Ramen or Ramyen?

Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish which is originated from Chinese La Mian 拉麵, and Ramyen is its Korean counterpart. The original Chinese La Mian is hand cut egg noodle soup with sauce.
Ramen is a kind of Japanese style fast food, and one of the most common street foods. Many individual restaurants across Japan have built their own Ramen identity with their own distinctive flavor and style. They may even serve only one type of ramen, having perfected their recipe. Ramen is usually seasoned with miso (bean paste), shoyu (soy) or shio (salt), though the stock base is made from meat bones. They are often topped with meat, bean sprouts, or bamboo shoots. The Japanese version of Ramen is a fresh noodle soup with regional variations.

It is also readily available as instant ramen in supermarkets and convenience stores. Instant ramen was invented by Momofuku Ando 安藤百福, the founder of Nissin in Japan. (Momofuku Ando died on January 5th 2007 in Osaka Prefecture. He was 96.) First instant ramen in styrofoam container, called "Cup Noodles" was also invented by Momofuku Ando in 1971. He is said to come up with this idea when he saw his foreign buyer put instant noodle in the mug and pour hot water in it. Currently there are many kinds of instant noodles available, and Nissin alone makes 68 kinds of cup noodles. There is an interesting story about how cup noodles got popular in the beginning. In February 1972, there was a hostage and police seige incident, called Asama-Sanso Incident, which live- broadcasted for almost 11 hours in Japan. The police eating cup noodles during broadcast interested many Japanese.

In Korea, Ramyen 라면 only means instant noodles. It is a popular food item among students in Korea due to its ease of preparation and low cost. In Korea, there are around 130~140 different kinds of instant ramyen available as of 2005, and they are a popular export item. China, Taiwan and Indonesia consume high volume of instant noodles as well.

Instant noodles are always associated with health concerns despite its cheap price and convenience. It's high in carbohydrates but lack of minerals and vitamins. It's also high in sodium and MSG.

*How to make "healthier" instant noodles
1. Cook the noodles as package directed. Drain the noodle. This will help to lose oil contents. Run noodles in cold water. Set aside
2. Boil the "half" of water as package directed. Add "half" of the soup base. Add vegetables, eggs, shrimp, meat etc. Pour the soup over noodles.