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Our Founder – Momofuku Ando
- creativeone111 2y agoSurprisingly that was a great story.
- toomanyaccts 2y agoEver since reading “The Ramen King and I” I’ve been hoping/sporadically searching for a translation of Momofuku Ando’s book of quotes. Hard to even find mention of them… Edit: title is Momofuku Ando Speaks: Human beings are Noodle Beings. https://books.google.com/books/about/Momofuku_Ando_Speaks.html?id=mcG3XwAACAAJ https://books.google.com/books/about/Momofuku_Ando_Speaks.ht...
- CAPSLOCKSSTUCK 2y agoThat was awesome, especially the bit about the Asama-Sansō incident. Also made me instantly want some noodles . . . .
- thehoff 2y agoThe Cup of Noodles museum in Yokohama was well worth it (get there early if plan to go though, can get very busy).
- bobthepanda 2y agoEh, I had the opposite experience. It’s definitely very geared towards elementary school age children.
- astrange 2y agoThere were a lot of families there, but we did enjoy it as adults. Obviously no need to go a second time. My favorite part is that near the end, there's an American newspaper article on the wall that says Ando was once imprisoned for tax evasion before inventing instant noodles. This is mentioned exactly nowhere else in the museum.
- nox101 2y agoMy favorite part was the video that said Cup Noodles was invented when they tried to bring noodles to the USA and people in the USA didn't know what "cup" was. "丼？なにそれ？" in a super thick USA accent (lol). And thus they added the "cup" and "Cup Noodles was born" Note: Whether or not it's a true story, it was the movie playing at the cup noodle museum in Yokohama
- SatvikBeri 2y ago"What are chopsticks? What are bowls?" was in the subtitles I saw. I'm guessing it was a translation error, but the idea that Momofuku Ando introduced bowls to the US was pretty amusing.
- bitcoinmoney 2y agoIt was really worth it. But seeing these claims leaves a bad taste on my mouth. It did seem to good to be true.
- sdrothrock 2y agoThe best part of the museum is the chicken ramen factory, which you need to make a reservation for in advance. It is NOT the cup noodle factory. Cup noodle factory: no reservations, draw on your cup, specify what toppings to put in Chicken ramen factory: make ramen noodles from SCRATCH, send them off to be fried in front of you, draw the packaging It's really worth the price of admission (1000 yen, maybe $6 USD) for the experience of making ramen noodles from scratch
- wodenokoto 2y agoIf you’re in Kansai, you can take the Hankyuu Takarazuka line to Ikeda, near Momofuku Andos birthplace, where they have a noodle museum which not only has a noodle factory experience but also a recreation of his childhood home.
- sehyun 2y agoI didn't know that the Hankyuu Takarazuka line stretches across the Pacific Ocean! Maybe you meant to say Umeda Station (Osaka)?
- wodenokoto 2y agoI meant to say kansai (fixed), but I guess autocorrect had other plans.
- m4rtink 2y agoWent there & it was really nice. Can also recommend visiting the lookout & shrine above the town, a really nice view of Ikede and the whole Osaka aglomeration from up there. :)
- rwmj 2y agoAlso the asadora drama about the invention of noodles starring (unrelated) Sakura Ando: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manpuku https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manpuku
- lagniappe 2y agoThey come in a paper cup now, which is pretty awesome. Whoever came up with that idea, I applaud you.
- doytch 2y agoOh /that's/ where David Chang got the name Momofuku from...? Interesting!
- viiralvx 2y agoI was thinking the same thing!
- jfengel 2y agoYep. It also means "lucky peach", which has a lot of positive connotations in Japan. But the original ramen place name was a nod to the inventor.
- pezezin 2y agoNo, his name was 百福 which means "hundred fortunes". "Lucky peach" would be written as 桃福。 "Momo" can also mean "thigh", but then again that is a different character (腿/股). The most confusing part about languages influenced by Chinese, and the reason/excuse to keep using Chinese characters, is the high amount of homophones. Example for "momo": https://jisho.org/search/%E3%82%82%E3%82%82 https://jisho.org/search/%E3%82%82%E3%82%82
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- cnasc 2y agoI’d like to strongly recommend “Project X: Cup Noodle,” a business manga (who knew! Wish more of these were translated) covering the story of the creation of Cup Noodle. Maybe read it while enjoying the titular product.
