Ramen noodle soup is the first thing I ever cooked by myself. I dropped frozen peas and hot dog slices into boiling water and then added instant ramen and the salty spice pack.
My brothers and I slurped the whole thing down while watching Little House on the Prarie re-runs. You gotta start somewhere, right?
Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen noodles, died last week at the age of 96. As the US struggles with childhood obesity and too much industrialized food, we're still stopping for a shout-out to Momofuku -- the man, not the Manhattan noodle bar -- because for me and many new cooks, his invention gave us the confidence and curiosity to start cooking.
Unlike Hot Pockets or Easy Mac, instant ramen leaves a little room for the imagination. An editor at The Fresno Bee mentions a college friend "who also kept a small chile pepper plant in a pot on his dorm room. If memory serves, they were pequin peppers, tiny and fiery hot. We'd pluck a few to stir into the boiled noodles."
I experimented too, adding soy sauce instead of the contents of the little silver pack. Soon, I was on to cooking with water chestnuts (an odd obsession!), then baking bread, and on and on.
His invention is, as The New York Times said in their Appreciation, "a dish of effortless purity. Like the egg, or tea, they attain a state of grace through a marriage with nothing but hot water."
Knowing that one man invented instant ramen and turned his idea into Nissin, a company that sent 46.3 billion packs and cups around the world last year while earning $131 million in profits, is comforting too. It sends me looking for the next food visionary. We need someone who will overcome industrial food scientists, anxious marketers, exacting retailers and everyone else with a hand in today's freaky food chain.
Where will the next tasty, simple, and hopefully healthy food that will invite more people to cook come from?
when i was in college and ate these all the time, i always added an egg. with my case of ramen noodles, my cartons of eggs, and assorted frozen vegies (whatever was on sale but i remember that frozen peas, frozen corn, frozen broccoli put in regular appearances), i was well fed & frugal!
I've "graduated" to Thai Kitchen Instant Rice Noodle Soups - adding shiitakes, chili paste, miso paste, baked tofu and scallions. (I only use 2/3 of the noodles tho) It's a great 10-minute meal for one!
Though I ate quite a bit of ramen in university (a Korean brand, and with an egg added), it reminds me most of my high school days. It was nightly ritual I'd share with my dad, making ramen at midnight after finishing homework, tossing in dinner leftovers for flavour.
While I do my best to avoid eating them now (waaay too much sodium), ramen made up a large part of my diet in college. They were always perfect for Sundays when the dorm cafeterias were closed.
I prefered to get ramen from the local Asian grocery store. Their ramen came in all sorts of cool flavors like Peking Duck, Tom Yum, and Mi Goreng. They also came with lots of little seasoning and oil packets for a more complex flavor.
I love ramen, ate a lot of it in school. Now I only ever have it if I am feeling nostalgic and happen to see it in the stores.
Still taste Good!!!
chris---
your memories of eating ramen after school while watching Little House is so right on with my childhood experience! that cracks me up!! i made mine with green onions, eggs, and spam.
The childhood detail that Chris fails to mention is that he also ate the noodles UNCOOKED when he was in elementary school. That was until our mother banned them for a brief period in the late eighties due to excessive crumbs that inevitably got all over everywhere from gnawing on the brick of salty carbs.
Aw memories .....
That's right, redshoz. We used to eat them raw right out of the wrapper. They're so good that way!