Cup noodles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cup Noodles is a brand of instant ramen noodle snack manufactured by Nissin, packaged in an XPS foam or hard plastic cup. The product is known for being inexpensive and easy to prepare. Other brand names are used in specific countries, such as Cup Noodle (not plural) in Japan.
Contents |
[edit] History
Instant noodles were invented in 1958 by Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese-born founder of the Japanese food company Nissin. He used Chikin Ramen (Chicken Ramen) as the first instant ramen noodles. In 1970, Nissin formed the subsidiary Nissin Foods (USA) Co. Inc, to sell instant noodles to the United States. Nissin recognized that the bowls traditionally used to package instant noodles were not common in the U.S, so they instead turned to the paper cup; in 1971, they introduced instant ramen packaged in a foam cup. Originally, the product was actually known as Cup O' Noodles[1]; this was changed in 1993 to its current name.
Today, instant noodles in Japan are often sold in foam bowls, sometimes with plastic utensils. Foam bowls are easily portable; they are very convenient for outdoor activities. Foam bowls are also inexpensive, disposable, light, and easy to hold since they insulate heat well and thus convenient as an "on-the-go" meal.
Supermarket chain Lidl also uses the "cup noodle" name on their version of the product.
[edit] Cooking
A container of Cup Noodles includes a pre-cooked (fried) block of noodles that requires only the addition of hot water and in some cases flavoring that is included in small packets. Cooking time is usually around 3 minutes; boiling water is preferable to cold water and microwave cooking.
[edit] Flavors and Statistics
In the United States, there are 20 flavors of cup noodles; common ones include shrimp, chicken, and beef. New additions include spicy picante flavors and spicy cheese variants. The noodles do contain monosodium glutamate which may cause problems for those with allergies.
Different flavors are available in other parts of the world, such as tom yum in Thailand, curry in Japan, crab in Hong Kong, Bolognese sauce in Brazil, and so on. [2]
[edit] List of Cup Noodles flavors by country
[edit] Japan
- カップヌードル (Kappu Nūdoru, Cup Noodle)
- カップヌードル; "Plain", equivalent to "Shrimp" in other countries
- シーフードヌードル; Seafood
- カップヌードル カレー; Curry
- カップヌードル チリトマトヌードル; Chilli Tomato
- カップヌードル 欧風チーズカレー; European Cheese Curry
- カップヌードル Kimchi
- カップヌードル SiO; Salt Ramen
- カップヌードル MISO; Miso Ramen
- カップヌードル クリーミーチキン; Creamy Chicken
- カップヌードル 辛口カリビアンシーフード; Hot Caribbean Seafood
- カップヌードル ベーコン旨タレ醤油; Bacon Soy Sauce
- カップヌードル MILK; Cream Sauce
- カップヌードル Brazilian Chicken
In The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, Ikeda, Osaka, a visitor can mix their own flavor by choosing ingredients and a soup.[3]
[edit] Brazil
- Cup Noodles
- Galinha Caipira; Chicken
- Bacon
- Camarão; Shrimp
- Carne; Beef
- Legumes; Vegetable
- Tomate a Italiana; Italian Tomato
- Frango com Requeijão; Chicken & Cheese
- 4 Queijos; Four Cheese
- Calabresa; Smoked Sausage
- Bolonesa; Bolognese sauce
[edit] China
|
|
|
[edit] Finland
- Cup Noodles
- Kana; Chicken
- Nauta; Beef
[edit] Germany
- Cup Nudeln
- Huhn; Chicken
- Rind; Beef
- Garnele; Shrimp
- Huhn & Champignons; Chicken & Mushroom
- Huhn & Curry; Chicken & Curry
- Tomate; Tomato
- Brokkoli; Broccoli
- Süss-Sauer; Sweet-Sour
- Tom Yum; Thai-Style
- Spicy; Hot/Spicy
- Kartoffelbrei; Mashed Potato;
[edit] India
- Cup Noodles
- Spicy Vegetable
- Tangy Chicken
- Mast Masala
- Paanipuri
- Tangy Tomato
[edit] Indonesia
- Cup Noodles
- Rasa Ayam; Chicken
- Rasa Udang; Shrimp
- Rada Daging Sapi; Beef
- Tominapple
[edit] Mexico
- Cup Noodles
|
|
[edit] Philippines
- Cup Noodles
- Beef
- Seafood
- Chicken
- Spicy Seafood
- Batchoy; Pork Soup
- Bulalo; Beef Marrow
- Sotanghon - Chicken
- Sotanghon - Seafood
[edit] Singapore
|
|
[edit] Thailand
|
|
[edit] United States
- Cup Noodles
|
|
[edit] Popular culture
- From 1996 to 2006, a 60-foot (18 m) Nissin Cup Noodle sign was installed in Times Square, New York City. It was located prominently near the top of the One Times Square building, the location of the Times Square Ball drop on New Year's Eve. The sign was the most recent example in a tradition of steaming signs in Times Square, which started with an A&P 8 O'Clock Coffee cup in 1933.[7]
- In the South Park episode Make Love, Not Warcraft, a Cup Noodles cup is seen on Stan's computer desk.
- In Cowboy Bebop The Movie, a cup of noodle is seen where one can just "pull the string and it's ready to eat", similar in concept to self-heating cans. Spike also complains of having to eat cup noodles day after day.
- In the OVA series Freedom Project, Cup Noodles are displayed prominently in several scenes, as the Nissin is the main sponsor of the series.
- In the famous anime Cowboy Bebop, the characters are frequently shown eating Cup Noodles.
- As a part of Project X [disambiguation needed], Akira Imai and Tadashi Kato's manga Project X: Cup Noodle tells the story of how the original Cup Noodle was created.[8]
- In episode 19 the anime Negima!?, Evangeline and Professor Takahata argue over how long it is best to keep water boiling in cup noodles. Takahata claims that boiling them for longer makes them taste better, whereas Evangeline does not care how long they are cooked for. Later in the episode, it is seen that they were left boiling for too long, and the cup expanded because of the fattening of the noodles.
- In the U.S. version of The Office, Cup Noodles is a popular lunch among the characters of the show (specifically Michael Scott and Kevin Malone).
- In the Playstation 3 game Metal Gear Solid 4, Ramen Noodles is an item used to replenish health for the main protagonist, Solid Snake.
- In the movie The Manchurian Candidate, Ben Marco is seen constantly eating Cup Noodles.
- In the Deadliest Catch television series it is seen that Captain Keith Colburn of the ship F/V Wizard uses a cup of noodles cup to spit in and if he leaves port without it he takes that as a sign of bad luck.[citation needed]
- In an episode of The Big Bang Theory, Lesley Winkle sees how long it takes to heat up Cup Noodles with a laser.
- In the Utada Hikaru song "Kiss&Cry", there is a line that says, "Tonight's dinner is Nissin Cup Noodle, Cup Noodle, Cup Noodle".
[edit] See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nissin Cup Noodle |
- Maruchan; another well-known producer of instant noodles in a cup.
- Frozen noodles
- Pot Noodle
- Instant noodles
- Noodles
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.nissinfoods.com/company/history.php
- ^ Japanese Cup Noodle official website has the section "The Cupnoodle in the world" under the "Library", which lists Cup Noodles flavors all over the world.
- ^ http://www.nissin-noodles.com/club_n/mycupnodle.html
- ^ http://www.nissinthailand.com/cup.html
- ^ a b http://www.nissinfoods.com/cupnoodles/
- ^ http://www.nissinfoods.com/cupnoodlespremium/
- ^ http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID-TimesSquare.htm
- ^ Project X - Cup Noodle (GN) - Anime News Network
