Ramen (ラーメン)
We all love it, right? Ultimate comfort food, late-night snack, hangover cure, etc. It's become one of Japan's most popular exports.
Some know that men (麺) means noodle. But what does Ra mean?
THREAD
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We all love it, right? Ultimate comfort food, late-night snack, hangover cure, etc. It's become one of Japan's most popular exports.
Some know that men (麺) means noodle. But what does Ra mean?
THREAD
🍜👇🍜👇🍜👇
Ramen has been around for hundreds of years. But it was relatively recent that it took on the name ramen (ラーメン)
It was originally a Chinese food called chuka-soba or shina-soba (lots of history, not gonna go there right now)
It was originally a Chinese food called chuka-soba or shina-soba (lots of history, not gonna go there right now)
In the 1920s there was an eatery in Sapporo called Takeya Shokudo. It was located right near Hokkaido University and its clientel were mostly students.
In this old photo (taken around 1930) you can see all their delivery boys and it shows how popular the joint was.
In this old photo (taken around 1930) you can see all their delivery boys and it shows how popular the joint was.
The chef was Chinese and his version of ramen (called ro-su-men) was particularly popular among Chinese exchange students.
This is a photo of the chef, Ou Bunzai (王文彩)
This is a photo of the chef, Ou Bunzai (王文彩)
Unfortunately, the First Sino-Japanese War was still fresh in people's memories and there was a lot of discrimination.
Some locals would order the dish calling it chang-soba or shina-soba, which were derogatory.
Some locals would order the dish calling it chang-soba or shina-soba, which were derogatory.
Feeling sorry for the exchange students and wanting to do something, the owner, Ohisa Tatsu, decided to change the name.
But she had trouble coming up with a catchy name that all her patrons would find easy to pronounce.
But she had trouble coming up with a catchy name that all her patrons would find easy to pronounce.
One day it hit her when she heard her Chinese chef using his call to let her know an order was done: "Hao-ra" (好了), meaning "it's ready."
She decided to start calling it Ra-men, and the name quickly took off.
She decided to start calling it Ra-men, and the name quickly took off.
Takeya Shokudo closed down in 1943 but its legend lived on.
In 1958, Ando Momofuku released the first "Instant Ramen" and it immediately became a hit. The name ramen was used in commercials across Japan and solidified the naming of the dish.
In 1958, Ando Momofuku released the first "Instant Ramen" and it immediately became a hit. The name ramen was used in commercials across Japan and solidified the naming of the dish.
Lastly, I'll add that there are several theories to how ramen got its name. This theory was discussed recently on this Japanese trivia show: www4.nhk.or.jp/chikochan/
Further documentation:
www2.hiecc.or.jp/hokkaido-china…
city.sapporo.jp/kitaku/syoukai…
Further documentation:
www2.hiecc.or.jp/hokkaido-china…
city.sapporo.jp/kitaku/syoukai…
