Food Pacific Manufacturing Journal

IF we抮e talking about convenience, how can we not bring up instant noodles? There are least two generations of Asians who have not known what life would be like without these tight, curly noodles that can be transformed into comfort food in just three minutes. Yes, comfort as much as convenience. Google 'blogs dedicated to ramen' and you get 2.8 million results. Two of the most populous nations are tops in terms of instant noodle consumption: China led the with 50 billion servings, and Indonesia second with 15 billion servings, according to the World Instant Noodles Association market stats for 2007. Indonesia is also the world抯 leading producer of instant noodles, and its halal 慖ndomie' brand is found in many Muslim countries. Instant noodles have evolved since Momofuku Ando came up with the first prototype in 1958. Back then Mr Ando抯 detractors said his idea would never work, but they soon had to swallow their words and probably ended up eating Nissin ramen to boot. Today instant noodles are produced not only in Asia but also in Brazil, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. Flavours have been tweaked to suit palates of local consumers - anything from l醡en cremoso (creamy ramen) for Brazilians, toyomansi (soy sauce with calamansi) in the Philippines, and sopa azteca (a blend of tomato, chilli and tortilla flavours) in Mexico. Most ramen are still flavoured with a chicken stock as in the original 'Chiken Ramen' from Nissin. In his autobiography, The Story of the Invention of Instant Ramen, Mr Ando notes, "By using chicken soup, instant ramen managed to circumvent religious taboos when it was introduced in different countries... Hindus may not eat beef and Muslims may not eat pork, but there is not a single culture, religion or country that forbids the eating of chicken." Ramen has also become an economic barometer. The 'Mama Noodle Index', named after Thailand's top-selling brand, is known to shoot up when consumers need to tighten their belts. Bet you a cup of instant noodles that with the global economic slowdown, record numbers have been served up.