Emily Chan
Whenever you’re in need of a quick and easy meal, a bowl of ramen is the thing to turn to. Ramen is also endlessly customizable, which makes it suitable for a wide variety of palates. There are beef, chicken, seafood, and even vegetarian versions.
The noodle soup is very popular in America, but as often as we slurp up a bowl, we rarely think about where ramen came from. So, let’s recount the history of ramen for no purpose other than to make your next batch of noodles taste even more delicious.
Ramen is known as a Japanese dish, but its roots can be traced back to around 400 CE when Chinese immigrants arrived in Japan.
They introduced wheat noodles to Japan, known as “shina soba,” a term that refers to any noodles found in Japan at the time.
Eventually, the term was replaced by “ramen,” which most likely came about from the Chinese word “lamian,” a type of hand-pulled noodle.
After World War Two, Japan was suffering from food shortages. Street food vendors were banned in order to conserve rations. The working class needed something cheap and filling to keep them going, and ramen was the best solution.
However, ramen was usually purchased from food stalls, so after they were outlawed, the only way to access ramen was through the black market.
Even though ramen was basically prohibited during the period right after the war, America’s presence in Japan helped make ramen more popular and accessible.
During the post-war food shortages, America sent wheat to Japan, partly to help feed the hungry and partly because they were worried about Japan turning to communism. By providing Japan with imported wheat, America made sure that its relationship with the East Asian country stayed strong.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
