Kuma Takumi co-owner Tinker Yang and his team are dedicated to ramen. So much so that they’ve spent the better part of last year perfecting their first chicken broth ramen.
When I got word of its release, I motored out there for a bowl of their finest. If you love ramen, you’ll find it’s worth the effort.
To a 105 litre stock pot, they add 60 chickens, which are then cooked for a period 24 hours. I asked Yang if he was familiar with the great chicken ramen shop Maruhachi in Vancouver. It turns out he is.
Maruhachi is famous for its deeply concentrated, collagen-rich broth, for which they use only chicken. You’ll find that your lips do stick together.
Yang opted for a different approach. While the flavour is robust, it has less of that gelatin effect.
Looking at this chicken paitan ramen, you might think that dairy has been added. The opaque white colour is actually achieved by bringing the ingredients up to a rapid boil and maintaining it for several hours.
This emulsifies the fats and collagen into the water giving the broth a milky appearance and a very creamy texture. It’s a common enough technique in Japan but not often seen here.
As an added touch before serving, they froth the broth with an immersion blender, giving it an even creamier feel.
Ramen toppings should always be in harmony with the underpinning broth. Here, Yang’s choice of adding a square of butter and sweet corn created a sublime marriage.
The seared chicken breast was appealingly moist, and his tiny, sweet soy-marinated shiitake mushrooms are always a delight.
Being an independent ramen shop, Yang has the luxury to work on recipe development. It's the care that he and his crew put into this endeavour that has catapulted Kuma Takumi into the top three of four best ramen restaurants in Ottawa.
