Thinking About Ramen....

What goes through my mind some days is deep, ponderous, and flows freely. Other days, it can be ridiculous, insane and somewhat clunky.

This is one of the latter, I'm afraid. Sometimes us Electrogeek types ponder weird, odd, off the wall things.

Like Ramen.

You read that correctly, kids. Oh, come on—you know what is Ramen: that mainstay of many a collegian diet. It’s what I’m contemplating today, Pinky. (Okay—guilty pleasure from 13 years ago: watching Pinky and the Brain.)

What is it about this conglomeration of cheap, fried and dried noodles, a salt and MSG pack that has some semblance of a flavor lurking inside, and boiling H20 that is so appealing to me? And, for all that and by extension, to all of us?

My favorite brand is Sapporo, and my particular favorite flavor is “Oriental Flavor.” I won't even go into that too seriously; after all, I doubt rather highly that it is flavored like an Oriental, and I seriously doubt any Orientals were freeze-dried and powdered to make a soup base. (At least, I should hope not.)

It certainly isn't very slimming--most of us eat a whole package, which upon further review, ends up being between 500-600 calories. (Not to mention enough salt to stun a moose.) Nor is it particularly healthy in its unadorned state-it's not bad for you, but there are far better things one could eat. It isn't particularly tasty, even with the soup base in it. I'd rather make fresh udon to-kamaboko (another form of noodle soup, using fresh wheat noodles and fish-cake); I usually have all the materials to do so on hand. It's also much better for me, because it's fresh, and has way less salt the way I make it. No, I do not make my own udon noodles. I’m good—but not that good.

Even so, I find myself turning to the stuff far more often than I should. Which is why I'm sitting here, writing this. I had a mug o’ Ramen for lunch today, and found myself thinking: What is it about Ramen that demands to be eaten? In its dried state, you could replace a roof shingle or two with the noodles. In its wet state, and without having added the soup base, you can patch holes in your walls for painting. (Don't laugh, kids. I've done so at least twice.) To me, it is the Japanese equivalent to a burger. (Okay-technically, that would be either sushi or a bento; but you get the idea.) You grab it, eat it, and move on with your day. Oh, you might linger a bit over it, but it isn't the kind of meal (here in the States, at least) that one does an extended lunch with.

But we seem fascinated with the stuff. I mean, on average, an American will eat nearly one package a month. (That's actually 9 packs/cups a year; this is from Nissin's website-they created the stuff in 1958.)

I just haven't figured out why.

Enough for now.

(Posted 2/26/09)