Although well known internationally in its instant noodle form, there is much more to this cuisine item than being a dorm room snack.

雖然在國際上以泡麵聞名，但這個料理的意義可不只是宿舍零食而已。

Chinese in origin, since making its way to Japan, ramen has become one of the most popular foods in the country, often inexpensive, quickly served and delicious.

拉麵源自中國，傳入日本後，拉麵就成了日本最受歡迎的食品之一，通常價格便宜、料理快、味道好。

It's an excellent option for both luxury and budget travelers alike.

對於豪華型和經濟型的旅客來說都是絕佳選擇。

With multiple ramen restaurants called "ramen-ya" in just about every town, the dish has developed greatly since coming to Japan.

幾乎每個城市都有拉麵店，拉麵傳到日本後獲得了很大的發展。

In recent years, some ramen shops have even been awarded Michelin stars.

近年來，有些拉麵店甚至被授予米其林星級。

Thousands of variations of ramen now exist, and there are also many interesting regional varieties.

現在的拉麵變化萬千，也出現了很多有趣的地方特產。

However, the basic elements of ramen are fairly straightforward.

然而，拉麵的基本要素簡單明瞭。

A broth base, long thin wheat noodles and some combination of toppings.

湯底、細長的麥麵和不同的配料組合。

Ramen is categorized according to the style of its base, and the four most popular types are: Shoyu Ramen, with the soy sauce flavored broth; Miso Ramen, made with soybean paste or miso; Shio Ramen, a clear broth seasoned with salt; and Tonkotsu Ramen, made with pork bones.

拉麵根據湯底分類，最受歡迎的四種類型是：以醬油調味為湯底的醬油拉麵、以豆醬或味噌製成的味噌拉麵、以鹽調味的清湯鹽味拉麵和用豬骨製作的豚骨拉麵。

Before we go deeper into the details of ramen, its variations or how to eat it,

在深入瞭解拉麵、其變化或吃法之前，

first, let's talk about the history of ramen.

我們先來談談拉麵的歷史。

Ramen is believed to be a variation of the Chinese La Mian Noodles.

拉麵被認為是由中國的拉麵演變而來。

It is said that the very first reference of the dish in Japan was in the late 17th century, when a Chinese Confucian scholar treated Lord Tokugawa Mitsukuni to a bowl of noodles in a broth topped with vegetables and meat.

據說，日本最早在17世紀末出現拉麵，當時一名中國的儒家學者請德川光圀吃了一碗加了蔬菜和肉的湯麵。

Another theory is that ramen got introduced to Japan in the mid 19th century, when Japan opened its ports to the world and the La Mian Noodles dish was cooked and enjoyed by the Chinese community in Yokohama Chinatown.

另一種說法是，19世紀中葉，拉麵在日本向世界開放港口時傳入日本，橫濱唐人街的華人社區烹製了他們喜愛的拉麵。

A third theory attributes the emergence of ramen in Japan to the Chinese restaurant called Rairai Ken, which opened in 1910 in Asakusa.

第三種說法是將日本拉麵的起源歸功於1910年在淺草成立的中餐館「Rairai Ken」。

The dish grew in popularity and started to spread around the country, most notably in Sapporo, Kitakata and Fukuoka.

這道菜越來越受歡迎，並開始在全國傳播，尤其是在札幌、高田和福岡。

After the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, ramen started to be sold at street food stalls called "yatai".

1923年關東大地震後，拉麵開始在街頭小吃攤(yatai)販售。

The next big date in the history of ramen is in 1958, when the Nisshin Foods Company created instant noodles.

拉麵歷史的下一個重大里程碑是1958年，當時日清食品公司創造了泡麵。

Later, instant noodles were developed further with the creation of the cup noodle in 1971, which removed the need for a bowl, making for an even more convenient way to eat instant ramen.

後來，泡麵得到了進一步的發展，1971年杯麵的誕生，吃泡麵不用另外準備碗，使泡麵的吃法更加方便。

Today, instant noodles remained popular worldwide and are offered in a wide variety of flavors and sizes.

如今，泡麵依然風靡全球，並出現了各種口味和規格。

There are even a Cupnoodles Museum in Osaka and Yokohama, where you can choose your own toppings and make your own personal cup noodle.

