Ramen Revival

Chef Yasushi Ueyama first introduced his soothing, complex craft soups to Sacramento in 2007, back when most mentions of “ramen” still were preceded by “top,” and David Chang of Momofuku fame was barely known outside New York.

Since then, fans have gladly followed Ueyama and his wife and business partner, Kathy, through various incarnations of their Shoki Ramen brand. Seven years after opening the original eatery on 24th Street in Curtis Park, they closed it and reopened less than half a mile away on 21st Street in 2016. Meanwhile, they had also expanded onto R Street.

But a 2018 fire shuttered the 21st Street space, and in 2021, the Ueyamas said goodbye to their remaining R Street location. Shoki loyalists—of which there are justifiably many—then were left with no outlet for their cravings for Yasushi’s umami-laden broths and signature slightly al dente noodles.

But happily this past April, the Ueyamas reopened their (rebuilt and renovated) 21st Street location as Shoki’s Ramen, Gyoza & Koji. Like all their ventures, it carries the name of an Edo-period deity from Yasushi’s native Japan. But the more casual possessive reflects the new restaurant’s homier emphasis.

Shoki’s—which will be the Ueyamas’ “last restaurant,” Kathy says—aims for a “come into our kitchen” vibe. A strictly mom-and-pop operation, it features a limited menu and seating, but even bigger flavors than previous Shoki iterations offered.

Items from the Ueyamas’ home, including a Snoopy figurine, stuffed Woodstock toy and a vintage Porsche model car (Yasushi is an auto enthusiast), adorn Shoki’s ordering counter and the shelves behind it. Gone are the brick and wood holdovers from the space’s previous occupant, Trails Restaurant, that the Ueyamas retained when they first opened on 21st in 2016 (although the iconic neon “Trails Charcoal Broiler” sign remains outside).

Owners Kathy and Yasushi Ueyama added homey touches to the dining room like Snoopy and Woodstock keepsakes.

The building’s new look is airier and more modern, its seafoam-green-centric palette running from the exterior into a dining room that seats just 10. (The patio contains three picnic tables, and on the 100-plus-degree July evening when I and many other stalwarts chose to eat soup, Kathy opened an auxiliary kitchen space with a few additional tables.)

The new concept includes a walk-in-only policy. Shoki’s is staffed almost entirely by the Ueyamas—their son Ietetsu, who helps with Shoki’s website and social media, took orders at the counter when I visited, but since has gone off to college.

They are still playing with the service model, Kathy says. They might someday go fully takeout. And still in the works are more formalized “dinner with Kathy and Yasushi” nights, along with Japanese street food pop-ups. Yasushi also has yearned to do a Japanese-style breakfast, Kathy says.

What is certain, however, is that the space’s roomy kitchen will be a workshop for culinary experiments Yasushi envisioned for years, but lacked time to execute.

“We were actually going to call it quits. Yasushi is in his 60s and I’m getting up there too,” Kathy says during a joint interview with Yasushi at Shoki’s. “But throughout the pandemic, he was thinking about all the places [where he worked] in Japan, and his restaurants and all the culinary stuff he used to do.” (Kathy—who grew up in Sacramento and teaches Japanese at Pleasant Grove High School—translates for her husband, a Japanese native who owned eateries in his homeland prior to launching Shoki Ramen.)

“I wanted to go back to the roots of the Japanese culture, which is koji fermentation. From koji, you can make sake, miso and shoyu [soy sauce],” Yasushi says. Koji—cooked rice or soybeans inoculated with a fermentation culture—forms the basis of the shoyu and ponzu sauces Yasushi makes on-site, and a to-go “koji drink” that the Ueyamas say holds probiotic properties. Tasting of yogurt and kimchi, yet less pungent than either, the drink also makes a great marinade, Kathy adds.

Shoki’s 21st Street location recently relaunched after a fire forced its closure in 2018.

