Ramen, the quintessential Japanese dish, originated in... *checks notes* China? Indeed, kansui, the mixture of baking soda and water giving ramen its texture, originated there. Ramen likely arrived in Japan between the 17th and 20th centuries, but no one knows exactly how.

One story says a Chinese scholar brought the recipe with him when he escaped Manchu rule and served Tokugawa Mitsukuni. Another says ramen appeared in Japan around 1910 at a Tokyo restaurant.

By WWII, food shortages and government restrictions on profit-making saw people jailed for selling ramen, and the dish struggled to survive. Then, in 1958, Momofuku Ando created instant noodles, a revolutionary innovation that transformed ramen into a global sensation. 42 years later, a Japanese poll cited instant ramen as the best invention of the 20th century.