The aromatic oil is what separates a bowl of ramen from your grandma's noodle soup; some flavors won't dissolve in water, but they will dissolve in fat. When the ramen broth is boiling, chefs skim off the oil that floats to the surface of the pot. This aromatic oil has all of the flavors from the ingredients that didn't dissolve in the broth itself, and it gets added back to every bowl before serving. Ramen noodles are still handmade in some places, but many shops just get their noodles delivered from local manufacturers, which is why the broth is really what separates a good bowl of ramen from a bad bowl of ramen! While meat is also an important component to a bowl of ramen, many would consider it to be a "topping" alongside soft-boiled eggs and menma (fermented bamboo shoots) rather than an essential ingredient.
Ramen is a staple food for everyone from children to office workers on a lunch break and is as inseparable from Japanese culture as the hamburger is from American culture. As a working person's lunch, ramen changes to account for what the customer is looking for. In colder climates like that of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost prefecture (subdivisions within Japan), creamy miso ramen is popular to ward off the chill of winter. In Tokyo's warmer climate, shoyu ramen is prized for its refreshing clarity.
