Posted on 01/21/2026 2:51:06 PM PST by SunkenCiv
The story of Momofuku Ando and how he invented instant ramen.
How an Ex-Prisoner Built a $7 Billion Ramen Empire | 12:07
Hungry History by Adjoga | 4.52K subscribers | 746,411 views | August 17, 2022
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
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Ah, Ramen noodles. They got me through my poor college days.
A week’s worth of salt in every cup.
(Only a slight exaggeration.)
Incidentally— in the tv advertisement for Cup Noodle, that is a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger— coming up in the world as a body builder.
Quite an inspiring story. He deserves his fortune.
Back in the 60s before insane government loans were available a lot of us kids in college had Ramen noodles as a staple food. 60 years later and extremely well retired I still eat it on occasion and it still tastes great. I never liked the cup Ramen as I hate eating out of plastic. I like the old brick Ramen that I put in a porcelain bowl add water and pop in the microwave.
When you can not buy Ramen Noodles in the 60s, you were truly broke. Time to go to a less broke student and ask for a few packs of Ramen. LOL about those times.
Oddly what was good about this time is without government loans tuition prices were relatively low compared to today in constant inflation adjusted dollars. By working on the drilling rigs for three months in the summer, and with no skills except a strong back (now history) I could make enough money to pay for two semesters tuition, room and board, or a cheap apartment and Ramen noodles. That today is impossible for a new graduate from high school. This was not by accident it was by plan. As the colleges and universities became dependent on the Federal Government to finance their students they became beholden to their Federal Masters.
PS
Those guys on the drilling rigs that hired us to work those summers were men of compassion. The hired us so we could become what we wanted to be and they were not. If we did not do our job well the would say, “pack your bag” which means you are on the next chopper or crew boat home and fired. Not a bad way to work was this.
I eat his noodles
Very cheap
Sometimes 25 cents a pack
Toss in tuna or canned salmon
Soy or teriyaki or hunan etc
Good to go
You can eat worse
I found out about ramen at a local supermarket chain — my first apartment, 5 for a buck sale, all bricks in those days. “Wow! That was great!” By #4 or 5, I was heartily sick of them. But I still like it once in a while. My fave is the Maruchan Roast Chicken flavor, much better than the regular chicken. My second favorite was the chicken & mushroom (pften doctored up with a can of mushrooms, I learned that one at the Escoffier School 😼) but alas, that’s no longer made.
Oh, I do prefer the styro cup versions.
“Born Go Pek-Hok on March 5, 1910”......
He has had a long time to hone his craft.
You may know it as Myanmar, but it will always be Ramen to me. :)
Couple of months ago I came up with Ramen spaghetti.
I brown a slab of ground beef and add spaghetti sauce.
I take two Ramen noodle paks and throw away the flavor packets.
When noodles are done I drain them and pour on the beef sauce.
Quick and tasty.
I checked around the larder and found a bunch of the Roast Chicken cups, only expired 11 months ago, so I’m eating one now. This would have been ideal for the tombs of the pharaohs.
RFK Jr is mortified.
https://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/en/yokohama/
I don’t recall if I’d been in there. Used to walk by it often enough. The concept for such a museum always cracked me up.
And can be dropped from a plane easily as it’s light and nearly indestructible.
You mean there’s a Ramen that’s NOT instant? Boil the noodles 4 minutes, drain, stir in the flavoring and eat? Does the non-instant one take six minutes?
Yes, they ended the republic and brough in a monarchy.
When my kids were little, Ramen noodles was one of the few things we didn’t have to fight them to eat.
“Ramen”...from another planet!
All these inmates in prisons...imagine how many soups could be made...
so basically he got out of jail and created a way to make money selling an addictive product that has no real nutritional value in the food section of stores. I don’t see how that is a great accomplishment, it harms people more than helps. Yes I had my ramen years as many people do, my health suffered for it until ending the habit.
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