# a question about ramen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 2, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553 "2016-08-02T16:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/1 "2016-08-02T16:01:35Z")
after I read the ramen report yesterday I remember seeing one of the eating healthy websites saying ramen had no nutritional value what so ever and the only positive thing was it was better than starving … were they right ? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/2 "2016-08-02T16:04:11Z")
No. It’s mostly carbs, with a little fat and protein. It’s not the most nutritious food, but it has nutrients. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/3 "2016-08-02T16:42:19Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > No. It’s mostly carbs, with a little fat and protein. It’s not the most nutritious food, but it has nutrients. And sodium. Lots of sodium. But those are the instant Ramen that most people think of when they think of ramen. Actual good ramen noodles are much better tasting and somewhat better nutritionally. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/4 "2016-08-02T17:41:05Z")
[Link to Staff Report](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1926/whats-the-deal-with-ramen-noodles) ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/5 "2016-08-02T19:57:36Z")
If Ramen had _no_ nutritional value, then eating it would lead to starvation, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/6 "2016-08-02T20:19:27Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > And sodium. Lots of sodium. How much of the sodium is in the broth vs. the noodle? I generally will add the flavoring pack while cooking, then drain the excess broth before eating. i am assuming that while will probably a lot of sodium, it should still be less than the label indicates (which I assume include all the broth packet). Of course the palm oil is still a problem… ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/7 "2016-08-03T00:06:53Z")
Different question. Is _Ramen_ really the Japanese pronunciation of _Lo Mein_? That sounds like a joke. Do the Chinese make fun of the Japanese inability to say an _L_, substituting _R_? It’s like one of the _Cool Facts_ in the newspaper that are never facts. Our local paper even recently printed the …_and nobody knows why_… fact. :smack: But, _Ramen_, really? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/8 "2016-08-03T00:22:38Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > Different question. Is _Ramen_ really the Japanese pronunciation of _Lo Mein_? That sounds like a joke. … Yes, the Japanese word “ramen” comes from Chinese. No, it’s not a joke. It’s just that Japanese, like all languages, lacks some of the sounds of other languages. So, when they take a word with the L sound in it from another language, they substitute their letter R. So it’s not a joke: it’s just the best that they can do with the sounds of the Japanese language. (And we English speakers do the same when we borrow “ramen” from Japanese, because the English R sound is different from the Japanese R sound: we too substitute the closest sound in our language.) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/9 "2016-08-03T21:58:24Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > Different question. Is _Ramen_ really the Japanese pronunciation of _Lo Mein_? That sounds like a joke. Do the Chinese make fun of the Japanese inability to say an _L_, substituting _R_? As I recall, the Japanese aren’t unable to say an _L_, rather, the English sounds _R_ and _L_ sound the same to Japanese: they aren’t independent phonemes. The idea that “Ramen” is the Japanese pronunciation of Chinese characters is, of course, slightly misleading: those Chinese characters don’t have a strictly defined pronunciation. Rather, “Ramen” is the English spelling of the Japanese pronunciation of the Cantonese words represented by the Chinese characters. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/10 "2016-08-04T01:52:00Z")
My father told me that, when he was with the OSS in China, they would test people claiming to be displaced Chinese by asking them to say “faultless fortress”. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/11 "2016-08-05T01:01:04Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > And sodium. Lots of sodium. > > But those are the instant Ramen that most people think of when they think of ramen. Actual good ramen noodles are much better tasting and somewhat better nutritionally. Actual Ramen is great and tends to have a lot of vegetables and a variety of really complex broths that I’m sure have varying amounts of nutritional value. It’s not what I’d characterize as particularly healthy, however (maybe in comparison to a hamburger). > [@Melbourne](#): > > As I recall, the Japanese aren’t unable to say an _L_, rather, the English sounds _R_ and _L_ sound the same to Japanese: they aren’t independent phonemes. > > The idea that “Ramen” is the Japanese pronunciation of Chinese characters is, of course, slightly misleading: those Chinese characters don’t have a strictly defined pronunciation. Rather, “Ramen” is the English spelling of the Japanese pronunciation of the Cantonese words represented by the Chinese characters. The Japanese “r” is the alveolar tap/flap, like the “t” it “Katie” (in most American dialects at least). Most languages don’t have our “r” sound, even fewer have an “r” or “l” distinction, and phonetically those are practically identical (alveolar approximant vs lateral alveolar approximant). Lithuanian is even worse because it has a “light” and “dark” l which are phonemically distinct. Japanese, in fact, has neither our “r” nor “l”, they both get lumped into the closest approximation of **both** sounds which is the alveolar tap/flap (which isn’t phonemically distinct in our language), which in turn we romanize as “r”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/12 "2016-08-05T04:24:00Z")
