About 95 billion packs of ramen instant noodles are eaten every year. That's enough for every college student in the United States to eat about 13 packs a day every day for a year. China consumes the most instant noodles of any country — almost half of the world's total — followed by Indonesia, which consumes about 14 billion packs a year. South Koreans eat the most instant noodles per person, at about 70 packs per person per year.
More facts about instant noodles:
- Though Americans tend to associate ramen with only four flavors — beef, chicken, shrimp and oriental — there are thousands of varieties of ramen, many of them made with tasty additions. For instance, in China, instant noodles are often served with vegetables or sliced pork.
- Ramen is considered to be a quintessential Japanese food, but it originated in China. The name is thought to come from the Chinese la mian, which means "pulled noodles."
- The world's most expensive bowl of ramen is the Five-Taste Blend Imperial Noodles dish at the Fujimaki Gekijyo restaurant in Tokyo. The spicy version includes more than 20 gourmet ingredients and costs more than $100 US Dollars (USD).