Instant noodles, nowadays consumed as a very popular meal substitute worldwide, date back to 1958, when Momofuku Ando (1910-2007), founder of Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd., invented his pre-cooked "Chicken Ramen" to feed the masses in post-war Japan.

Momofuku Ando (1910-2007), inventor of instant noodles [File Photo]

Ando, born in southwestern Taiwan as Wu Pai-fu in 1910, brought a revolution in the world's culinary culture with his marvelous invention.

In 1971, Ando developed his most famous product- "Cup Noodle". This particular product was also the first of its kind in the world, served in a waterproof polystyrene cup, requiring only boiled water to cook and to be later completed by simply adding some dried vegetables.

The product was originally considered a luxury item as it sold at 35 Yen, six times the price of fresh noodles. But later, as the price dropped, Ando's ramen soon took the world by storm for its advantages, including less cooking time, a variety of flavors, longer shelf-life and hygiene.

Today, instant noodles, a kind of dried or precooked noodles coming in packets of different flavors and seasoning oil, have become a symbol of modern lifestyle, convenience and quality. It is now the second largest processed staple food in the world, trailing only behind bread.

Statistics show that annual sales for instant noodles around the world are about US$9.2 billion, and will exceed US$10 billion soon.

According to the World Instant Noodles Association (WINA), about 98.2 billion packets or cups of instant noodles were eaten worldwide in 2011, with China consuming some 43.2 billion, accounting for about 44 percent of the world's total. It was followed by Indonesia (14.5 billion), Japan (5.5 billion), Vietnam (4.9 billion), U.S. (4 billion) and South Korea (3.6 billion).

The latest industry report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. estimated that by 2017, the sales of instant noodles in the world will exceed 154 billion packets.

For his contributions to revolutionizing the world's culinary culture, Ando was honored with medals by the Japanese government and the emperor many times. In the editorial in its January 9, 2007 edition, the New York Times expressed appreciation for the achievements of "Mr. Noodles," who it said deserved an eternal place in the pantheon of human achievement.