**Jragon** , your post reminds me that I freaking loved my Linguistics classes in college. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/13 "2016-08-05T16:33:35Z")
I was just thinking of this passage from the [staff report](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1926/whats-the-deal-with-ramen-noodles): > [@Jillgat](#): > > “I think this guy should get together with Joey Buttafuoco and open a collection agency. You get a dunning letter from Momofuku & Buttafuoco, you know you’re going to put a check in the return mail,” says Ed Zotti, whose name probably means “pervert” in Japanese. Usually you would say _sukebe_, although it’s my understanding that there are stronger, more unpleasant words for it just like there are in English - and I don’t think “Zotti” is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/14 "2016-08-05T18:15:48Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > How much of the sodium is in the broth vs. the noodle? I generally will add the flavoring pack while cooking, then drain the excess broth before eating. i am assuming that while will probably a lot of sodium, it should still be less than the label indicates (which I assume include all the broth packet). > > Of course the palm oil is still a problem… You’re on the right track. You eliminate a lot of the sodium by avoiding the seasoning packed and draining the broth. You’ll still get something like 200mg of sodium, but that’s not too bad. As you said, however, it will still have all the fat due to the fact that the noodles are cooked in oil. ---
**Author:** ![eastcheap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@eastcheap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eastcheap)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/15 "2016-08-05T18:54:20Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Of course the palm oil is still a problem… I thought that was supposed to be good for you now. Or was that last week? ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/16 "2016-08-06T12:48:22Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > If Ramen had _no_ nutritional value, then eating it would lead to starvation, wouldn’t it? I feel lettuce has no nutritional value. There’s a little chlorophyll, a little water, and lots of indigestible cellulose. Any normal leaf has all three anyway. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/17 "2016-08-06T13:32:45Z")
> [@eastcheap](#): > > I thought that was supposed to be good for you now. Or was that last week? Depends on why you oiled your palm. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/18 "2016-08-12T12:09:54Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Actual Ramen is great and tends to have a lot of vegetables and a variety of really complex broths that I’m sure have varying amounts of nutritional value. It’s not what I’d characterize as particularly healthy, however (maybe in comparison to a hamburger) Indeed. The Japanese take their ramen quite seriously. There is a movie, [_Tampopo_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/combined) about this fixation. “One fine day… I went out with an old man. He’s studied noodles for 40 years. He was showing me the right way to eat them.” The main thread is about a young widow who had inherited the family-run ramen shop and is struggling. A passing truck driver takes her under his wing and together they develop the perfect broth recipe (after sampling many of the rival shops in the area) and perfect her skills in preparation and presentation. Along the way there are plenty of vignettes about love and food, like the mother who rouses herself from her death bed to prepare her family one last meal. As the sobbing family eats (Eat! Eat! It’s your mother’s final gift to us!) she sinks back onto the bed to expire with a beatific smile on her face. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/19 "2016-08-14T21:56:15Z")
> [@psiekier](#): > > I was just thinking of this passage from the [staff report](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1926/whats-the-deal-with-ramen-noodles): > Usually you would say _sukebe_, although it’s my understanding that there are stronger, more unpleasant words for it just like there are in English - and I don’t think “Zotti” is one of them. Hentai is the Japanese word for adult cartoons it’s also the word for pervert. Or at least that’s what I’ve heard. Although Naruto calls Jirarya Ero-Sennin (Pervy Sage). ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-ramen/761553/20 "2016-09-19T17:27:22Z")
there changing them ! > **[The Cup Noodles Recipe Is Changing Forever](https://www.delish.com/food-news/a49214/cup-noodles-recipe-changing/)** > > Your dorm room staple will never be the same.