在大阪和橫濱甚至還有杯麵博物館，你可以自己選擇配料，製作自己獨特的杯麵拉麵。

Ramen and its variations. As we said earlier, Ramen consists of three key elements:

正如前面所說，拉麵由三個關鍵要素組成：

Broth, noodles and toppings.

清湯、麵條和配料。

There are many combinations that can be found within these three categories, which each ramen shop uses to make a unique flavor and eating experience.

這三個要素可以衍伸出很多組合，每家拉麵店都會提供獨特的味道和飲食體驗。

The broth is usually based on either pork, salt, shoyu or soy sauce, or miso.

湯底通常以豬肉、鹽、醬油或味噌為主。

The noodles are usually long and made of wheat, but they can be made in a range of ways, anything from thin and curly to fat and straight.

麵條一般都是長條形，用小麥製成，但是麵條的做法也很多樣，由細到粗、由直到捲。

At some ramen restaurants, guests are even asked for their preference on how thick and firm the noodles are.

一些拉麵館甚至會詢問客人對麵條粗細和口感的喜好。

Lastly, there is a large number of ingredients that can be used as toppings.

最後，可以做配料的食材非常多。

Some popular ones are chashu meat, bamboo shoot or menma in Japanese, dried seaweed or nori, leek, a soft boiled egg, and several others.

常見的有叉燒肉、筍乾、海苔、糖心蛋等等。

All these variables allow for millions of combinations, making one bowl of ramen different from another.

這些選擇形成數百萬種組合，使每一碗拉麵都獨一無二。

Many regions in Japan have their own signature styles as well, such as Sapporo Ramen, which uses a thick miso broth and is topped with corn and butter.

日本很多地區也有自己的特產，比如札幌拉麵，使用濃稠的味噌湯，澆上玉米和黃油。

Kitakata Ramen in Fukushima Prefecture, which has a light shoyu base soup with thick and wavy noodles topped by green onions, menma and chashu pork.

福島縣的喜多方拉麵則是清淡的湯底搭配波浪形粗麵條，再撒上蔥、筍乾和叉燒。

Tokyo Ramen, which is so popular nationwide, it has become the stereotypical Shoyu Rahman. Hakata Ramen in Fukuoka Prefecture, which has a creamy tonkotsu broth with thin noodles.

東京拉麵風靡全國，成為經典的醬油拉麵。福岡縣的博多拉麵是細麵條搭配豚骨濃湯。

Customarily, the best place to enjoy a bowl in Fukuoka is at one of Fukuoka's many food stalls or yatai in Japanese, especially along the river on Nakasu Island.

傳統上，福岡縣最適合吃拉麵的地方是眾多街邊小吃攤(yatai)，特別是中州島河畔。

Onomichi Ramen from Hiroshima Prefecture, which is made with a shoyu soup flavored with dashi fish stock and local seafood.

廣島縣的尾道拉麵的醬油湯底，以鰹魚高湯和當地海鮮調味而成。

Down in Okinawa, the specialty is called Okinawa Soba.

沖繩的特產是沖繩蕎麥麵。

This variation has a salt based soup topped with green onions, kamaboko, soft broiled pork and fresh ginger.

這種拉麵以鹽為湯底，上面放了蔥、魚板、紅燒肉和鮮姜。

There are many other regional takes on ramen, but hopefully this gives you an idea.

還有許多其他不同地區的拉麵，但希望這些提供了大致的概念。

One way to sample many of these regional specialties all in one place, without traveling the whole country, is at the Ramen Museum in Yokohama,

不用跑遍全國，一次能品嚐到所有地方特產的地方就是橫濱的拉麵博物館，

which allows visitors to try various different bowls from around Japan in the setting of Tokyo in the fifties.

遊客可以在五十年代東京的場景之下，品嘗日本各地各種不同的拉麵。

Aside from putting all the ingredients in the same bowl, there's another form of ramen, which is served in a different way.

除了把所有的食材放在同一個碗裡，還有另一種拉麵，它的食用方法不太一樣。

This is called Tsukemen.

這就是所謂的沾麵。

Once served,

拉麵送來後，

you dip the noodles into the broth as you eat.

