The Chinese Origins of Ramen: How It Arrived in Japan
Ramen is widely known imported from China to Japan, ramen-noodle shops first sprang to popularity in both countries in the early 1900s, and the noodles were actually called “Chinese soba” noodes in Japan up until the 1950s. A large number of overseas Chinese to settle in the three major ports – Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki, thus forming Chinatown and provides a cheap and quickly choice for the poor working class. It was Chinese workers selling meals from food carts who likely first introduced the Japanese to the wheat-based noodles.
The Post-War Ramen Boom in Japan
But ramen’s popularity in Japan skyrocketed after the Second Sino-Japanese war, when Japanese troops returned home from China with a new appreciation for Chinese cuisine.At that time, it is said that the Japanese called it “Dragon Noodle”, which means that the dragon (Chinese) eats noodles.The term ramen was first introduced in the Taisho era. In 1918, it was said that the earliest appearance was Yokohama. The first thing that is popular with ramen is in Tokyo. The earliest ramen house was the Lai Lai in the Asakusa in Tokyo in the Meiji 43 years. This store has started the traditional Japanese-style soup which has bonito and kelp broth mixed with pork bone or chicken bone soup to became a Tokyo-style soy sauce ramen.
Ramen Transforms from Street Food to Gourmet Cuisine
Over time, ramen is not cheap and easy food anymore. After continuous research and re-creation by the Japanese, it has becomed popular and well-known gourmet. It has been said that in the 1990’s, ramen houses were popping up all over Japan and quickly became must-go destinations for the commuter and the traveller. While it’s hard to say with 100% accuracy, it’s probably not too far fetched to say that ramen was a dish invented in China, but made trendy in Japan. And there’s certainly no doubt that Japanese restaurants have really made the dish their own since being introduced to it. Ramen is now clearly an international dish with multi-country followers. The ramen was not only carried forward by the Japanese, but its influence expanded to the whole world.
FROM HAND-CRAFTED DISH TO INSTANT NOODLE
Since history says that ramen noodles solve the characteristics of hunger in a timely manner, the instant noodles invented by ordinary noodles. The instant noodle created by Taiwanese Ando Baifu are a revolutionary breakthrough in the noodle. Ando Baifu chose to continue to be an emperor after the war and stay in Japan for development. In his own backyard, he thought about how to make the ramen easy to preserve, and it can be eaten immediately. Later, through the frying method, the water in the noodles is eliminated, making it not easy to rot. When you add hot water, the water will pass through the small holes in the noodles, so that the dried noodles will soften again.
Ando Baifu speeds up the meal and changes the way people eat. According to the statistics of 2010, the world sells one billion packets of instant noodles every year, which is faster than McDonald’s and sells better.
