A short narrated YouTube documentary excerpt by Omar Zenhom recounts how, in post-World War II Japan (1958), Momofuku Ando spent a year experimenting in a wooden shack—frying, steaming, and drying noodles—until he discovered flash-frying noodles which produced the world’s first instant noodle product, Nissen Chicken Ramen. The narration frames Ando's motivation as responding to food shortages and seeking peace through food security.
1958. Post World War II, Japan was in rubble and was slowly rebuilding. But food shortages were common, and Ando believed that peace will come to my nation and to the world when everyone has enough to eat. That led him to spend an entire year in a wooden shack experimenting with noodles. Every day he would try something new. He would fry, he would steam, he would dry, and he would fail. Until one day, he dunked his noodles in hot water, flash frying them. It created something magical. Once he did that, he was able to cook these noodles instantly with hot water. The world's first instant noodle was born, and he called it Nissen Chicken Ramen.