把麵條浸在湯裡吃。

How to eat Ramen.

拉麵的吃法。

Eating at a ramen shop is always an interesting experience, although at a few shops you can still order as you usually would,

在拉麵店吃飯總是很意思，雖然在少數店面，你可以像平常一樣點菜，

many ramen-ya now have streamlined the process by having customers order via a vending machine located at the entrance.

現在許多拉麵館簡化了流程，讓顧客在入口的自動販賣機點餐。

After heading inside, hand the tickets to a staff member.

進到店裡之後，再把餐票交給工作人員。

Getting a seat at the counter is always a good opportunity to observe the chefs in action preparing your bowl,

坐吧檯是觀察廚師為您準備拉麵的方法，

but of course, tables are fine, too.

但當然，非吧檯的位子也好。

In some shops, you can ask for the way you want your noodles to be cooked, either Katame, which is al dente, Futsu, which is normal or Yawarakame, which is soft.

在一些店家，你可以根據喜好要求麵條的煮法，主要分成：有嚼勁(Katame)、正常(Futsu)或偏軟(Yawarakame)。

Sometimes you can also decide how fatty your broth will be, going from Assari or light, to Futsu, normal, to Kotteri, which is thick.

有時，你也可以決定湯底的濃郁度，主要分成：清淡(Assari )、正常(Futsu)或濃郁(Kotteri)。

Once the bowl is presented in front of you, here are the recommended steps to eating ramen.

拉麵端來之後，推薦以下吃拉麵的步驟。

First, sample the broth, then try out the noodles, followed finally by eating the toppings.

首先，品嚐湯汁，然後吃麵條，最後吃配料。

One thing that might surprise unaware visitors is that in Japan, ramen is usually eaten by slurping the noodles, sometimes quite loudly.

不熟悉的遊客可能會感到驚訝的是，在日本，吃拉麵通常會咕嚕咕嚕大口地吃，有時聲音還挺大。

This isn't considered bad manners.

這不算是不禮貌的行為。

On the contrary, it's thought to be the best way to eat ramen.

相反的，人們認為這是吃拉麵最好的方法。

By slurping them, you allow the air to cool down the noodles while also keeping them coated in delicious broth.

大口吸麵讓空氣幫麵條降溫的同時能附著美味的湯汁。

But don't worry if you can't or do not want to slurp, it's fine. After you finish all the noodles, if you are still hungry and have some broth left in the bowl,

不過，如果你不會或不想發出聲音也沒關係。麵條吃完後，如果你還沒飽且碗裡還有湯，

some shops offer an extra serving of noodle called Kaedama for an additional fee.

有的店家提供付費加麵(替玉)的服務。

Also, it's not impolite to not finish all the soup in the bowl, especially with thicker broth like Tonkotsu, which has a high amount of fat.

另外，不把湯喝完不會有失禮貌，尤其是豚骨拉麵這種脂肪含量很高的湯底。

Since ramen is considered a type of fast food in Japan, it's good manners to leave as soon as you're finished, since people may be waiting for their turn to eat.

在日本，拉麵是快餐的一種，所以吃完後馬上離開才符合禮節，因為大家可能排隊等著吃。

Budget wise, ramen is a cheap meal, with a bowl averaging around 600 to 1000 yen.

從預算上來說，拉麵是便宜的料理，一碗平均約600到1000日元。

Over the years, ramen has never ceased to evolve, and with recent variations such as vegetarian and halal ramen being developed, it is starting to appeal to an even broader audience.

多年來，拉麵的演變從未停止，隨著最近素食拉麵、清真拉麵的出現，拉麵開始吸引更多的人。

It's exciting to wait and see what the future holds for this unique dish.

這道獨特的菜餚未來的發展令人期待。

We hope this video will allow you to experience, appreciate and enjoy ramen for yourself even more.

希望這個影片能讓你體驗、欣賞和享受拉麵。

For more information about Japan or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now or head over to japanguide.com, your comprehensive, up-to-date travel guide firsthand from Japan.

想了解更多關於日本的資訊或觀看其他影片，請點擊螢幕上的鏈接，或前往：japanguide.com 獲取全面、最新的日本第一手旅遊指南。

Thanks for watching.

謝謝觀看。