Tanrei Ramen Style

Tanrei (탄레이) means “clear and refreshing” and refers to a lineage of modern ramen that distinctly expresses the character of its ingredients in a clear chintan broth. It stands in contrast to rich styles typified by tonkotsu and emerged as a movement that helped bring ramen into the realm of fine dining after gaining attention from the Michelin Guide in Tokyo during the 2010s.

Its roots lie in the clear soy sauce broth of chuka soba, the original form of ramen. After rich broths dominated the market in the 2000s, a movement emerged in reaction to reconstruct the traditional chintan style using modern techniques. In 2015, “Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta” (재패니즈 소바 누들 츠타) in Sugamo, Tokyo, became the first ramen restaurant to receive one Michelin star, followed by “Nakiryu” (나키류) in 2017, establishing tanrei as the name of a distinct genre.

• Broth: Seafood, kombu, shellfish, and other ingredients are layered over a chicken-centered chintan made with native chicken breeds and similar poultry, building layers of umami while retaining clarity. Precise control of the simmering temperature at a low level is central to the technique.

• Tare: Multiple varieties of soy sauce or salt are blended and supplemented with mirin, sake, shellfish extracts, and other ingredients. Shoyu tanrei and shio tanrei form the two main branches.

• Noodles: A high proportion of shops make their own noodles, designing the hydration level and flour blend in-house. Thin, smooth, straight noodles that do not overpower the broth are typical.

• Toppings: Low-temperature-cooked chashu has become standard, while toppings drawing on French and Chinese culinary vocabularies, such as truffle oil, porcini mushrooms, and wontons, have also appeared.

Many establishments apply the language of fine dining to ramen, including menu descriptions that specify the origin and variety of ingredients, plating resembling that of a course meal, and broth served in wine glasses. Another characteristic of this lineage is the transparency of revealing the blueprint behind each bowl, which has brought about a shift toward viewing ramen as a "chef's creation."

Since tanrei (탄레이) became popular, experiments crossing stylistic boundaries have continued, including approaches that occupy the middle ground between tanrei and tori paitan (chicken white broth), as well as combinations with niboshi chintan. In Korea, an increasing number of establishments have foregrounded shio and shoyu chintan since the 2020s, leading to the rapid adoption of the tanrei style.