We'd Like to Teach The World to Slurp: The Weird and Wonderful Story of Ramen's Rise to Glory

Gastropod

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Science, Food, History, Arts

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Savory, chewy, and, above all, slurp-able, a delicious bowl of ramen is one of the triumphs of Japanese cuisine. That's also a bit odd, because, for most of Japanese history, heavy, meaty, wheaty noodle soup would have had no place in the archipelago's otherwise bland and mostly pescatarian cuisine. This episode, we bust ramen myths and reveal ramen secrets, with the story of how Chinese influencers, U.S. food aid, and an economic boom built the quintessential Japanese soup—and how ramen was transformed from a quick street-food bite for workers to both the three-minute staple of students everywhere in its instant form and the craft ramen that has people standing in lines for hours. Plus: how ramen noodles helped prevent a prison riot, and Cynthia and Nicky go head-to-head in an epic (failure of a) slurp-off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	My apologies to those of you who are sensitive to such sounds.
0:26.1	I would certainly not brought up to slurp my food, I wasn't either, but that is apparently the appropriate way to enjoy a steaming hot bowl of ramen.
0:34.1	Which is exactly what we're diving into this episode.
0:37.7	You're listening to Gastropod, the podcast that looks at food through the lens of science and history, I'm Nicola Twilly.
0:42.9	And I'm Cynthia Graber.
0:44.1	And when we're not attempting to slurp ramen without making a total mess, this episode we're also trying to figure out a central mystery.
0:50.9	How is a meaty broth filled with Chinese-style noodles seen as an authentic Japanese dish?
0:56.1	I mean, aren't Japanese traditionally a kind of pescatarian and light-broughty people?
1:00.1	Plus, yet more mystery, how did this meaty noodle soup become a dried rectangle with a seasoning packet that sustains college students and prisoners alike?
1:10.1	What's so special about ramen? Like, why do people these days line up for hours to get a taste of what some hot ramen chef is whipping up?
1:16.9	All that and more coming right up in the weird and wonderful story of ramen.
1:21.7	Gastropod is part of the Fox Media Podcast Network in partnership with ETER.
1:28.9	You're at a place you just discovered.
1:30.9	And being an American Express Platinum Card member with global dining access by Rezzy,
1:35.9	helped you score tickets to quite the dining experience.
1:40.9	Okay, chef.
1:41.9	You're looking at something you've never seen before.
1:44.9	Much less tasted.
1:46.9	After your first bite, you say nothing because you're speechless.
1:51.9	See how to elevate your dining experiences at AmericanExpress.com,
1:55.9	slash with Amax.
1:56.9	Don't live life without it, terms apply.
	...

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