This tonkotsu ramen has medicinal benefits that can boost your energy after a long day of sightseeing.

Have you ever heard of yakuzen? Not to be confused with yakuza, yakuzen literally translates as “medicinal meal“, and is made up of the kanji 薬 (“yaku” or “medicine“) and 膳 (“zen”, which refers to a meal, traditionally served on on a tray).

The concept behind yakuzen is food as medicine, and you’ll see it being used to describe meals that contain ingredients designed to boost health. One type of meal that can be given the yakuzen treatment is ramen, and a good place to try it is at Boku no, Yakuzenmen, in Tokyo’s Jimbocho neighbourhood.

▼ Boku no, Yakuzenmen translates as “My Yakuzen Noodles“

Here, you’ll be able to try a bowl of yakuzen tonkotsu ramen for 1,000 yen (US$6.45), with some of the options being Red Spicy Tonkotsu and Miso Tonkotsu.

Tonkotsu as medicine might seem like a misnomer, but the ingredients have been carefully chosen for their health benefits, with the sign outside the store describing it as “A bowl of medicinal pork bone broth ramen to relieve everyday fatigue“.

The sign also shows the different elements in the ramen: roasted seaweed from a longstanding company founded in 1887; chashu pork, slow braised for hours for tenderness; seasoned quail eggs to restore the body’s needs; time-honored Korean ginseng, a fatigue-healing ingredient; seasoned spinach, rich in vitamins to replenish energy; chopped green onions to invigorate and warm the body; medium-thick wavy noodles that cling to the broth, delivering a sense of comfort; and pork bone broth that’s been slowly simmered and imbued with medicinal herbs to create a nourishing essence that restores balance in the body.

That does sound like a restorative blend of ingredients, but would it make for a delicious meal? Anything with the word “medicinal” makes us think of bitterness, something we certainly wouldn’t want to taste in a bowl of noodles, so we felt a slight sense of trepidation after ordering the recommended light-tasting “White” yakuzen tonkotsu ramen.

It only took a few minutes to arrive at our table, and when it did, we were immediately impressed by the generosity of ginseng. Korean ginseng is known for being expensive, and yet, we were given a whole root, cut in two, in our bowl.

Dipping our spoon in for a taste of the broth, it turned out to have a very refined flavour, and although there was certainly a hint of something medicinal in its herbiness, it didn’t taste bad, it just tasted light and dare we say it, healthy. 

The toppings of chashu, spinach and quail eggs didn’t seem out of place, in that you wouldn’t know they had any medicinal benefits unless you’d been told about them. They provided a nice contrast to the light broth and chewy noodles, which did have a comforting quality.

When it came to the ginseng though, this really packed a medicinal punch, with unabashed earthy and bitter notes.

Nothing could conceal the woody, medicinal flavour of the ginseng, but when you think about it, that’s what you want when you’re eating yakuzen. Ginseng is said to have a variety of health benefits as a nutritional tonic that’s said to help ease fatigue, promote blood circulation, improve immunity, reduce stress and beautify the skin. With all that on offer, you want to know you’re getting the real deal by tasting, and seeing the ginseng.

The signs in store don’t gloss over the taste of the ginseng, saying:

“Korean ginseng is an extremely valuable medicinal ingredient, but to be honest, it may not taste great. However, for your health and as a fun talking point, please give it a try. The soup is also infused with plenty of ginseng extract, so enjoy the double benefits.”

As they say, good medicine tastes bitter, and at this restaurant, a bowlful of noodles helps the medicine go down. So next time you’re feeling under the weather, especially if you’re visiting Japan and have no time to get sick, you might want to keep this place in your back pocket as a way to give your health the much-needed boost it needs. It may be the tonic that helps relieve exhaustion at the end of a long day of sightseeing too, which can come in handy when you don’t have the energy to stand in line at some of the more famous, and arguable less healthy, ramen spots in Tokyo.

Restaurant information
Boku no, Yakuzenmen / 僕の、薬膳麺
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda Jinbocho 2-4-11
東京都千代田区神田神保町2-4-11
Open 11:00 a.m.-3:00p.m. (weekday lunch); 5:00-8:00 p.m. (weekday dinner); 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. (Saturdays and public holidays)
Closed Sundays
Website

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[ Read in Japanese ]