For Taiwanese, ramen is one of the dishes that most represents Japan; for Japanese, its origins are in China. Then there is “Taiwan ramen,” which can only be found in Japan, but not in Taiwan.
It is almost impossible to reach a consensus on the origin of any dish, but a brief look at its history might be helpful.
Not many people who are not Japanese question whether ramen is really Japanese.
Photo: Reuters
Yet think about it — ramen is often unctuous and rich, unlike most other must-try Japanese foods familiar to foreign visitors to the country, such as sushi and soba noodles.
According to Kojien, one of the most authoritative Japanese dictionaries, ramen is “soup noodles made in Chinese style.”
It is also called “Shina (支那) noodles or Chinese noodles” — Shina being an archaic Japanese name for China.
The etymology of the term “ramen,” usually written in syllabic hiragana in Japan, is likely the Chinese term “ra men” — written as two Chinese characters meaning “pull” and “noodles” respectively, Japanese food culture academic Okada Tetsu says in his book Ramen’s Birth.
The Nippon Broadcasting System radio network has said that during the Meiji era from 1868 to 1912, Kanichi Ozaki opened a Chinese restaurant called Rairaiken in Yokohama’s Chinatown, providing popular dishes such as Shina noodles made by the Chinese chefs he hired.
Ramen was created in Japan by Chinese chefs and went on to have a unique life journey, Nippon Broadcasting has said.
Tetsu believes that similar noodle dishes were created and sold in many places in Japan during the same period, but the term ramen might have become more widely used during the Taisho era that followed.
What about “Taiwan ramen”?
The “China Taiwan Restaurant Misen” in the central Japanese city of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, is generally acknowledged to be where Taiwan ramen originated.
Taiwan-born founder Kuo Ming-yu (郭明優) took inspiration from Taiwan’s danzimian (擔仔麵, “peddler’s noodles”) and gave the dish “a super spicy” makeover, naming it after his birthplace, the restaurant says on its Web site.
Starting as a staff meal, the spicy ramen was added to the menu after gaining approval from regular customers and suddenly became famous during the “super spicy boom” in the late 1980s, it says.
“If the dish was designed for customers from the beginning, I think we would have come up with a cooler name,” third-generation owner Kuoh Sing-chih (郭幸治) said.
Other restaurants in Nagoya wanted to cash in on the ramen so many began selling the popular dish, which regularly appears in rankings of “most-loved Nagoya cuisine” along with miso-flavored deep-fried pork chops and grilled eel rice bowl.
The original restaurant now has three branches in Nagoya, but Kuo Ming-yu’s four brothers and sisters opened independent branches and are said to have developed their own flavors and customer bases.
There are now 16 branches in total, including a few outside Aichi Prefecture in Tokyo and Osaka.
So, what is Taiwan ramen exactly?
Misen puts spicy minced meat, Chinese chives and bean sprouts on top of slightly thick noodles, then adds soup made with chicken bones.
The soul of the dish is, of course, chili pepper, the restaurant says.
The recipe is only faintly reminiscent of Taiwan’s traditional danzimian, which features a shrimp-based soup, shrimp and minced meat that is not spicy.
Tear-inducing spicy minced meat made with lots of garlic and chili is actually rarely seen in Taiwan.
“The spiciness of Taiwanese ramen is unusual. Take a sip of the soup and pause for a few seconds. The strong spiciness will explode in your mouth. If you are not careful, you might choke,” Japanese journalist Nojima Tsuyoshi said.
However, if you are not a fan of spicy food, you can order “Taiwan ramen American,” but if you are looking for a punch of heat, order “Taiwan ramen Italian.” The humble noodle dish really has a globalized naming system.
It is not too difficult to decipher the menu. Think about coffee. As the Americano is a diluted espresso shot, “Taiwan ramen American” is a less spicy version than the regular one, as more soup has been added, while “Taiwan ramen Italian” contains double the amount of chili pepper.
Those who are unable to eat in or have a constant craving for the noodles can order take-home ramen kits and the spicy minced meat, which are sold separately.
Several ramen products labeled as “Nagoya specialty — Taiwan ramen” can also be found in supermarkets as ramen kits and instant ramen in packs or in cups. The name more often than not signals the inclusion of spicy minced meat or, at the very least, the flavor of it.
In 2021, the long-running TV show Himitsu no Kenmin Show (Secret Citizen Show) produced by Japan’s Yomiuri Telecasting Corp aired a special feature on the “Taiwan boom” in Nagoya.
In addition to Taiwan ramen, Taiwan stir-fried noodles, Taiwan rice, Taiwan curry, Taiwan meat skewers, Taiwan cold noodles, Taiwan pasta and Taiwan rice balls have all become part of the fad.
They all include spicy minced meat — enough reason to bear the name Taiwan and become popular.
“People in Nagoya are attracted to anything Taiwan,” which is almost a spontaneous “cell reaction,” a local told the program.
The addition of spicy minced meat is “a guarantee of deliciousness,” regardless of the dish underneath, others said.
Unlike many food trends, the Taiwan boom is not a passing fad as the restaurants the program introduced more than two years ago are still doing well after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among them is Menya Hanabi, where founder and chef Naoto Niiyama took inspiration from Taiwan ramen and created Taiwan mazesoba, a brothless ramen, and then applied the spicy minced meat magic to curry and opened a new restaurant called Original Taiwan Curry.
Menya Hanabi expanded to the US in 2019 with a new branch in Los Angeles, where the name of the dish was changed to “Nagoya mazesoba.”
If Taiwan ramen was imported to Taiwan, “Nagoya ramen” might be a more suitable name for the dish considering Taiwanese’s love of Japanese food and restaurants.
While purists might disapprove of the misnomer and those who come to Taiwan to track down “authentic” Taiwan ramen might be disappointed, there is never anything wrong with creating delicious food.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS