A few months ago in the United States there was a small crisis when a future version of the popular microwave-friendly Cup Noodles was announced. “But until now it couldn’t be done?” was the scary message from thousands of consumers. The anecdote and the media hype give an idea of ??the importance that this product has in the country, the sixth largest consumer of instant noodles in the world, behind Japan. But it is in the Japanese country where in 1958 Momofuku Ando invented this food, so elemental in the culinary history of Japan that it even has several museums dedicated to it. We have visited Yokohama, on the outskirts of Tokyo, to discover its history.
On Saturday morning and even before the CupNoddles Museum opens its doors, many families are already queuing. In a perfectly orderly manner and with several people making sure that only one person per group stays in line to get the ticket (500 yen, about 3 euros) and the rest wait in a designated area. Logistics and well-made lines are something that is very popular in Japan.
A museum dedicated to ramen? Actually, instant noodles, because relatively nearby, also in Yokohama, there is a more generic one about ramen. Which, by the way, is worth a visit, because it brings together different food stalls where you can try the different styles of this soup originally from China but which has become one of the most popular dishes in Japanese cuisine, inside and outside the country. .
But returning to the CupNoddles Museum, in reality the one in Yokohama is the second in the country after the one in Ikeda (Osaka) which opened its doors in 1999. Momofuku Ando was a native of there and instant noodles were invented in this city. Both museums have been built by Nissin, the company that Ando founded and whose image is a constant throughout the four floors that the Yokohama building occupies.
Seen from the outside, the relevance of the character and his invention may be surprising. But what for us is a cheap product, of not very good quality – especially when comparing those in the supermarket with those sold in Japan – and without cultural ties to our diet, in Asia it plays a key role in the history of feeding. In fact, there are studies that claim that for the Japanese population, modern instant ramen is the greatest invention of the century.
Surely this is a better way to understand the enthusiasm with which, throughout the historical tour that the museum proposes through instant noodle containers, fathers and mothers point out some containers to their children and surely explain to them the anecdotes of when they ate them as children. That is why the first package of instant chicken noodles from 1958 and its iconography and colors are a constant in the museum and also in the restaurant area, where a long line certifies the success of the ramen that recalls that original flavor.
But how did Ando invent this product? A video of about 15 minutes, very aimed at the little ones, narrates the adventures of the character. Obviously, at least in the English subtitles, details that are worth knowing to contextualize the discovery a little. In times of post-war and hunger, Momofuku Ando aims to create a simple and economical format so that everyone could prepare ramen, the video explains.
And he achieved this by frying the noodles, which allows them to be dried and then regenerated with hot water. A magnificent invention whose essence is maintained, although in reality in China a similar system had already been used for centuries to preserve dry pasta.
Ando, ??however, managed to industrialize the process, using frying with palm oil. This ingredient, which may not have such a bad reputation there, and the role of MSG (monosodium glutamate, another great Japanese invention) in giving flavor and umami to the broth of instant noodles are also nowhere to be found.
A reproduction of Ando’s humble house where he invented modern instant noodles is another stage of the visit, which also includes a statue, press clippings and even a photocall in which founder Nissin encourages never to give up. Indeed, all very Japanese.
In fact, in 1971, ready to bring his invention to the United States, he created his company’s most iconic product: noodles in a glass. Said like that, it sounds less glamorous than Cup Noodles, but the key to this format was to eliminate the dish from the equation and turn that soup into something that could be served on planes, trains, hotel rooms…
A kettle was all that was needed after he had the brilliant idea of ??packaging his noodles in this paper cup. Which, as we saw at the beginning, more than 50 years later, is still not compatible with the microwave, although many people did not know it.
In the last years of his life, Mr Noodles – as The New York Times baptized him when he died at the age of 96 – invented the so-called “space ramen”, instant noodles designed for traveling to space. Something that in 2005 the Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi would make a reality.
Throughout the visit there is also a play space for the little ones, you can personalize a Cup Noodles jar – with prior registration – and, if there is time, you can even participate in a workshop making instant noodles.
Of course, you have to go through the souvenir shop which is accessible without entering the museum. It is worth it not for the t-shirts, keychains or dolls, but for the packs of instant ramen they sell, with different varieties and which, tested back home, have nothing to do with the majority of those sold here, neither for the quality of the noodles nor for the flavor of the broth. For that reason alone, it is worth going to Yokohama one morning, paying our respects to Mr. Ando, ??trying an original ramen and returning home loaded.
