since it is very simple.
There are many good shoyu and miso flavored instant noodles out there.
But I feel specifically, the shio flavor market is monopolized by Sapporo Ichiban.
Think about this for a moment having good shio ramen for your dinner with your favorite ramen toppings.
Now, you want some, don’t you?
2. Nissin Raoh Shoyu Flavor
MY THOUGHTS OVERALL ★★★★★
It is nearly impossible to make restaurant quality noodles at home without the right tools and equipment.
How can you beat that?
Using Raoh’s shoyu flavour will help you achieve this easily. This is top-notch ramen hands down!
One pinnacle of instant noodles is the soy sauce flavor. It is expensive compared to regular ones but let me tell you, it deserves every single penny.
In a nutshell, I loved every bit of it.
...And I am sure you will too.
3. The problem here is that no toppings come with these packets.
Here are some topping options and recipes for you.
Green onion
4. Have you ever faced these issues...
A lack of large, high-quality soup bowl sets at home?
Are you still struggling with...
😢 ...small bowls that aren’t large enough for soups, noodles and toppings.
😢 ...spillage every time you eat out of your bowl.
😢 ...low-quality tableware and utensils that don’t compliment your food.
Look no further,
Our best-selling bowls are here to fix all the issues you face with small, inefficient tableware.
After struggling with spillage and leakage during dinner time,
We decided to introduce APEX S.K’s large soup bowls to the market.
Want to hear why some people absolutely love our ramen bowls?
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About the Author
Kei is a self-proclaimed ramen lover, blog writer and founder of "Apex S.K. Japanese tableware".
"I am from Ibaraki, Japan.
Ramen is great! It can bring you a sense of happiness and satisfaction that no other food can. I have been eating ramen for 30 years.
If there is no ramen, my life would be miserable.
Ten years ago, I worked as an office worker. The job was really stressful - excessive working hours, low wages, unpaid overtime work, and constantly being yelled at by my boss.
I was new and alone, no girlfriend, no friends, and felt very lonely.
My only oasis was the ramen shop near the office. For me, the ramen chef there was literally an angel. I saw a halo on his head. (No joke)
Tonkotsu shoyu ramen was my all-time favorite. He made ramen with broth chock-full of umami flavor, nice chewy handmade noodles, and tender chashu.
My greatest dream is connect people with ramen through my blog. I want to share a lot of interesting and funny stories and ramen trivia with you.
Knowing more about ramen can help you appreciate your ramen and make it taste extra delicious."
Did you know that we offer more than just a ramen blog?
We also have an exclusive collection of ramen-inspired t-shirts and hoodies that any true noodle lover will adore.
Head over to ApexRamen and check it out for yourself
All The Different Ramen Types: It'll Instantly Make You A Ramen PhD
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