7 Fun Facts about Ramen in Japan | Noodles Love!

You can find ramen restaurants all over the world. Ramen is one of the most popular Japanese cuisines in the form of noodles in delicious broth, filled with vegetables, meat, eggs, and sometimes with nori (seaweed). But here are some rarely-known facts about ramen!

#1 Ramen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word ‘Lamien’

Though the origin is debatable, the word did come from Chinese. The true history of this noodle is still unknown to this date. But it is widely believed that ramen was introduced by Chinese immigrants in the late 19th or early 20th century at Yokohama Chinatown.

#2 Ramen has four main flavors

The main difference between each Ramen type comes from the broth. Your broth options will usually fall into four categories according to its base flavor: shio (salt-based ramen), shoyu (soy sauce-based), miso (soybean paste-based), and tonkotsu (pork bone broth ramen).

#3 There are at least 19-30 different styles of Ramen in Japan

Broth is not the only differentiation. Each place has its own take on what broth to use, how much salt, the type of noodles, and their toppings, creating ramen specialities in different regions.

#4 The first type of noodle in Space

Invented by Momofuku Ando in 2005, the “Space Ram'' is a vacuum-packed ramen made with smaller noodles and a thicker broth. This space food was invented for Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi’s trip in the Discovery space shuttle. Ando also is the inventor of instant ramen, first chicken ramen in 1958 and then Cup Noodle in 1971.

#5 Has different shape and size of noodles

Thin, thick, wrinkled, straight, wavy, round, and flat – ramen noodles come in different shapes and sizes. And these changes affect the overall flavor.

#6 You can eat instant ramen noodle raw

Instant ramen noodles are actually not raw. They are cooked, either by boiling or steaming, and then dehydrated through either deep-frying or blow-drying. So yes, they are completely safe to eat out of the bag. Crush it, sprinkle the seasonings, shake the bag, then enjoy it!

#7 The right way to eat Ramen

Here are the things you should do when eating Ramen:

Speak your portion: if you can’t finish it, tell the chef, don’t take away the leftover;

If you want to take photo, do it quickly: enjoy the food while it’s hot;

Start with sipping the broth: it’s the most special part of ramen;

Eat fast: the noodle is being cooked by the hot broth, eat it fast so it’s not overcooked;

Slurp to cool: because it’s better to eat hot, slurp to cool;

Don’t talk while eating: respect the chef, enjoy the food!

How much do you like Ramen? Do you have any favorite Ramen type? Tell us in the comment section!