VOA文化艺术2024--Ramen Is Becoming More Popular Worldwide

Ramen Is Becoming More Popular Worldwide

Ramen is a kind of Japanese noodle dish. It might be the world's favorite Japanese food.

Ramen has increased in popularity in the U.S., South Korea and other countries. The dish is also growing in popularity with foreign visitors to Japan.

NielsenIQ is a service that reports on product sales. It said sales of ramen in the United States have risen 72 percent since 2000.

Technomic, a food service industry research company, said versions beyond the traditional soup are appearing in many restaurants. Del Taco, a Mexican chain, recently introduced Shredded¹ Beef Birria Ramen, for example.

Experiencing ramen

Ramen remains² very popular in Japan.

Some Japanese go to ramen shops two or three times a week.

In Tokyo, people sometimes wait for an hour to get ramen. Often cooked right before your eyes, the noodle dish starts at around $6.50.

It comes in different flavors - and there are local versions, too. Flavors include salty, soybean-based "shoyu" or "miso" paste. Sometimes the dish is spicy³. Sometimes there is no soup at all but a sauce to dip the noodles in.

Foreign visitors are becoming increasingly interested in ramen, too.

Frank Striegl guides visitors to ramen restaurants for a special food experience. "I'm probably a talking bowl of ramen," said Striegl as he led a group of American tourists through part of Tokyo's Shibuya neighborhood. The group's visit is what Striegl calls "the ultimate ramen experience."

The tourists go to restaurants where ramen is served in very small bowls. These bowls are about one-fourth the size of a regular ramen bowl. The guests eat smaller amounts so that they can try six different kinds of ramen, two at each restaurant during the tour.

"It's not just, of course, about eating delicious ramen, but also learning about it," said Striegl. He is a Filipino American who grew up in Tokyo. He calls ramen "people's food."

"A lot of countries around the world have their version of ramen," he said. "So, I think because of that, it's a dish that's easy to understand. It's a dish that's easy to get behind."

While the tourists were enjoying their noodles, Striegl gave a short history of ramen. He said its roots date back to the samurai period. Samurai were historical Japanese warriors⁴. A Japanese military leader, a shogun, took a liking⁵ to Chinese noodles. That started a tradition of making local versions of ramen that continues today.

Katie Sell was a student on Striegl's tour. She called ramen "a kind of comfort food, especially in the winter. Get a group of friends, go have some ramen and just enjoy it."

Kavi Patel is an engineer from the U.S. state of New Jersey⁶. He said he was happy that he included ramen on his tour of Japan along with visits to famous places like the ancient capital of Kyoto and the deer park in Nara.

"I'm having good fun," he said.

Words in This Story

noodle -n. a long thin food made from flour that is boiled

chain -n. a series of restaurants that are mostly the same and operated or licensed⁷ by the same company

flavor -n. the taste of a food or ingredient

paste -n. a soft, wet mixture

tourist -n. a traveler who goes to places for enjoyment⁸

shogun - n. one of a line of military leaders ruling Japan until the revolution of 1867-68

comfort food -n. a favorite food that is satisfying and often linked to good memories

1 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

4 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

5 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

8 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。