Here are terms and ingredients you’ll see at ramen shops.
Shoyu: Ramen with soy sauce added to the clear brown stock, usually made with chicken. Widely available; consider it ramen's basic cheeseburger.
Shio: Ramen with sea salt added to the clear, thin broth; a light, delicate style.
Tonkotsu: Rich, cloudy broth made with long-boiled pork bones, whose collagen and calcium cause the milky color. Very flavorful.
Miso: Broth made with soybean paste; a thicker, more opaque bowl.
Fish cake: Mildly flavored white disks with a pink spiral in the middle, used as a garnish; made from pulverized white fish formed into a roll and sliced.
Chasu: Pork belly formed into a roll and braised with flavorful additions such as soy sauce and spices. Includes fat as well as lean meat; the presence of fat is not a flaw in chasu. Pork belly also can be served in slabs.
Tomago: Egg. May be whole or cut in half and hard-boiled or soft-boiled; stir the runny yolk into the broth for richness. Do not be concerned if the white is brown; it was marinated in a soy sauce mixture.
Nori: Tissue-thin sheets of blackish-green dried seaweed, shredded or served in squares atop a ramen bowl.
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