Kumamoto ramen — Kumamoto, Japan

Kumamoto ramen is built on a milky pork-bone broth, often blended with chicken bone stock, simmered until it turns rich and opaque, then poured over thick, slightly chewy wheat noodles. Its defining touch is mayu, a dark oil made by frying garlic slowly until it turns nearly black, drizzled over the surface just before serving, along with crisp garlic chips. It is reported from Kumamoto, a city on the island of Kyushu, within a wider regional family of pork-bone ramen that also includes styles from nearby Hakata and Kurume. Kumamoto's version is generally described as sitting between the two in intensity, and it is closely associated with the city's ramen shops and late-night eateries. To prepare it, pork bones and often chicken carcasses are simmered for many hours at a rolling boil until the broth emulsifies into a cloudy, full-bodied stock, then seasoned with a soy-based or salt-based tare. Garlic is sliced thin and fried slowly in oil until deeply browned, yielding both the crisp chips and the dark mayu oil. Noodles are boiled to order, drained, and topped with sliced chashu pork, wood ear mushroom, scallion and the garlic oil. What sets this version apart within the pork-bone ramen family is the garlic: mayu is added in a visible, generous pour rather than as a background note, giving the broth a toasted, slightly bitter edge and a darker color at the surface. The noodles are also kept firmer and thicker than in some neighboring styles, meant to hold their bite through a broth this rich.