Nabeyaki ramen

01 / ABOUT THE DISH

About the dish

Nabeyaki ramen is a highly distinctive, intensely hot noodle soup native to Susaki City in Kochi Prefecture, renowned for being both cooked and served in a traditional donabe (earthenware clay pot). The history of this beloved local comfort food traces back to the period just after World War II at a now-legendary local diner called Taniguchi Shokudo. Driven by a deep sense of omotenashi (Japanese hospitality) and a desire to deliver meals that stayed piping hot, the shop's founder initially used heat-retaining enamel pots for neighborhood deliveries, a practice that eventually evolved into the iconic clay pots used today. At its core, the dish features a robust, soy sauce-flavored chicken bone broth, typically enriched with the deep umami of mature poultry. Because the soup was originally designed to withstand delivery times—and now continues to boil vigorously at the table—the recipe strictly calls for thin, straight wheat noodles engineered to be exceptionally firm, preventing them from turning mushy in the extreme heat. The garnishes are purposefully simple: a scattering of scallions, slices of chikuwa (fish paste tubes), and a raw egg added just before serving. A defining rule of the authentic Susaki experience is the mandatory side dish of takuan (pickled daikon radish), specifically an older, slightly sour pickle. This acts as an essential palate cleanser, cutting through the rich, heavy chicken fat and allowing diners to refresh their taste buds between bites. Today, this nostalgic "soul food" is woven deeply into the city's fabric, served by over 40 establishments ranging from dedicated ramen stalls to yakiniku joints and local pubs, where patrons frequently order a side of white rice to savor every last drop of the egg-thickened broth.