by JAMES S. KIM
If MacGyver were reincarnated as a food item, he would be ramen. The ramen noodle is quite possibly the most versatile food that can be “reinvented” in a variety of ways. These include the famous ramen burger, the ramen noodle grilled cheese sandwich, the “Ramenrrito” (ramen + burrito) and the somewhat forcing-the-issue ramen-crusted chicken nuggets.
But many purists would say ramen in its original form is the best.
New Jersey-based Sun Noodles provides the essential ingredient to a bowl of ramen: the noodles. Potluck Video records the process of what goes into the production, from choosing the proper ingredients to how it is created and packaged away to be eaten by some lucky restaurateur.
The factory churns out over 20,000 servings of noodles a day, made from 40,000 lbs of flour a day. While the noodles aren’t crafted in the traditional manner by hand, the same care and attention to detail starts at the very beginning.
Kenshiro Uki describes how the initial mixing period is important, where “each particle of flour hits each particle of water.” Once that mixture reaches a certain temperature, it is pressed and then cut into over 150 different combinations of noodles based on thickness and consistency, including a few you can see on the Sun Noodle website.
Koreans might see a similarity to how kalguksu is prepared. Kalguksu, which translates to literally “knife noodles,” is also made from wheat flour and, as the name suggests, is cut up before being prepared. It’s completely different from the rock-hard, squiggly squares that come paired with a packet of soup base.
You can view the behind-the-scenes video at Sun Noodles below.
Image via Ramen Udon Noodle 101
