Ode to Ramen

Savior to the college masses and staple to those of the far east.  Ramen.  I mean instant ramen to be precise.  Although “ramen” is kind of a blanket term for any and all Japanese hand pulled noodles (fresh or flash fried), people generally seem to know what you mean when you say ramen, instant noodles.  Other names for this style of noodles; la mien, lo mein, dan dan, udon, soba, saimin, shirataki, and yakisoba (which literally translates “fried noodle”).  Everyone that I run across has “Add hot/boiling water” instructions on it.  Some of them have instructions to “cook” them in the microwave or boil them in a pot for better flavor and texture.

The packaged “brick” style of cut noodles was invented by Momofuku Ando,  a Taiwanese businessman, who founded Nissan Food Products.  With the goal in mind, “Peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat.”  He spent months perfecting his flash frying method and packaged the noodles for sale in 1958.   Also made them in styrofoam cups for ultra portability.

Ramen mostly come in two types of packages, in a styrofoam container or packaged.  Obviously, the ones in a container are meant to be eaten out of said container.  The packaged ones are more or less one of the “cook” varieties, but still can be made with just adding hot water.  Most of all ramen come with a flavor packet of sorts and some come with a menagerie of others, vegetable, sauce, meat, etc.  Few that I have found have the flavor already sprinkled into the noodles.  Seems to be easier and more cost-effective to have the noodle and flavor packet made separately and then packaged rather than together from the start.

I prefer the ones from overseas as opposed to the American made ones.  For one, the noodles taste better.  Some have a creamy quality to them.  Secondly, there’s a wider variety of flavors and styles.  Most of the domestic flavor packets (from the Top Ramen line), are just different colors of salt.  I mostly use these noodles as a base and make my own concoction (butter, soy sauce, green onion, etc).  To me, the less english on the package, the more I enjoy them.  Although, lately I do like some of the ones from Nissin Foods US subsidiary.  The cook and eat varieties, Chow Mein and Chow Noodles.  Chow Noodles Cheddar Cheese beats out the instant Mac N Cheese from Kraft.

Ramen noodles aren’t exactly nutrient dense.  They are high in calories, carbohydrates, and sodium while devoid in vitamins.  In fact, some have a recommended days allowance of sodium intake in one serving.  I found these mostly in the soup based varieties.  However,  it can be remedied by adding less of the flavor packet or not drinking the broth.  I wouldn’t eat ramen every meal, but I eat it a couple of times a week.  Everything in moderation.  They are a great staple in the kitchen and a good platform for a meal.

A few ramen fan sites I like:

http://www.mattfischer.com/ramen/

http://www.ramenbox.com/order/home.php