If you’d like to skip the soft plastics, your instant noodle options are limited. In Australia, the Naked Asian Grocer sells noodle soup kits without plastic, while British-based Future Noodles are also plastic free. Born in Japanese-ruled Taiwan in 1910, Ando founded the predecessor to Nissin in 1948. But had he listened to his colleagues, the ubiquitous Cup Noodle might never have made it on to supermarket shelves: researchers dismissed his recipe as “fanciful”, but Ando refused to be deterred. Mr Ando was born in Taiwan in 1910 and moved to Japan in 1933, founding Nissin Food Products Co after World War II to provide cheap food for the masses. Talk about a prodigy! Chang founded Momofuku in 2004 as a ramen restaurant, garnering acclaim across the globe. The company’s headquarters are located in none other than New York City. This legacy Kahara mentions feels palpable in multiple ways today, in the sense that instant noodles have reached an equilibrium of being both iconic and ubiquitous. Despite expansion, competition and the passing decades, Momofuku’s invention has always maintained its initial aim of being a product that would make people’s lives easier or, as Kahara says, that little bit better, after a tough day in London in 2021 or Osaka in 1958. It’s also a legacy that despite its mundanity continues to resonate with its home, voted “ the greatest Japanese innovation of the 20th century”, beating the CD, Pokemon and the works of Akira Kurosawa.

Our research for this Momofuku review discovered that the company sells ramen noodles, garnishes, oils, seasoning salts, cookbooks, and tote bags. In Mexico, demand soared by 17.2% in 2021 – when many people turned to instant noodles during Covid-19 restrictions – but still rose by 11% last year. The US, too, has followed up on its healthy appetite for regular ramen to embrace the instant variety, in part to relieve pressure on household finances from the cost-of-living crisis. Design as a means of offering solutions is a concept our industry has discussed and marketed at length. Whether you believe it to be the answer to all or in fact total bullshit, Momofuku’s invention of instant noodles proves that most of the time, creativity sparks from a desire to simply improve everyday life. Instant noodles demonstrate this first in how the idea came about, in Momofuku assessing the socio-political issues facing Japan after the war and the creation of a simple at-home meal as a solution.

David Chang is the chef and founder of Momofuku, as well as a New York Times best-selling author of the cookbook Momofuku. He also runs his own podcast, has directed, produced, and starred in his own Netflix series, and hosted the documentary series The Next Thing You Eat. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

The creative spirit of Momofuku, who passed away at the age of 96 in 2007, is now distilled in the Cup Noodles museums in Japan. With locations in both Yokohama and Osaka, the museums not only offer insight into Momofuku’s inventions, but the continued history of instant noodles as a whole, as well as a home for his creative legacy. Middle-class consumers who did not eat instant noodles before are now incorporating them into their daily lives” the Japanese instant noodle giant, Nissin Foods, said, according to the Nikkei business paper. He was a self-made man who developed an epoch-making instant noodle product and spread it to all corners of the world," Akio Nomura, chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Kyodo news agency.

RESTAURANTS

In 2022, consumers in more than 50 countries slurped their way through a record 121.2bn servings of instant noodles, according to the Osaka-based World Instant Noodles Association. The key takeaways are shorter statements of Momofuku’s philosophy, empowering turns of phrase that could easily be applied to any kind of creative thinking. Momofuku’s words encourage visitors to “Discover something completely new” in their day-to-day life and “Find hints in all sorts of places”, just as he did in walking past the market that fateful winter’s evening. More specifically, he also motivates visitors to “Nurture your ideas” and to “Look at things from every angle”, no matter the subject at hand. “Don’t just go with the status quo” continues the advice, ending with a last burst of: “Never give up.” For Kahara, working on behalf of such an inspirational figure leads her to reflect how Momofuku was simply “committed to trying to create something that would make people’s lives better and make them happy,” she says. “He always emphasised the importance of determination and being creative, this would be the legacy we would want to pass on.” Its taste and ease of preparation - adding hot water to dried noodles in a waterproof polystyrene container - have made it popular around the world. We would attach the photo if we could, but you’ll just have to make it for yourself! Another customer goes even further than that, saying, “ The chili crunch oil made me want to weep. If you’ve only ever had grocery store ingredients, treat yourself to these. At the very least you will not be disappointed. At best, you may have a moment.”

His firm also developed a version of Cup Noodle for Japanese astronauts to eat on the space shuttle Discovery in 2005. If you look at postwar history, it’s clear that when the workforce expands, consumption of instant noodles also rises,” Yamato, who eats instant ramen once a day, told the Guardian. “It happened in Japan during the postwar economic miracle, when the workforce grew and baby boomers started eating instant ramen and giving them to their children.” Customers fawned over how great the products were, how excited they were for new releases, and how they loved incorporating them into their recipes.

And, says chef Suraj Pradhan of catering group Two Tables, in his homeland Nepal, “it’s like every home has Wai Wai noodles”. Students also have their eyes on making instant noodles lower waste. While neither product has gone into commercial development, Australian UX designer Emily Enrica invented a microwaveable paper-based noodle box as a student; and British design student Holly Grounds developed an edible noodle film that dissolves in hot water. The chefs’ tips: soup and saucy noodles Strap on your apron and start slicing up the scallions as we enter into the highlights section of this Momofuku review. Afterwards, we’ll have a little taste test of what they have to offer: Highlights I absolutely stan noodles in all forms, shapes, and sizes, and I’m a huge fan of Momofuku’s other products like its Chili Crunch, seasoned salts, and soy sauce; so there was no doubt in my mind that I would love these. They hold a similar place in the heart of Sam Young – who runs bistro S’more with his partner – Grace Chen. “I left home [in Hong Kong] when I was 13 to go to boarding school in Canada, so instant noodles were like my comfort.”

Countries with a long history of eating noodles were predictably high on the consumption table, led by China and Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Vietnam and Japan ranked fourth and fifth, but third spot was taken by India, in a sign of the food’s growing popularity in countries that many people do not immediately associate with eating noodles. As a result, Nissin and rival Toyo Suisan, recently announced the construction of production facilities in the US and Mexico by 2025 to meet soaring demand. “The number of consumers who regularly eat instant noodles is going up, and we will increase our variety of flavours,” Toyo Suisan said in a statement to the Nikkei. Nissin has led the global instant noodle industry since then, selling 85.7 billion servings every year, according to Agence France Presse. The product came out as Japan recovered from the ravages of World War II and began a long period of economic expansion.The Japanese ate just under 6bn servings of instant noodles in 2022, according to the Japan Instant Food Industry Association, continuing a trend that began with the arrival of Cup Noodle – shorter noodles in a Styrofoam cup – in 1971 and, later, the proliferation of convenience stores. About 1,000 new versions are dangled before Japanese consumers every year, according to Yamato, but only a handful survive in a crowded, cut-throat market. It’s a mixture of maple syrup, pancakes, sausages and egg,” said Yamato, who tried the concoction during a recent visit to the US. “I have to say, they weren’t really for me.” Decades later, they have become a genuine “global food”, according to Ichiro Yamato, an instant ramen expert who sells a wide range of noodles at his shop in Osaka. It was the masterstroke of providing a waterproof polystyrene container for the noodles that made his Cup Noodle an instant success in 1971.