Smoodle With Caution
Years ago, there was a Canadian named Jeff living in Japan. He was so intimidated by the idea of shopping and cooking in a foreign land that he decided to stick to the easy and familiar. While all the other brightly packaged goods were covered in letters he could not decipher, there was one item he knew he could manage. Cup Noodles, or instant ramen. Jeff knew exactly what to do with this delicious convenience. Add some boiling water, eat. He took comfort in the pretty picture on the package as well; noting that the peas and carrots and bits of green onion provided the necessary nutrients. However, after about a week's diet of nothing but various kinds of ramen, Jeff woke up to find blood on his pillowcase. He went to look at his face in the mirror and was horrified to see a trickle of blood coming out of the side of his mouth. The dose of reality jolted him into 'facing' (no pun intended) his fear of the unfamiliar.
When Jeff told me of his experience, I felt somewhat compassionate of his plight but I remember thinking, "C'mon now. What grown adult would be so ridiculous".
Well apparently, this 'ridiculousness' spans cultures. In the states, there is a popular modern urban legend that tells the tale of a college student who survived on instant noodles for one year, only to end up with scurvy. In India, Nissin has recently introduced a popular flavour of instant noodle called 'Curry Smoodles'.
The instant noodle phenomenon's origins lie way back in the Chinese Qing Dynasty. However, it is in Japan where the version we know was invented (by Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin Foods). A BBC news piece (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1067506.stm) reports that "the Japanese believe their best invention of the 20th century was instant noodles". (With Karaoke coming in second). Downside? The noodles are void of any nutritional value and may be hazardous to your health due to its high fat and sodium content and inclusion of MSG. So back to the blood. Consume with caution, and if not, don't buy a white pillowcase.
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