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By Ivy Guo
Most people get instant noodles for convenience, but I get instant noodles for nostalgia. In ninth grade, I attended a private boarding school in the mountain town of Charlottesville, Virginia. Surrounded by wilderness in the middle of nowhere America, I had no chance of getting authentic Chinese food, like I grew up with. Sandwiches and grilled chicken served at the dining hall filled my stomach but left me craving grandma’s homemade recipes. With no cookware allowed in the dorm, instant noodles were the closest I could get to the taste of Asia. That year, I became the gastronome of ramen.
Instant ramen noodles was invented by Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin Foods, in 1958 (Errington et al. 2). The industrialization of instant noodles transformed it into a worldwide food that accommodated modern people’s need for fast and cheap meals. According to The World Instant Noodles Association, around 95.39 billion servings of instant noodles were sold in 2010 around the world (Errington et al. 1). Depending on your location, instant noodles can vary in taste and social status.
Hot and spicy cup noodles, June 20, 2023, by Ivy Guo
Spicy breakfast I had in my hometown Xi’an, December 21, 2022, by Ivy Guo
I’ve tried a variety of instant noodles from different countries. While there are many Chinese instant noodles in the markets, my go-to is actually a kimchi flavor noodle from Korea. Its unique bold and spicy flavor resembles the familiar tastes of my hometown in the Shaanxi province. (With a broad territory and complex demography, China has a wide variety of cuisines and food traditions. People living in the Eastern coastal areas like Shanghai have a “sweet tooth,” while people from the Northwestern area, like my hometown Xi’an, prefer spicy and sour food (Song).) Like all other instant noodles, this kimchi ramen is simply made up of dry noodles and a bag of seasoning powder.
But the secret lies in the ingredients of this “magic powder.” Sip the soup. The Kimchi and chili powder will first give you a spicy kick. But as the savory soup reaches the end of your tongue, you will experience a flavor explosion of beef broth, garlic, ginger, leek, mushrooms, and many more flavor essences. This packaged soup makes me doubt the reality that it did, indeed, come from a pack of powder. As the dominating flavors, the sourness of kimchi and the spiciness of chili flakes warm my body and bring me back to the dishes of my hometown.
Just like its taste, the social definitions of instant noodles manifested differently across the world. The social status of ramyeon in Korea, for example, diverged from the original idea of pure “instant food.” When instant noodles were first introduced in Korea, it was consumed as a substitution for people who were too poor to buy rice (Han). But now, according to Han, “Koreans from all different socioeconomic backgrounds have eaten the same instant ramyeon, which leaves little room for assigning class distinctions.” Ramyeon has become a delicacy and a dominating food industry in Korea.
Just as it is with Koreans, instant noodles means more than just a processed food to me. Instead, the magic way of serving instant noodles fascinates me. By just pouring hot water, and earnestly waiting for five minutes, you can get a bowl of steaming noodle soup that warms both your body and your heart. It always brings me back to the words of my grandmother, “Don’t touch the leftovers! I’ll cook something hot for you. It’s good for your immune system.” When I open the lid of a cup of hot instant noodles, it is like my grandma placing a bowl of noodles that is freshly out of her pot in front of me.
Instant noodles supported me throughout my high school years and continues to lift me up in college. It doesn’t just satisfy my craving for home flavors but also creates a bridge to my family and culture. Whenever I feel depressed or homesick, I would make myself a bowl of hot instant noodles. Because I know, the secret spicy of this bowl is home.
Japanese instant noodles I had in my high school years, April 11, 2020, by Ivy Guo
Work Cited
Errington, Frederick, et al. The Noodle Narratives: The Global Rise of an Industrial Food into the Twenty-First Century. 1 st ed., Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.umich.edu/10.1525/9780520956674.
Guo, Ivy. Spicy breakfast in Xi’an. 21 Dec. 2022. Author’s personal collection.
Guo, Ivy. Japanese Instant Noodles. 11 Apr. 2020. Author’s personal collection.
Guo, Ivy. Hot and Spicy Cup Noodles. 20 June. 2023. Author’s personal collection.
Han, Kyung-Koo. “Noodle Odyssey: East Asia and Beyond.” Korea Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, Seoul: Korean National Commission for Unesco, pp. 60-84,
doi:10.25024/kj.2010.50.1.60.
Song, Candice. “The Top 10 Shanghai Dishes You Must Eat.” China Highlights, 14 Aug. 2023, www.chinahighlights.com/shanghai/food-restaurant.htm.
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