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 Japan.
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 flavoring, 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.
Instant Taiwanese beef noodle soup in Styrofoam bowl with (opened) airtight pouch of meat.
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.
CUP NOODLES
Cup Noodles (or Cup o' Noodles) are a type of instant-noodle, ramen snack in a styrofoam or hard plastic cup. It was invented in 1971 by a Japanese food company, Nissin. Generally prepared for meals on-the-go, cup noodles contain a pre-cooked (fried) slab of noodles that only requires the addition of hot water and sometimes the addition of flavour packets. Cooking time varies but is usually around 3 minutes. Better results are yielded when boiling water is added to the Cup Noodle instead of adding cold water to the Cup Noodle followed by cooking in the microwave.
Cup Noodles come in a variety of flavors, currently numbering 15. Common flavors include shrimp, chicken, and beef. New additions to the lineup include spicy picante flavors and a spicy cheese variant.
- Cup Noodle is also a specific brand of cup noodles.
- Maruchan is a well-known producer of cup noodles.
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