Rickshaw Ramen food truck offers happiness in a bowl


DAYTON EATS

Turn to us every Sunday in Life & Arts for the latest menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes, and culinary adventures brought to you by contributing writer Alexis Larsen. Bon appetite!

Ramen isn’t just for college students anymore.

The iconic steaming bowl of noodles — best known for being dried out and consigned to an inexpensive prepackaged Styrofoam container, requiring a healthy shot of steaming hot water to bring back to life — has found its way to the spotlight with high profile chefs and restaurants across the country.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the best noodle dishes in town that are not to be missed, and at the end I mentioned all of the good things I had been hearing about the Ramen Rickshaw food truck. I recently was able to try it out and can confirm that all the fuss is much deserved.

Run by Korge Mori, a Springfield firefighter, this Ramen is the real-deal — not the college meal staple that made me cringe so many years ago.

The tagline “happiness in a bowl” is true in this case. Soup may seem counter intuitive during warm weather, but when it’s this flavorful and well done, you’ll find yourself slurping it down regardless of what the thermometer reads.

The Ramen Rickshaw menu is small, but mighty. There are two types of Ramen, a Japanese chicken curried rice packed with chicken, potatoes and carrots over a bed of steamed white rice and a Japanese pan fried rice dish with bacon, eggs, peas and carrots, seasoned with a special Ramen Rickshaw blend of sauces.

The “Peddler’s Noodles” Ramen is the crown jewel — a special recipe pork broth that has been simmered for 12 hours, packed with a heavily seasoned minced pork, spices and sesame, ginger and soy. The broth itself is a layered, complex and captivating concoction that you will wish you had more of when your meal is over.

The miso and soy Ramen is a vegetarian-friendly option that begins with a traditional kombu broth, then layered with roasted spices and seasoned with umami-rich miso, sesame and soy.

Both Ramen choices and their wonderful broth counterparts come heaped with a mess of sun wheat noodles and are finished with a green onion garnish and your choice of toppings off the menu.

The 16-ounce ($6) comes with one topping of your choice, 24-ounce ($8) with two toppings and 32-ounce ($10) comes with three toppings. More can be added for an additional cost.

Options are a delicious handmade pork dumpling ($1.50), a 2-ounce marinated pork tenderloin ($1), a 1/2 hard-boiled egg ($.50), 1/2 a marinated soft-boiled egg ($.50) or seasonal greens sautéed in butter ($.50).

Customizing your soup with these add-ons is a wonderful touch.

All are terrific choices, and everything is made from scratch. Loading your soup up is definitely the way to go, and don’t skimp on the greens as they are one of the best parts.

Mori’s aunts who owned Ramen noodle shops in Japan serve as his inspiration in the kitchen and it shows.

My advice is to get your order in and leave yourself enough time to grab an order to go. It’s that good.

The 16-ounce portion is filling, substantial and priced right, but the 24-ounce soup is probably the right choice if you’re feeling at all hungry.

A visit to one of Ramen Rickshaw's social media accounts (www.facebook.com/RamenRickshaw or https://twitter.com/ramenrickshaw) is probably the best way to track this truck down on the weekends. Often they set up at a local brewery like Dayton Beer Company, Yellow Springs Brewery or Eudora Beer Company. Pairing the food with a beer from one of these craft draft spots only enhances the delicious meal that awaits. The black IPA from Dayton Beer Company was a recent choice that was a perfect match.

Ramen has quickly been turning into a foodie darling across the country and for good reason — it’s in capable hands being done right. Moi’s Ramen may still be served up in styrofoam, but when it comes to food, don’t ever judge a book by its cover — his is a seemingly simple creation that is anything but.

Dayton Eats looks at the regional food stories and restaurant news that make mouths water. Tell us about your menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes and culinary adventures. Do you know of new exciting format changes, specials, happy hours, restaurant updates or any other tasty news you think is worth a closer look? E-mail Alexis Larsen atalexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com with the information and we will work to include it in future coverage.

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