Ramenées

Ramenées is a culinary term used in contemporary gastronomy to describe a method of recontextualizing ramen ingredients within nontraditional dishes or presentations. The concept centers on taking elements associated with ramen—noodles, tare, broth, and toppings—and presenting them in formats outside the conventional ramen bowl, often within tasting menus, plated courses, or fusion menus.

The word derives from the French ramener, to bring back, with the noun-forming suffix -ée, indicating a process or result. It appeared in culinary writings and media in the 2010s, particularly in urban restaurant scenes in Europe and East Asia.

There is no single inventor; the term surfaced as chefs experimented with cross-cultural reinterpretations of ramen. It gained exposure through food blogs, pop-up restaurants, and fine-dining menus. Ramenées emphasize deconstruction and reassembly, texture contrasts, and balance of flavors. Common approaches include presenting broth as a gelatinized or glazed element, using noodles in non-soup contexts (cold noodles plated with tare sauce), or incorporating toppings in unexpected forms (pork chashu air, miso caramel).

Dessert-oriented ramenées might use miso-salted caramel or sesame flavors in confectionery; savory versions may pair ramen components with herbs, citrus, or dairy to create novel courses.

Reception has been mixed: some critics view ramenées as a flexible umbrella for experimental cuisine, praising ingenuity while cautioning that the term can be overextended. In some culinary communities, it remains niche and debated.