Why We Slurp Ramen.

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Why do we curse when we stub our toes on the table?
Cheer when we’re happy?
Bite off the top of a Xiao Long Bao and suck off the juice in the beginning?
Groan when we’re cringing?
Make animal noises when we climax¹?

Because it’s just something we do.

Because the noodles are so good that we can’t stop, hotshot.

Instead of telling the chef the noodles are ‘good’, we express it through physical action. It was so good, that politeness and formality were frisbee’d out the window. This is the highlight of the day. I have no shame. I am an animal. This is my release, my sanctuary from the concrete prison I call life.

Slurp it loud and proud, finish the soup, pay cash and GTFO.
That’s the ultimate expression of love you can give to a ramen chef.

Because.

Why do we slurp rame- are we still asking this in 2014?

But of course, I couldn’t say that to the editor, back when I was writing my first ramen piece.

So I crawled through the internet for some scientific justification, and according to the 2010s yahoo.jp, we also slurp ramen to:

1. Cool down the noodles. The best time to eat ramen is immediately, so to avoid burning your lips and tongue, slurping them is the best way to enjoy the soup at its optimum stage without catching a third-degree burn.

2. It decants the flavour. Like puckering our lips when tasting wine, allowing air into the mouth helps circulate the parfum de ramen into our nasal passages.

“Really? That sounds far-fetched,” the email replied.

Really? There’s a whole book and billion-dollar industry on people tasting apricot, vanilla, and cedar wood from barrels of crushed grapes aged over ten years, I’d say it’s just the right amount of fetch.

But of course, I couldn’t say that to the editor.

What do I know, I’m just the guy who went to Japan, ate the real thing, and searched the web using the language, amirite?

If I were a three-hat celebrity chef, this wouldn’t even be a discussion.

I thought. Ten years ago.