Kajiken - Chicago
Everybody knows ramen, most people know s
oba; but do you know abura soba? If you don't, you will learn quickly at Kajiken how delicious ramen noodles without broth can be.
Kajiken is a chain from Japan with over one hundred locations, and now it has one in Chicago.
Brought to Chicago by Tony Hu, known as the Mayor of Chinatown, Kajiken is ready to show us Chicagoans just how awesome brothless ramen can be. Let us describe a few bowls for you.
Original Aburasoba (probably a good place to start) is all dressed up with chashu (Japanese braised pork belly), bamboo onions, Tokyo onions and seaweed.
Spicy Minced Pork Aburasoba has the pork, Tokyo onions, seaweed, fish powder, chives, and a raw egg (like all the ingredients in these bowls, you can skip the raw egg if you like).
Roast Beef Aburasoba has the beef, of course, and also crispy onions, green onions, chaliapin sauce and yogurt sauce...and the optional raw egg.
There is a long list of other ingredients/condiments you can add to your bowl, including kimchee, spicy cod roll, curry powder and mayonnaise (!).
At the top of the Kajiken menu are instructions for enjoying aburasoba: mix everything together "immediately and thoroughly," then"eat and enjoy." Pretty simple, right?
About the opening of Kajiken, Eater Chicago reports, "It’s a bright and vibrant space with light wood and modern finishes. Chicago is no stranger to the form. In a suburban Des Planes strip mall, just north of the city, Chicago Ramen has been treating customers to soupless ramen since 2020. That ramen shop gives diners a pictorial instruction guide on how to eat the noodles at their tables. Kajiken’s bowls are customizable with toppings like chasu, eggs, chili oil, and bamboo shoots. There is also a bevy of appetizers like karaage, deep-fried squid, and, of course, ramen soup."