Sticks & Spoons

by

The story below is from our January/February 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 

An unassuming Roanoke ramen shop slings slurp-worthy bowls of noodles and snackable appetizers.

They say good things come in small packages, an adage that could apply to restaurants too. Case in point: Sticks & Spoons, a ramen restaurant tucked into a jewel box space in the Lamplighter Mall, where owner Jason Wu tends a six-burner stove to sling bowls of slurp-worthy ramen and snackable appetizers.

Wu grew up in Roanoke in a restaurant family; his mom and uncle both had restaurants in the area, primarily Chinese-American concepts. Wu was drawn to other cuisines, though he concedes that his first taste of ramen was storebought noodles. “I grew up more with the ones you’d get at the Asian store, Korean or Chinese style, that were more legit. Not top ramen.” Wu, who is also a fan of anime, noticed that bowls of ramen made frequent cameos. Several years ago, he started researching ramen culture and its history; he drove several hours to sample his first bowl of proper ramen.

Since ramen refers to the type of quick-cooking noodle as well as its namesake dish, sourcing top-notch noodles was paramount. “Ramen noodles, specifically, has a very good amount of alkaline content. Water [in Japan] and parts of Asia naturally have higher amounts of alkaline, which gives the noodle springiness and chewiness,” Wu explains. That signature texture also allows the noodles to hold up in a bowl of hot broth without getting soggy. Wu turned to Sun Noodle, the gold-standard bearer of ramen favored by ramen shops from LA to NYC. The portioned packets of fresh ramen noodles come in a variety of cuts and styles. For his shop, Wu selected the Goldilocks ideal—not too thin, not too thick, just right.

Sticks & Spoons bills itself as serving both traditional and non-traditional ramen, which means more options to appeal to a variety of palates and preferences. Wu says he’s always tinkering with his broth recipes to improve them. He follows a basic formula of one part dashi, a Japanese stock base made with kombu (kelp seaweed) and katsuobushi (fermented, smoked dried fish also known as bonito flakes), and one part protein stock, bolstered with heady aromatics such as shiitake mushrooms. Those familiar with ramen will recognize tonkotsu, a creamy, rich pork-and-chicken based broth, though Wu’s skews a little sweet, thanks to the addition of roasted beef bones and aromatics such as carrots. Spicy miso and shoyu are also based on traditional ramen broths. The shoyu is my new ideal of a restorative chicken noodle soup. It’s lighter in style but packs a flavor punch, with a rich chicken broth whose savoriness is amplified with soy tare, a concentrated flavor and seasoning base. The spicy miso gets its flavor depth from a blend of misos (fermented soy) and a dash of heat from roasted peppers. Want more spice? Select one of the spice add-ons, which includes toppings such as smoky chili crisp and spicy red miso.

Vegan ramen falls into the non-traditional camp, but it allows Wu to offer more options and to flex his creativity. “Ramen can’t have flavor without fat content in the broth, so a vegan one was hard to come up with a proper recipe when I first started out,” Wu says. Now, Wu cycles through ten or so versions, such as green or red curry or garlic-miso. Don’t sleep on tantanmen, a Japanese noodle dish inspired by Chinese dan dan noodles. Here, the noodles bob in a luxurious, lightly spiced sesame-based broth (made with a fish-sauce-free dashi) that’s crowned with vegan minced pork, bok choy and roasted corn.

Noodle and broth proportions are another matter of personal preference. At Sticks & Spoons, Wu favors an estimated 30/30/40 ratio of toppings to noodles to broth. The tonkotsu, spicy miso and shoyu all come topped with lightly smoked pork belly, though sometimes their size can be a bit unwieldly if you’re not proficient with chopsticks. The medley of toppings varies by bowl, say spinach, roasted corn or pickled red onions, though each includes a scattering of sliced scallions, narutomaki (fish cake) and a ramen egg. The soy-marinated, soft-boiled eggs boast a firm white and a custardy, golden yolk, adding an unctuous quality to any bowl—you might be tempted to add a second. Wu shares that in traditional recipes, pork braising liquid is added to the marinade, but he opted to leave it out to make it vegetarian.

In addition to billing itself as a ramen shop, Sticks & Spoons serves a smattering of appetizers, including gyoza, delectable dumplings filled with either pork, shrimp or vegetables. The pork in particular offers a pleasing juxtaposition of textures, with a juicy filling contained in a delicate wrapper that’s fried till crispy. The takoyaki, a Japanese snack sometimes referred to in English as octopus balls, are another must-have. A flavorful batter filled with grilled, diced octopus and minced vegetables is lightly fried and served piping hot with featherweight curls of katsuobushi and squiggles of sweet-savory Bull-Dog sauce and a honey-wasabi-spiked Kewpie mayo. For more snack-inspired nosh, check out Wu’s frequent pop-ups at Food Hut at Golden Cactus Brewery, where he often serves dumplings alongside experimental eats, such as Smoke-Belly Tacos served in scallion-pancake tortillas, or ChurrWOAs, churro-inspired waffle sticks filled with cream cheese and dusted with cinnamon-sugar.

Sticks & Spoons is a one-person operation, so while you’ll be warmly greeted by Wu when you enter, you’ll place your order from a touchscreen at the front of the shop. While you patiently wait for your order, claim one of eight counter seats, a standing perch beneath a wall lined with custom artwork (by local artist Andrew Williams) or a picnic table outside, weather permitting. Commensurate with the small space and scaled back operation, ramen is served in plastic take-out ready bowls (handy if you manage to have any leftovers) and appetizers in plastic or cardboard vessels. You can also order takeout online, a popular option during the lunch rush. Takeout orders are packed in specialty containers; a plastic tray suspended above the broth and toppings keeps the noodles, egg and fish cake separate to prevent them from getting soggy in transit. At Sticks & Spoons, no matter how small the space or how unassuming the wrapping, they’re bound to contain good things.

The story above is from our January/February 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!