The Japanese Cooking Technique That Inspired The Creation Of Instant Ramen

A warm bowl of ramen with the perfect seasoning can soothe even the most tiring of days. The dish, whose modern version was accidentally created in part with the help of the U.S. Navy, has become a global favorite for anyone looking for quick comfort and taste. This instant version of the Chinese dish was inspired by the Japanese cooking technique of tempura. For those who aren't in the know, tempura is the process of frying seafood or vegetables coated in batter until crispy — a crucial step to keep the ramen fresh and shelf-stable.

But beyond this cultural exchange, there's another layer of history to the origins of instant ramen. Unlike what most people think, tempura is not a Japanese invention. It was brought to Japan by the Portuguese in the 16th century and eventually became deeply ingrained in Japanese cuisine. This method, woven through the threads of different cultures, eventually led to the birth of instant ramen noodles.

As the story goes, tempura was the breakthrough that allowed Momofuku Ando, the inventor of Cup Noodles, to create the first commercially available prepackaged instant noodles. Following World War II, food shortages in Japan led to a thriving black market for essential staples, including ramen. The situation made Ando think hard about a way to create a food that would be easily available, affordable, shelf-stable, and quick to prepare. After almost a year of experimenting with different ways to make instant ramen, Ando came up with the genius idea of using tempura to create instant ramen.

Momofuku Ando's quest was not an easy one, but he was relentless in his pursuit to create noodles that could be made by families whenever they needed just by adding hot water. He created a laboratory in his backyard for the purpose, even though he had no experience making noodles from scratch, much less drying them into a shelf-stable form. Days turned into a year, but Ando seemed to be making no progress until one day he saw his wife, Masako, preparing fried tempura. That was the precise moment when Ando had his breakthrough. He realized that hot oil led to the complete removal of moisture from food and also made it more flavorful. He used this flash-frying technique to completely dehydrate ramen, creating the Cup Noodles we all know and love today.

For his first version of Cup Noodles, Ando needed the right seasoning that would resonate not only with Asians but also with Westerners. So he ruled out soy sauce. Instead, Ando tried to aim for the flavors of chicken soup, which he felt had more global appeal. This combination eventually became chicken ramen, which was produced and distributed by Nissin Foods as the world's first instant ramen. But the first instant ramen wasn't affordable. It is actually one of the false facts about ramen you might have thought was true. The first instant ramen was priced at about seven times the cost of fresh noodles and initially failed to be of any use to the working class, the very purpose it was invented. Nonetheless, it was an instant hit in Japan. The production was streamlined, the price dropped, and many more flavors and types of instant noodles were invented. Instant ramen even went on to be voted Japan's best invention of the 20th century.