Oiistar Owner Shares Ramen-Making Secrets

Contrary to the general perception of the food, Ramen is anything but inexpensive and a last resort for a local chef who's admittedly obsessed with the meal.

Sunny Yim, owner of new Wicker Park restaurant Oiistar, purchased a $65,000 noodle-making machine from Japan for his venture, according to a Chicago Tribune story. He is one of the only restaurants in the city that makes the noodles in house.

The Tribune reports: 

This isn't some hand-crank contraption; it's wheeled in and requires an electric outlet, with wooden dowels and metallic panels—at once old-school and futuristic—plus warning stickers throughout depicting chopped-off fingers.

Ramen, Yim tells me, is impossible to make by hand. Kneading doesn't provide sufficient downward pressure to attain the ideal density in the dough. Try, and you end up with porous noodles that absorb broth, expand in the bowl and turn soggy.

Oiistar, 1385 N. Milwaukee Ave., was in the works for about one year before it opened this past December.

The menu features Asian combinations all across the board. The four central ramen dishes range from "Oiimen," a traditional Japanese-styled ramen with pork loin, egg and tree ear mushroom; to "Pozolmen," which is served in a broth inspired by Mexican pozole; and "Musclemen," which is made with mussels and scallions.

For a more behind-the-scenes look at the Ramen-making process, read the full Chicago Tribune story.