Why is Ramen so Popular in the US?
 

Ramen is so much more popular in the US than udon or soba, but in Japan, it seems to be just the opposite. It never occurred to me before, but now I really wonder why. Any thoughts?

Ramen is cheap, and I imagine more well known.

My mom gave it to us as kids, and it was cheap and easily accessible poor college kid/newlywed food.

I don't remember noticing udon based soups (not that I was looking hard) until the late 80's....and it was something you made a trek to chinatown for.

Now you can buy it at Safeway ... but Ramen was at Safeway long before Udon was.

If you're talking about instant ramen, it's popular and widely available in every country I've been to. It's not a US thing at all.

I don't know what part of Japan you're talking about, but eating ramen is a cult there.

So true, you have japanese chefs taking culinary classes for many years, and many of them have yet to perfect the "perfect" broth.

I would guess that ramen outsells soba and udon in Japan too - particularly when it comes to packets sold in supermarkets and "just add hot water" containers in convenience stores.

Having said that, I know there's a dearth of good udon and soba outside Japan. I only know one place in London where I can get decent udon.

I am reminded of this movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/

+ 1 - so true

I have taken a trip to Yokohama just to go to the Ramen Museum (didn't eat breakfast so that I can have three servings of three different types of ramen)

Just discovered the "Instant Ramen Museum" in Osaka, plan to go there in the next couple of months.

My uncle owned a ramen shop in Saitama, he said he had a customer who would travel from Ginza to his little shop because he did the soup right.

Growing up in Canada, my impression of ramen was "Mr. Noodle" (Chicken flavor) or Ichiban Instant Noodle but after discovering the "real" thing, it doesn't compare. After saying that, when I go back to YVR, I do like my "Mr Noodle" Instant Ramen but to consider that to be the ramen the Japanese like, is really off the mark.

Indeed, good ramen from a ramen shop is something completely different from packaged ramen. Although they both fill a need, and both bring back good memories...

I love that movie -- so bizarre and delightfully Japanese :).

I think that Ramen is much more "in" in Japan right now. People definitely obsess over Ramen -- and it's many different variations. Udon & Soba are widely available (and there are many places that specialize in it) in Japan. However, ramen places have much more of a cult following.

As to why it's more popular in the US than Soba or Udon? My personal take is that Soba & Udon are much more delicate dishes -- and more difficult to make truly spectacular. IMO average Ramen is tastier than average Udon or Soba. However, excellent soba beats the pants off any bowl of ramen for me in Japan :)

+7

You have to go somewhere like Takamatsu in Shikoku to find the udon religion outstripping the home grown ramen cults but as an udon and soba enthusiast who is married to a locally born ramen lover, here in Tokyo there is no sign at all of udon and soba shops (even combined) outnumbering ramen ya.

In the last week I've been here there have been numerous TV programs focusing on the joys of ramen with the styles of different ramen shops being investigated and discussed in detail and their offerings consumed with lots of appreciative noises and lip smacking by panels of celebrities.
Udon and soba are enjoyed in a much more sober fashion.

What you will find is that most ladies will never drink a full bowl of ramen broth but they may down the lighter dashi based broth from a bowl of soba or udon.

The udon and soba you can buy for home consumption in Japan does approximate all but the very best handcrafted restaurant noodles.
For Ramen you HAVE to eat out as there is no instant or refrigerated version that comes close to your average ramen shop noodles. Perhaps this is the main reason that ramen joints are so very very popular.

Totally agree. Who among us wasn't, at some point, on a steady diet of ramen noodles in college or when we were just starting out on our own? ;) Best bargain in the grocery store! Well, except for the sodium level! :D

If you like spicy ramen, Koreans have perfected that area. Just goto Amazon and type Nongshim ramen for some kick!

Instant noodles is a staple in places like Indonesia..... the key driver in this case is the price.

Ahh...the joys of Ramen. I can't say that I am a huge fan though it is good on a cold day and can be delicious. Though I like pho more.

I was visiting friends in Northern Japan and they insisted I had to go to the best ramen shop in the country. We go to this little hole in the wall. It maybe sat 10-15 people but it was packed. To my friends, it was awesome. To me, it was just ramen. With that said, I do have a couple of instant packages in my pantry just in case I run out of other food at the end of the month.

In another post (that I am too lazy to look up), I commented on how Ramen (with additional ingredients) can be surprisingly filling and healthy.

