Instant noodle
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Instant noodles are precooked dried noodles fused with oil, which can be prepared for consumption simply by adding boiling water and a flavor packet (usually containing an amount of monosodium glutamate) for short periods of time, usually for about 3 to 5 minutes. An alternative way to consume the product is to simply eat it "raw" from the packet. This is possible because the noodles are actually already cooked ― usually fried. To facilitate eating the brick of noodle, one could break the noodle into squarish chunks when the packet is unopen.
Today Indonesian people consume the largest amount of instant noodles per year with an average of 50 packs per national, followed by Japan with 42 and the People's Republic of China with 21. In terms of market volume, each year 27.7 billion packs are sold in China, 11.2 billion in Indonesia and 5.4 billion in Japanhttp://www.nissin-noodles.com/index_new.html.
History
The idea of instant noodles can be traced back to the Chinese Qing Dynasty, when yimian noodles were deep-fried to allow them to be stored for long periods and then prepared quickly. However, modern instant noodles were invented in Japan by Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin, one of the biggest manufacturers of instant noodles today. His noodles were boiled with flavouring, deep-fried with palm oil to remove moisture, and dried into a noodle cake. Other preservation methods have been tried, including preservation with salt and smoke, but Ando concluded that palm oil is the most efficient.In 1958, Nissin launched the world's first instant noodle product, Chikin Ramen (chicken-flavored instant ramen) in Tokyo. Another milestone was reached in 1971 when Nissin introduced the Cup Noodle, instant noodles in a waterproof styrofoam container that could be used to cook the noodles. Further innovations include adding dried vegetables to the cup, creating a complete instant soup dish.
According to a Japanese poll in the year 2000, instant noodles were the most important Japanese invention of the century. (Karaoke came second, with the compact disc only coming in fifth.) As of 2002, approximately 65 billion servings of instant noodles are eaten worldwide every year.
Instant noodles are not only popular with college students, they can also be an economic indicator. In 2005, the Mama Noodles Index was launched to reflect the sales of Mama noodles, the biggest manufacturer in Thailand. The index was steady since the recovery from the East Asian financial crisis, but sales jumped by around 15% in first seven months in 2005 on year-to-year basis, which was regarded as a sign of recession. People could not afford more expensive foods, hence the increase in the purchase of ramen.
Notes
See also
External links
- [Cooking with Nimmo - Video podcast and forums about Ramen/Instant Noodles]
- [An E-Fu Noodles Recipe]
- [Instant Ramen Home Page] (by the Japan Convenience Foods Industry Association)
- [Instant Noodle Production Lines]
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