Yasushi studied nutrition at Koshien University in Japan and has long catered to dietary restrictions in his Sacramento restaurants. Kathy believes the Ueyamas were the first restaurant in town to make a vegetarian stock for ramen, which they offered from the start 16 years ago, along with the more traditional dashi base, which contains fish flakes.

Always MSG free, Shoki drew a loyal following in part because of the unusual freshness of its ramen dishes. You can taste the layers of flavors in the broth, how Yasushi has cooked elements separately to perfection to complement each other. In the classic version, ever-present hints of the sea provided by the kombu (kelp seaweed) and katsuo fish offset the umami heft of the mushroom and meatier components. While relatively subtle, the seaweed element, unobscured by preservatives, has always been more evident in Yasushi’s ramen than in other ramens around town. This is part of why the Shoki tan tan men has long been my go-to bowl at the first chill of autumn. Soothing in its wholesomeness, its evocation of shoreline also offers a momentary getaway.

Yet as Shoki’s popularity grew and the business expanded, “we had employees, and there were all these things to consider,” Kathy says. Mindful of costs, Yasushi could not always use the level of ingredients he preferred. Now that it’s basically just the two of them and they can allocate most of the budget to the food, “everything in this restaurant is what he thinks is really good.” 

This includes the Mary’s heirloom chickens that Yasushi plunks down whole into a pot as part of his multiday broth preparation. Shoki’s pork originates from Chico’s Rancho Llano Seco, and its beef from Marin County’s Stemple Creek Ranch. Eggs come from Yolo County’s Riverdog Farm, and vegetables—like a steamed-to-simple-perfection Nantes carrot served with the cabbage side dish on my visit—are sourced from Riverdog or the Sunday Sacramento farmers’ market.

Smaller is better for the Ueyamas: Their cozy eatery seats 10 inside

Unlike at the previous Shoki Ramen restaurants, Yasushi now hand-selects every vegetable and hand-cuts all his meats. “From the beginning, I am able to touch everything,” he says. In keeping with the fermentation emphasis at the new restaurant, he sous-vides or otherwise slow-cooks most meats. “By doing soft cooking, the gentleness comes out in your food,” he explains.

Gentle in preparation, powerful in flavor. The first bite of Shoki’s chashu pork immediately transported me back to the R Street Shoki, where the chashu side dish was a must-order. Yet this version is somehow also infinitely superior.

Made from pork loin, salted and left to rest for 24 hours before going through the sous-vide process, the chashu is remarkably tender and juicy. Even after being immersed in the broth of Shoki’s “the works” tan tan men, I could still taste every granule of salt and speck of pepper clinging to the pork slice’s edges many minutes into its addition to the bowl. Plus, this version is gluten free where the previous one was made with regular soy sauce.

Also surprisingly hearty was the mushroom-forward, house-made and pan-fried vegetarian gyoza, lightened by a kicky rejoinder of expertly shredded green onion.

The pan-fried vegetarian gyoza filled with ingredients like mushroom and cabbage

The least expected element of my meal, though, was the slice of sourdough bread from Davis’ Village Bakery that accompanied the tan tan men. The possibilities for incorporating the bread, which had been seasoned with garlic sauce, were many-fold. You could make an ad-hoc open sandwich using the delicate onsen tamago (soft-cooked egg) that is bathed in slightly sweet dashi and also served with the ramen.

Or you could simply dip the bread in the broth in the manner that Yasushi has observed Americans doing with other soups over the years. The chef included the bread with the tan tan men because he loves Village Bakery, but also to draw more attention to the warm liquid. Whereas the ramen craze in the U.S. often focuses on the noodles, Yasushi really wants diners to savor his soup. “He puts a lot of time and energy into it, and it is very healthy,” Kathy says.

Grateful to once again have access to this magical broth, we’re more than happy to dive in and drink up. 

Shoki’s Ramen, Gyoza & Koji. 2530 21st St. 916-454-2411. shokis.net