Savory, chewy, and, above all, slurp-able, a delicious bowl of ramen is one of the triumphs of Japanese cuisine. That's also a bit odd, because, for most of Japanese history, heavy, meaty, wheaty noodle soup would have had no place in the archipelago's otherwise bland and mostly pescatarian cuisine. This episode, we bust ramen myths and reveal ramen secrets, ... Show More
Nov 18
From Fountain of Youth to Fruit on the Bottom: How Yoghurt Finally Made it Big in America
Yoghurt is the most diverse section of the dairy case: from Icelandic skyr to creamy Australian, and fruity French Yoplait to full-fat Greek. With something to suit every palate, plus a dose of microbes to support healthy digestion, yoghurt is a staple food in the US, hero of a m ... Show More
50m 45s
Nov 4
Yes, You Really Can Make Food From Thin Air—And We Tried It
Every second of every day, plants on earth do something miraculous: they take the carbon dioxide from air and turn it into food. With very few exceptions, everything we eat starts out that way. But what if we wanted to cut out the middlemen, re-wild all those fields full of wheat ... Show More
48m 19s
Oct 21
Pizza Pizza!
At last, an episode on pizza! But that raises a tricky question: what exactly is pizza? As it turns out, the original pizzas from eighteenth-century Naples looked nothing like a standard slice—they were more like a focaccia, topped with oil, herbs, anchovies, or whatever else was ... Show More
46m 10s
Aug 2023
Noodles: The World's Convenience Food
Nissin Chikin Ramen (日清チキンラーメン), the first marketed brand of instant noodles, launched in Japan on 25th August, 1958.
The product was created by Momofuku Ando, who developed the production method of flash frying noodles after they had been made, thereby drying them and extending ... Show More
12m 3s
Apr 2022
694: Japanese home cooking with Ivan Orkin and Chris Ying
<p>We are talking about Japanese home cooking this week, and not ramen or sushi! Think curry, omelets, and quick fried noodles. Tomoko Imade Dyen, culinary director of Japan House in Los Angeles, shares the everyday foods enjoyed by Japanese families. Sonoko Sakai, author of <em> ... Show More
49 m
May 2023
163. A Bowl of Tokyo Ramen: Discovering Language and Etiquette | 東京のビジネス街のラーメン屋での気づき
<p>Join us on a delicious journey as we explore Tokyo's bustling ramen scene, delving into the language and unique dining customs that set these eateries apart. In this episode, I recount their ramen experiences in the city, comparing them to those in other countries, and sha ... Show More
13m 54s
Sep 2022
Instant Noodles Changed The World, Part One: An Origin Story
Today, instant noodles are ubiquitous. You can find them in almost every grocery store, in any number of flavors sold by any number of brands -- but where did they come from? In part one of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the story of Momofuku Ando, and how a su ... Show More
31m 15s
Sep 2021
Sushi: The Japanese dish with an ancient tradition
It’s one of the most popular dishes in the world today, but the story of sushi can be traced back more than 2,000 years. The earliest records document a preserved fish dish in ancient China and it later became a medieval luxury in Japan, before evolving into a variety of differen ... Show More
39m 53s