Add canned veggies, beans (bagged), poached eggs, salt, pepper, garlic, any kind of meat, etc. and Ramen can be a decent (and cheap) meal.

OP are you referring to the cheap supermarket Ramen or the "Totto Ramen-line down the block-$16 for noodles and broth" types of restaurants in Manhattan?

I live close to the OP and I don't particlularly see it at all. If anything my-extra US asia experience has Ramen/instant noodles more popular. No use airline would ever serve them; they are a relatively common inflight snack elsewhere.

It is what your pilots lived on when they were flight instructors building their hours. They probably still eat it every now and then. It is hard to get out of your system.

japan has ramen restaurants

instant ramen is a global commercial thing
http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/07008/752108-34.stm

In the US probably half of the adult population would have succumbed to famine in their early 20's but for the existence of instant Ramen available @ 5 packs for a Dollar :D (8 packs for a Dollar if you shop around). Instant Udon costs over Dollar for just a single serving. I was at least 25 y/o before I could afford such extravagance and even then it was hard to justify when I could get a pack of Ramen for $0.13.:D

What other 'meal' can you get in America for $.013?

Interesting. I didn't know the US interpreted 'ramen' as the cheap supermarket stuff. I always thought of those as just instant noodles.

I betcha' 95% of the US population would equate "Ramen" only with cheap packs of instant noodles and would be completely unable to associate the word with any thing else.

Maybe when we were in college and trying to scrape by on Saturday night before your last quarters ran out and you couldn't get to the bank for more cash until Monday because you didn't have an ATM card (or there was no cash in the bank to even withdraw). Nowadays, the early 20-something's chic Japanese meal of choice would be sushi conveniently charged to a credit card.

Unless you frequent the right neighborhoods of large urban areas, the only Ramen you'll see is the cheap supermarket stuff.

<Sheepishly raising hand> :o

Although I have taken a better liking to Yakisoba lately.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

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I suspect you are right, though I am having the real deal tonight from a pop up restaurant in my 'hood. I'm loving that the real thing is becoming more and more popular in the cities.

Where is this pop-up? I want some. :-)

Quick, Cheap & Readily Available.
 

In the US where everyone always seems to be in a big rush, packaged instant ramen is a very quick way to eat. Readily available in most food stores, it is a cheap alternative for a meal. Small and easy to travel with.

I buy a case every couple weeks for my employes. It seems to disappear.
The key thing for us is that the water cooler dispenses boiling water and I hire college students mostly.
:p

It's bad for you and tastes good, why wouldn't that be popular in the U.S.?

Here in US, abundance of college students still manage to survive on a solid diet of ramen noodles, cold cereal and beer to wash it all down.

Is ramen a less handy version of the British 'Pot Noodle'? I've never had ramen but it sounds like it (at least the supermarket option).

When I think of supermarket ramen, this is what comes to mind. I've never had British "Pot Noodles", so I can't say if they are less handy or not.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Ah, so they do come in their own bowl - when I googled they seemed to be in a plastic packet (no bowl). Same idea as a pot noodle then, self contained, just add hot water.

the british 'pot noodle' is a direct copy of cup noodle ramyun.

Cheap student food indeed is a rather common US association for Ramen noodles.

Disagree
 

it's an assumption of innocent ignorance. by and large, the majority of the population couldn't tell you the difference between ramen, soba and udon - and, probably, collectively calls all asian noodles "ramen".

add to the fact that many of us in the states have grown up eating "Top Ramen" at some point or another and Ramen has kind of become an accepted term for asian style noodles.

even so, without digressing too much, i would probably disagree with your assumption that udon and soba are more popular in Japan. IMO, Ramen is pretty popular and generally more available than soba or udon. Haven't seen too many places that just serve soba or just udon, but many places just serve Ramen. Check out these blogs:

http://www.bento.com/rev/tokyoramen.html

http://www.ramenadventures.com/

Yes, well except for the plastic packet version, that is. ;)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Ramen come in both bowl and plastic packet versions at U.S. supermarkets as well.

In Asia, particularly in Taiwan, the bowl version tends to be more expensive, and sometimes more "luxurious", than the plastic packet one.

I would think so that ramen acts like an umbrella/blanket term for Americans for a variety of Asian style noodles.

When I first came to the States for study, I had to look up the dictionary and asked around what Americans meant for "ramen." Americans' ramen is different from what I know about Asia noodles, including Cantonese, Chinese, Japanese & Taiwanese styles, that I grow up with. ;)