Who knew noodles could have such an affect on the world? Anyone capable of chewing and swallowing must have, at some point, consumed the noodle-y wonder that is Ramen - also known as Cup Noodles. Ramen has sustained university students all over the country and working class families throughout the world. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 'Ramen-omenon': a half century of culinary joy and devoted purchasing of this humble food source.
A Brief HistoryIn reality, Ramen has existed for 4,000 years, originating in China. It did not reach Japan until the late 19th century. "Ramen" is the Japanese pronunciation for the Chinese word "Lau-Mein," which means "boiled" or "hand-pulled noodles." Ramen did not become an actual franchise until 1958 when 48-year-old Momofuku Ando, chairman of Nissin foods, came up with the idea of packaging instant noodles and making them affordable and easy to cook for every class of citizen. In fact, part of Ando's success was due to the convenience of instant Ramen. The noodles are pre-cooked and are ready in three minutes.
Basic Facts Ramen noodles are typically made of salt, water, wheat flour, sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate. The broth mix is usually made from chicken or pork stock. This is the basic instant Ramen that college students know and love, but over in Japan and China the Ramen varieties are staggering. The Nissin company has released a new, sophisticated brand of Ramen called "GooTa." Thanks to advances in food packaging technology, this product contains vacuum-sealed meat and vegetable toppings which upon being cooked become a high quality meal. However, like regular instant Ramen, it takes three minutes to prepare. The "GooTa" brand boasts a wide spectrum of flavors and toppings, which include pork bone, miso, wanton, seafood, chili, spinach and hard-boiled egg.
Facts
- Osaka, Japan, is home to the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, which attracts up to 1,500 visitors a day. l Ando also invented "Space Ram," an instant Ramen astronauts could eat in space.
- The total length of each noodle in a cube of Ramen combined equals approximately 170 feet.
- Momofuku Ando died in January 2007 at the age of 96. Roughly 6,000 people, including Buddhist monks, attended his funeral ceremony, which was held in a baseball stadium.
All you have to do is crush the noodles while they're still in the bag, making them more convenient to work with. Just put the crushed noodles in the coffee pot, pour about three cups of water into the coffee maker and turn it on. Because the noodles need to be submerged in the boiling water, use more than the recommended two cups. And it's really easy to clean up.
Mr. NoodleMomofuku Ando was born March 5, 1910, in Kagi, which is now Chiayi, Taiwan, when the country was under Japanese occupation.
By the time World War II had ended and Japan was suffering from a food shortage; many people were forced to stand in long lines in the cold to get a bite to eat. Ando was surprised when he heard the Japanese Ministry of Health encouraging people to eat bread made by U.S.-supplied wheat flour. Noodles were more familiar to the Japanese; the Ministry of Health, however, insisted that the nation's noodle companies were too small to supply what the country needed. Ando seized upon an opportunity; he set out to develop a production process for noodles that he hoped would help solve the problem.
Ando began experimenting with noodle-making on his own; he sought to make them delicious, inexpensive and easy to prepare. He finally came up with a method of making and moistening noodles, then drying and flash-frying them. Ready to eat in minutes after being covered with boiling water, these were the world's first pre-cooked, instant noodles. Ando decided to flavor the noodles with a chicken broth, which he believed would have mass appeal. He unveiled his instant "Chikin Ramen" to the world in 1958; that year he also changed the name of his company to Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. Before long he had earned the moniker "Mr. Noodle."
He came up with his most successful product, Cup Noodles, in 1971, which were distributed inside a waterproof, polystyrene container people could eat them out of. That's when the popularity of instant Ramen noodles exploded overseas. As production volume increased, prices steadily dropped.
By 2004, annual servings sold worldwide topped 70 billion and Nissin's noodles were selling at prices comparable to the cheapest bowls of noodles available in restaurants in Japan.
In 2005, he realized a dream when he sent vacuum packed instant noodles to space with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard the U.S. space shuttle Discovery.
Ball State students share recipes with the special ingredient:
Asian Coleslaw with Ramen NoodlesFrom the kitchen of Tarrah McCreary, sophomore, dietetic major1 pkg slaw8 green onions chopped2 oz. sliced almonds1 cup sunflower seeds4 tbsp. sugar2 teaspoon accent1 teaspoon salt (or lemon juice)1 teaspoon pepper1/2 cup olive oil6 tbsp. rice vinegar1 package plain Ramen noodles
Mix sugar, accent, salt (or lemon juice), pepper, olive oil and vinegar. Pour over slaw, onions, noodles and nuts. Do this shortly before serving.
Batman and Ramen From the kitchen of Jestina Bankert and Theresa JachettaCook noodles normally but add Mongolian hot sauce and soy sauce to water while boiling. Add packet of flavor, and right before finished, crack 2 eggs in the pot and let them cook.Then scoop out and serve one pack of Ramen made with 2 cups of water. Add some splashes of Mongolian fire oil, sesame seed oil and soy sauce once water and oils are boiling, put ramen noodles in for two minutes and add season packet and egg. Stir egg until mixed in the broth like egg drop soup.Egg should be in there for no longer than one minute. Pour the entire contents of the pot into a bowl and bon appetite!
Cheesy Buffalo RamenFrom the kitchen of Dylan Gaffin, sophomore, geology majorRamen noodles saved my life. Between being a musician and a college student I would have died by now if it were not for my budget-friendly noodles. I really like hot food, so I make this cheesy buffalo version. All you need is Frank's Red Hot Sauce, cayenne pepper and shredded cheese of some sort. Boil the water, throw the noodles in. Let cook for 1.5 minutes and add lots of hot sauce and cayenne pepper. At this point I strain about half the broth out and put pack on burner. Turn the burner off after they are "al dente" and add a layer of shredded cheese to the top of noodles and let sit until melted. Eat and enjoy or be in disgust, either way it's cheap nutrition.
Sources:The Ramen King and I by Andy Raskin'Mr. Noodle,' an opinion article by Lawrence Downes of the New York Times"Instant Ramen'"greggman.com How Much is Inside Ramen Noodles? from Cockeyed.com
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