BanBen, a Fukuoka-based social business that uses a portion of the proceeds from its sales of Inner Mongolian rock salt to greenify the desert there, will begin selling ramen noodles made from Inner Mongolian kansui (alkaline mineral water) and Fukuoka’s own “ra-mugi” wheat for ramen noodles this August. Dubbed “Shifukumen Ramon”, almost all of the 1,000 bags produced for a two-month test marketing phase were sold, and the president (Takeshi Sakamoto) hopes to turn the ramen into one of BanBen’s mainstays. Kansui is a food additive that gives Chinese–style noodles their flavor and elasticity when mixed with flour and salt. President Sakamoto says the all-natural Inner Mongolian kansui gives the ramen a “gentler taste and mellower texture” . The ramen noodles are being manufactured by a factory in Kurume and will come packaged with tonkotsu soup from a long-standing Fukuoka-based soy sauce maker. Each package contains three servings of noodles and will cost ¥525. They will be available for sale at natural food stores in Fukuoka and online. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, July 24
Photo source: banben.jp
