Ramen noodles are possibly the best food on this planet. Why? Because they taste great, are very inexpensive, and can be prepared in an almost infinite number of ways. Ramen noodles originated in China. Although I'm uncertain of the exact time period the Chinese began eating Ramen, I do know that the Japanese people discovered Ramen and adopted it as yet another cultural entity of theirs. By the late 1950's ramen (or 'men' which simply means 'noodles' in Chinese) had become a common food in Japan.

Ramen may be cheap cost-wise but that's no reason to discredit its quality. Today one can find many restaurants and shops in Japan (and other Asian countries) that specialize exclusively in ramen. This kind of ramen often has vegetables, special spices and herbs, and meat included with the flavored noodles themselves; so one can expect to pay a bit more for these ramen dinners. On the other hand, the instant ramen packages and cups that can be purchased in grocery stores still taste great! The ramen packs can be found in stores at the cost of $1.00 for 8 to 10 packages, and the cups usually run at least $.25 each because they include dried pieces of vegetables and/or meat.

Most companies that sell ramen in the United States have a good variety of flavors. Beef, chicken, chicken vegetable, hot 'n spicy, shrimp, and teriyaki are some of the most common flavors. A lot of people are satisfied with the variety of off-the-shelf ramen flavors, while others feel compelled to add special things to ramen to make it taste differently. Believe me, ramen has this flexibility. The noodles can be thick, they can be thin with a lot of flavored water, they can be stringy and long, short, and even slightly crunchy. If you're interested in getting "more out of your ramen", then I urge you to check out the ramen recipes on this page!

Whether you are an experienced ramen devourer or you're just getting started, I'm sure there's something of interest to you in this ramen section. Unfortunately, I do not eat ramen much anymore at all, mostly because of the high saturated fat content. But anyway, sit back with a bowl of the noodles and browse around. Always remember, you should eat the noodles themselves with chopsticks (or a spoon), and never forget to slurp the liquid loudly!