Ichiran opens its first pork-free ramen shop in Nishi-Shinjuku

Tabea Greuner
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Tabea Greuner
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Fukuoka-born ramen chain Ichiran is famous for its tonkotsu (pork-based) noodles. However, it has just opened a new outpost in Nishi-Shinjuku, which serves a pork-free version of its popular noodles. What’s more, the restaurant is alcohol-free as well. This is a much welcomed move from Ichiran, considering the  recent increase in foreign tourists to Tokyo, especially Muslim visitors.

Ichiran

Photo: @ICHIRANJAPAN/Twitter

The noodle chain’s plan to create pork-free ramen is not an overnight decision. It took the chefs two decades of trial and error to develop the new dish from chicken without compromising the signature smooth, rich broth its loyal customers have come to expect. You may think that it couldn’t have taken that long to come up with a new type of soup, but that’s not what Ichiran intended to do. The wonderful thing about this new non-pork option is that it’s not just a new soup – it actually tastes like their original tonkotsu ramen but made from chicken instead of pork.

The only difference are the slices of tender ‘Gyuyaro’ beef belly – instead of the bog standard char siu pieces – which complete the large bowl (¥1,180) of noodles. With Ichiran’s special order sheet, you can even customise every aspect of your noodle soup: noodle texture, garlic and green onion add-ons, and the amount of its original spicy sauce.

Ichiran

Photo: ichiran.com/np

Keen ramen lovers can also purchase Ichiran's original pork-free ramen set (¥2,200) at the restaurant to recreate the noodles back home; each box contains five servings of the soup base and ramen noodles.

For more information, check Ichiran's official website here. But if you prefer to go meat-free, check out our best vegan ramen list.

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