It is the age of internet and instant noodles. If there’s nothing at home to eat, a quick trip to a store for a packet or two of instant noodles will solve the problem and can leave one sated. But the history behind one of the top existing brands—and a favourite among many—Top Ramen or instant noodles itself is a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t created for a bunch of hungry teenagers. It was, in fact, created to divert a major food shortage crisis in Japan.
Image courtesy: YouTube and Great Big Story
Great Big Story helped us better understand the origin of instant noodles and it is inspiring!
At the end of World War II, the US supplied the Japanese with wheat flour as they battled food shortage and encouraged them to bake bread. But in the land of noodles, would a western staple work? Momofuku Ando thought not.
Ando set out to create non-perishable noodles that would maintain the flavour that the Japanese were used to. One night, after nearly a year of unconvincing attempts, while his wife was cooking dinner, Ando threw some noodles into a bowl of hot oil. And voilà! He had his answer! Flash frying the noodles dehydrated them and the tiny perforations that were created ensured that the noodles cook in no time!
He introduced packaged instant noodles in the 1950s and cup noodles in 1978, and we’ve all been happy since. Haven’t we?