- Dalewyn 2y agoCup Noodles (and more generally instant noodles) is easily one of the most important inventions ever. It's cheap, it's nutritious, it stores well (and easily), it ships easily (read: cheaply), and it prepares simply and quickly. Most importantly, it's delicious. I know of no other food that checks all these boxes and then some.
- grogenaut 2y agoCheese, Hard Tack, Jerkey, Pickles, Kimche, Beer, Salt Pork, Rum, Instant Soup, Pemican, Wine, Dried Beans, Honey, Grain, Potatoes, Tons of Canned foods lets say peaches, regular pasta, Nut butter... yeah I can think of a ton of them, and everything I listed is much more nutritious than instant noodles which basically has carbs, salt, potassium lots of fat, some protein.
- gaadd33 2y agoWhere can you get jerkey, wine or nut butter for less money than instant noodles? I'm not familiar with the pricing for everything listed, but if I can find those 3 for cup noodle prices, that would be awesome.
- inhumantsar 2y agounless you're eating a jar of nut butter in one sitting, I'm pretty sure it's going to be cheaper by far on a per serving basis.
- grogenaut 2y agoI'm not personally going for the cheapest most shelf stable food every as the core of my diet. Also nut butter does looks similar on micro nutrients, about an oz is very similar to a cup of noodles. maybe not as filling. I don't find cup o noodles all that filling though.
- grogenaut 2y agoI wasn't really going on price. Also note that you're at 48% daily sodium for 1 thing of nissan instant noodles which is 290 calories (1/6th daily intake of 1800) and 20% of nutritional value. I can get my own cider down to about $0.28/12 oz bottle. My point was more that there are many storable foods and have been for a long time that provide nutrition and variation. And other than the salt pork aren't loaded with salt. As spike said "man cannot live on carbohydrates alone" :) Also I personally feel like shit after eating cup o noodles even if they are good tasty and cheap.
- j7ake 2y agoNissin cup noodles (Japan version with nice toppings) are the only thing I eat on airplanes, even if I am flying business.
- gizajob 2y agoWhy? Do you take your own?
- j7ake 2y agoCathay Pacific and Singapore airlines usually has them in stock. You just ask. I bring my own otherwise.
- netsharc 2y agoI went on a bit of the Trans-Siberian rail. Chinese dried ramen are sold at the station shops, the trains have samovars (hot water dispensers), originally for tea, so it's perfect for ramen. I went to the "Top of Europe", a tourist trap at the Swiss glacier saddle of Jungfraujoch. There's a cafetaria up there, and by the cashier there's an empty ramen package (bowl-shape with its lid cellotaped on). I added 2 and 2 and laughed: it's for the Chinese tourists with the language barrier to point at and make the cashier understand, they want ramen...
- alliao 2y agoumami sensor on the plane hits different, must be due to altitude/pressure etc I usually love a sip of tomato juice/bloody mary on the plane but never hit the same once I'm on the ground
- aaron695 2y ago> Space Ram journeyed into space in July 2005 Nissin's Yakisoba U.F.O. (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=UFO+Nissin https://www.amazon.com/s?k=UFO+Nissin one of my favorites) have since have been certified for space. Not clear if Soichi Noguchi took it with him on his recent 2020 mission - https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/life/food-in-space/japanese-food/detail/001022.html https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/life/food-in-space/japane... You can't buy them :( Instructions on how they are made - https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/30167/how-was-space-ram-instant-ramen-noodles-prepared-and-eaten-on-the-space-shut https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/30167/how-was-spac...
- uzyn 2y agoThe homepage comes with a nice video on the invention of ramen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNbb9qixsRQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNbb9qixsRQ (Turn on the subtitles)
- parker-3461 2y agoThe best flavour is the Curry Cup Noodles
- gwervc 2y agoMy favorites are Cheese curry, and Tomato chili. Somehow last time I see in Japan there was alternative versions a little more expensive but it don't know the real difference besides price.
