Judy here. Trust the Gmamas to provide enlightenment on so many things... The latest news is the expansion of your knowledge of Ramyeon versus Ramen. In a previous post Pat described the differences in these two words; the former being Korean and the second being Japanese.
Well it's far more complex than that! My go to source for information is the Korean Herald and they recently provided more information on this popular dish. Seems like Ramen made its debut in Japan in the late 1900's or early 20th century whereas Ramyeon made its debut in Korea in 1963. Per the Herald “Ramen and ramyeon should be recognized as two different foods that have continued evolving to reflect different local tastes.” So what's the big deal?
Well, first of all they apparently taste totally different. Japanese ramen is more savory with thicker noodles.... it focuses on the broth the noodles are in. Korean ramyeon is made with thinner noodles and it focuses more on the kick & spice of the dish. It's considered taboo to call ramyeon as ramen when visiting Korea! This is an important thing for the Kdrama fans to remember when they visit Korea in the future.
The relationship between Korea and Japan is definitely fraught due to Japan's occupation of Korea from 1910 thru WWII. They seem to be getting along better now but there are residual resentments between the two societies. Calling a Korean dish by a Japanese name would be considered offensive. Interestingly the Korean suppliers of ramyeon actually use the term ramen on their packaging because Western consumers do not understand the nuances between the two items.
I have also learned there is a guy in Korea who is compiling an Online Encyclopedia of Ramyeon. Yep, he's taken a big time interest in the different varieties and is sampling them
Ji Young-jun poses for a selfie at the Ramyeon Library at CU's Hongdaesangsang branch in Mapo-gu, Seoul in 2023. Wow, they even have a library of the Ramyeons they make!!!
while providing comments. In fact, he recently quit his job as a teacher to devote full time to this endeavor; you can find him by googling Ramyeon Conquerer. (And you thought Pat and I were a bit obsessed...)
Also of interest, when you order ramyeon in Korea the 'basic' starting point for the recipe is the packaged noodles just like we see in the grocery store... the chef will then add their own spin on the dish. This obviously leads to the possibility that I could learn to cook Ramyeon. That's a possibility.... not a probability!
Comments