In response to the obit writer, I would say"Give a man ramen noodles, and you have made him dependent and poorly fed."When we were poor college students, my brother called Top Ramen "chemical soup." I thought it was a cheap way to feed myself, and for some reason I thought it was better than junk food.

Dumb.

Too much salt and chemicals, almost no nutrition.  I suppose you could make it better by adding vegetables and tofu, but why not start from scratch if you're going to the trouble? It's so easy to cook rice or noodles. Vegetables can be had cheaply (if you look around), and just have to be cleaned and chopped.
 

I bought some 'fancy ramen' from a company called Annie Chung as their packaging announces that the supplied bowl is biodegradeable. Exciting stuff, I thought and picked it up as a way to show my young son how packaging can be made to be more than just garbage.

After three months of watching the empty bowl sit in a planter, half-filled with rich soil, I called Annie Chung to inquire about just how long it will take before my bowl even begins to weather. 100 days was the answer. Well, it has now been 150 days of blistering sun, torrential rain, and everything in between. The container shows no sign of wear.

Alas.

Alack.

"Because the world doesn't matter if you don't have the strength to go ahead and choose something that's really true." - Julio Cortazar, Hopscotch

uncooked ramen noodles? Blech! But I see it everywhere now. People crumble the dry, uncooked noodles over "Chinese Chicken Salad" and the like.

   During class, I often ask my students what they have eaten.  If the answer is instant noodles, I threaten to call their parents!  Despite the general Chinese preference for fresh food, the stores all have sections full of the d**m things!

   (Luckily I can't read Chinese well enough to tell which, if any, are vegetarian, so am never tempted!).

    Sigh.

patrick

When I was in high school, I ate Ramen noodles for breakfast a lot (when I wasn't eating leftovers---mom's Filipina, so eating rice and noodles for breakfast was the norm). I still eat them occasionally, mostly as a comfort (or post-hangover) food. I crack an egg into it for some protein, and add liberal grindings of pepper.

Roz, I'm Chinese and, trust me, the concept of "Chinese Chicken Salad" makes us all titter.