How the Cup Noodles Empire Was Built

Weird History Food is gonna give you the History of Cup Noodles. Cup Noodle, from Nissin Foods, is known for being in about every college dorm and kitchen pantry across the United States. The inspiration for Cup Noodles came from Ando Momofuku's trip to the US in 1966. Let's find out how Ando made these noodles became so successful. We promise this video is pretty low in sodium.

#cupnoodle #instantramen #weirdhistoryfood

[NealKlein]

It's rare that a video on a subject that's already been covered elsewhere can cover a bunch of information I never heard of. Brilliant and not a waste of time. Thank you, Weird History.

[B.H.]

In college in the mid 1970's, I had a roommate from Taiwan. She introduced me to ramen noodles. At that time you could only buy them in Chinatown. I used to get them by the case.

[janicelewis]

I was introduced to ramen while stationed in Korea in the 80s. Some of our field problems would last over a month and no one wants to eat MREs for that long, so we would each buy a case of ramen & mix & match to make our own gourmet dinners!

[fallout]

The wild part about Momofuku ando's story was he technically wasn't a Japanese citizen between 1945 (when he gave up japanese citizenship to keep his property on Taiwan) and 1966

[NewMessage]

Annnnd... my stomach's college food budget induced PTSD returns.

[FaultyTwo]

The best inventions always came from the worst time.
Thank you Ando, for making our lives a hella lot less misery!

[GrizzlyAdams]

I've probably eaten more instant ramen than anyone else should over the past 14 or so years but I never knew the origins until now. Thanks for teaching me something while I eat my breakfast, unsurprisingly, it's instant ramen

[jons.]

Pretty amazing, actually what can be replicated in instant form! I once found that simple but tasty miso soup they serve you in Japanese restaurants in a Trader Joe's mix and it had exactly what you would find in a serving, right down to how it lightly clouded up and perfect little tofu pieces in it!

[AwokenEntertainment]

the power of convenience meets the power of marketing

[PeppermintM]

It still blows my mind that you make cup noodles in a Microwave in the US. Here in the UK, it is boil water in a kettle and pour it into the cup.

[pablocasas]

I think the first time I tried Cup Noodles around 2010, while there were instant noodles/soup brands like Knorr or Maggi here in Argentina, there were mostly those angel hair or spaghetti-o's type of pasta. But Cup Noodles and Maruchan have found a kind of niche market here, though ironically they're kind of expensive. Still, while convenient, it doesn't beat a real bowl of fresh ramen, I think due to the popularity of anime and Japanese food culture there's more ramen restaurants here
I also find it interesting that one of the most popular Japanese inventions was the creation of a Taiwanese man and it's technically a Chinese dish, though some of the best dishes are adaptations of other cultures dishes.
Maruchan instant noodles are also very popular in Mexico

[shadowflame]

another fantastic video to enjoy while eating :D, thanks y'all

[tommyboxeo]

I always enjoy these Weird Food History videos. I especially watch these videos while having a meal.

[chellarose]

I read a book to my 6th Graders called Magic Ramen. It's the story of Momofuko Ando and it aligns extremely well with this video. Going to have to show them this to compare!

[dannyi]

It’s worth mentioning that the Cup Noodles billboard in Times Square also released steam like it was hot.

[luisgentil]

In Brazil instant ramen used to be from the brand Myojo which was part of the Nissin group or something. So to this day "miojo" is the common word for instant ramen. One popular flavor is yokel hen. There are also tagliolini and yakisoba lines of products. There are even a few sweet flavors (sweet pizza is very popular, so some might be into that). We eat it at home every once in a while for our comfort food needs. Creamy, no broth.

[alexgeorge]

my favorite flavors of Cup are: Cheese Curry, Chili Tomato, Seafood, and all of their seasonal flavors. Thanks for uploading!

[AndrewNicholsSeattle]

Thank you for the callout to "Cup O' Noodles", I swear I had been going crazy when other people called them "cup noodles" and I had no idea where I came up with the "of"

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan]

8:07 Prima Taste have some of the best instant noodles for the record. If you can find them where you live (here in the US they can sometimes be found at H-Mart or other Asian supermarkets) or can buy them online, I cannot recommend them enough. Especially the Laksa one, which is easily one of my favorites.

Also just because microwaves were brought up a lot here, PLEASE DO NOT microwave just any cup or bowl instant noodles if it doesn't explicitly say it's microwave safe. The majority of Japanese cup/bowl noodles in particular are not microwaveable and can only be prepared safely using the boiling water method.

[dameneko]

If you're a Cup Noodle fan, don't sleep on the varieties from Hong Kong! Black pepper crab, tom yum shrimp, all kinds of flavorful goodness and they don't skimp on the fixins!