- nogajun 2y agoIt is a lie that Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen. The history of instant ramen as presented by Nissin must be questioned. In Taiwan, there was Ke-shi-men (雞絲麵), in which the noodles were fried in oil and then returned to hot water. Before the introduction of Chicken Ramen, Choju-men (長寿麺) was introduced by Cho Kokubun (張國文) and was widely known. Momofuku Ando is a businessman who exploits these things, crushes his opponents with lawsuits, and simply advertises that he invented them. Reference: 東明商行の張国文と「長寿麺」の立志伝: https://nobunaga-oda.com/tyou-kokubun/ https://nobunaga-oda.com/tyou-kokubun/ NHK『まんぷく』チキンラーメンは本当に「発明」なのか | ハフポスト PROJECT: https://www.huffingtonpost.jp/entry/nhkmanpukuchikinramenwahontonihatsumeinanoka_jp_5c631df3e4b0747349b61f4e https://www.huffingtonpost.jp/entry/nhkmanpukuchikinramenwah... 『まんぷく』安藤百福の即席麺「発明は嘘」と異論噴出 | Smart FLASH/スマフラ[光文社週刊誌]: https://smart-flash.jp/lifemoney/63928/1/1/ https://smart-flash.jp/lifemoney/63928/1/1/
- chaostheory 2y agoMaybe it’s related that Momofuku Ando and his family were Taiwanese immigrants?
- whamlastxmas 2y agoHumans have been dehydrating food for at least 12,000 years. I think it’s pretty unlikely that that he was the first to do in that fashion in 1958. I agree.
- aviraldg 2y agoReminds me of one of my favourite ads, Nissin's 'Samurai Noodles "The Originator"': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNbb9qixsRQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNbb9qixsRQ
- thucydides 2y agocool story but: ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), PALM OIL, SALT, DRIED CARROT FLAKE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, CITRIC ACID, CONCENTRATED GREEN CABBAGE JUICE, DEXTROSE, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM SUCCINATE, DRIED CORN, DRIED PARSLEY, EGG WHITE, GARLIC POWDER, HYDROLYZED CORN PROTEIN, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, LACTOSE, MALTODEXTRIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ONION POWDER, POTASSIUM CARBONATE, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, POWDERED CHICKEN, RENDERED CHICKEN FAT, SILICON DIOXIDE, SODIUM ALGINATE, SODIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, SOYBEAN, SPICE AND COLOR, SUGAR, TBHQ (PRESERVATIVE), WHEAT. yum!
- saagarjha 2y agoWhich part of that is disagreeable to you?
- user_7832 2y agoPalm oil, for starters. I really dislike the taste, and it's terrible for the planet too.
- whamlastxmas 2y agoThe only thing that bothers me personally is the all caps :)
- layer8 2y agoI always wonder how those products have lactose in them, given that allegedly most East-Asians are lactose-intolerant.
- chaostheory 2y agoMomofuku Ando was born as Go Pek-Hok and his family was originally from Taiwan. Ando and Nissin are a prime example of why immigration is so important to a country’s business sector. Immigrants are 60-80% more likely to start businesses. This is due to various factors. While discrimination and lack of opportunity might be a factor, it’s more likely because immigrants tend to be less risk averse as a group. Why? There’s no definitive answer. What we do know is that historically, even in times of famine or war, only 20% or less of a country’s population leave which is seen as risky behavior. https://hbr.org/2021/08/research-why-immigrants-are-more-likely-to-become-entrepreneurs https://hbr.org/2021/08/research-why-immigrants-are-more-lik... https://www.immigration.ca/study-explains-why-immigrants-are-more-likely-to-become-entrepreneurs/ https://www.immigration.ca/study-explains-why-immigrants-are...
- brandall10 2y ago"Why? There’s no definitive answer." I'd argue act of immigrating itself is risky behavior, so naturally that would be a less risk averse group.
- steve1977 2y agoI wonder how much of that is reflected in the differences between the USA and for example Europe (where the USA for a long time was mostly European immigrants)
- whyenot 2y agoBoth this biography and his page on Wikipedia skip over the war years. I wish there were more information about this time. He grew up under Japanese rule. Was he conscripted into their armed forces? How were the people of Taiwan treated by the Japanese during WWII?
- CodeArtisan 2y agoThe Japanese wikipedia page talks about it: He was imprisoned and tortured. The main source material is the book Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando (ISBN-10: 1499807031).
- maxglute 2y agoI'm a big fan of JP fare, but I am consistently underwhelmed by popular JP ramen brands vs SKR/PRC/TW ramen. They clearly put a lot of effort in their instant noodles, but apart from their more korean/chinese/thai leaning flavours, most I've tried have been very mid.