But Raman Noodle Live On

Like the author (Lawrence Downes) of the appreciation of "Mr. Noodle" in the New York Times (9 January 2007), I don't think I ever knew that Raman noodles had an inventor. I suppose I'd always imagined that such a ubiquitous part of Japanese culture and cuisine — as I thought of it — had always existed.

Raman noodles were an essential part of late-night sessions solving physics homework problems when I was a senior. Usually at about 2 in the morning my friend and fellow physics major Bill would dash across the hall to my room, carrying his hot pot in which we would prepare the sustaining favorite. I think we preferred beef flavor then, and I still do now. It has the most flavor to my tongue; it could easily be the saltiest tasting, which would also win my favor.

So too late I learned that Raman Noodles were indeed invented single-handedly by one Momofuku Ando in 1958; he died recently at age 96. He also founded Nissin Foods — still named on the packages I occasionally enjoy today — which made him a successful tycoon. Now that I know, I'd say he deserved it, too. The piece reports that Raman Noodles satisfies some 100 million people each day. Imagine that. In the picture that accompanied the piece, Mr. Ando looks pleased. I like that.

There was also this short appreciation of Raman Noodles:

Ramen noodles, by contrast [to other, inferior instant-noodle products], are a dish of effortless purity. Like the egg, or tea, they attain a state of grace through a marriage with nothing but hot water. After three minutes in a yellow bath, the noodles soften. The pebbly peas and carrot chips turn practically lifelike. A near-weightless assemblage of plastic and foam is transformed into something any college student will recognize as food, for as little as 20 cents a serving.

Posted on February 1, 2007 at 01.46 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Food Stuff, The Art of Conversation

2 Responses

Subscribe to comments via RSS

  1. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Thursday, 1 February 2007 at 05.13
    Permalink

    Salty, tasty, modestly nourishing — and addictive. My better half was addicted for several years. I had a couple of co-workers who admitted to being addicted. Standing in line at Safeway one evening, a young woman in line ahead of me was buying a case of them and a half-gallon of milk. The checker said to the young woman, "You must really like Top Ramen." The young woman replied, "I'm absolutely addicted."

    I don't know what they put in them, but there's more going on there than color, aroma, flavor and texture.

  2. Written by Jennifer
    on Friday, 2 February 2007 at 00.49
    Permalink

    All I can say is farewell, king of dorm food. In fact, I enjoyed some for my dinner tonite since by the time class got out dinner was was no longer available in the dining halls. I almost had to fend off one of my suitemates. What is it about Ramen that we like so darn much?

Subscribe to comments via RSS

Leave a Reply

To thwart spam, comments by new people are held for moderation; give me a bit of time and your comment will show up.

I welcome comments -- even dissent -- but I will delete without notice irrelevant, rude, psychotic, or incomprehensible comments, particularly those that I deem homophobic, unless they are amusing. The same goes for commercial comments and trackbacks. Sorry, but it's my blog and my decisions are final.