Su Ramen

The broth is a pale udon stock, its aroma led by dried sardines and kelp rather than pork or chicken fat. Chinese noodles go in instead of udon, but the bowl stays light — just chashu, scallion, and a little menma. The plain, undressed look of the bowl is exactly what its name, "su" (plain), describes. Almost no fat film forms on the surface, and the broth stays clear enough to see through to the bottom of the bowl through the rising steam.## How it's made Udon stock is drawn the way an udon shop would, then Chinese noodles are boiled and dropped in — udon technique redirected toward ramen. Without the long pork-bone simmering other ramen need, it's a bowl a small-town diner's kitchen could manage. A diner in Tottori's Shokunin-machi district is said to have kept this form for decades, becoming a regulars' favorite. Keeping the seasoning stable without a long, involved prep is also said to have suited a busy lunchtime diner.## Why it took this shape One account holds that a diner serving both udon and Chinese noodles simply poured its udon stock over Chinese noodles, and the combination stuck. For a town kitchen without pork-bone equipment, udon stock was the practical choice. The name "su," meaning plain or unadorned, describes exactly what's left when nothing extra is added. Relying on no flashy signage, it's said to have endured simply as something regulars drop by for.