The New York Times wrote that the perfect instant ramen recipe involves putting slices of American cheese on top of the noodles.

This suggestion triggered immediate backlash from people on the internet who were passionately against the idea.

However, it turns out that the New York Times recipe came from a Korean-American chef, and in fact, putting cheese on ramen is something that many Koreans and Korean-Americans do.



Many of us love a good bowl of instant ramen. The hearty flavor, easy preparation, and low cost have made instant ramen a staple in the diets of penny-pinching college students, and a cultural phenomenon that many people all over the world feel very passionately about.

Therefore, when the New York Times declared that the "perfect instant ramen recipe" consists of putting slices of American cheese on top of the noodles, there was immediate outrage from some people on the internet who saw it as an abomination.

On Twitter, many people expressed visceral disgust at the idea of putting American cheese on ramen.

—MC B Best (@OneAcmeMan) May 7, 2018

What many of these people didn't realize, however, is that putting cheese on ramen is something that many Koreans and Korean-Americans have been doing for decades.

New York Times food editor Sam Sifton told INSIDER that this recipe came from Roy Choi, a Los Angeles-based Korean-American chef and creator of gourmet Korean taco truck, Kogi.

According to Sifton, Choi had explained the cultural complexities of ramen to the New York Times back in 2014. "He told us, 'It's our snack, it's our peanut butter and jelly sandwich, it's our bowl of cereal. It's something that's been part of my life forever,'" Sifton told us.

In a video for the Tasting Table, Choi demonstrates his personal take on ramen, which includes a poached egg, chopped scallions, sesame seeds, and slices of American cheese. Choi told the Tasting Table that his ramen recipe is not only "fun and delicious and easy, but it's also a little bit of a cultural awakening."

Choi's recipe may seem unique and even preposterous to some people on the internet, but the practice of adding American cheese slices to ramen is actually rooted in recent Korean history.

Hamburo, a contemporary Korean lifestyle publication, explained that many people who are unfamiliar with modern Korean cuisine are surprised to discover cheese in their food, given that East Asian food is usually devoid of dairy products and 90% of Koreans are lactose intolerant. But according to the article, "nowadays Koreans put cheese on everything."

The reason for this is that American soldiers stationed in Korea during the Korean War received "cheap, fatty rations that weren't easily perishable" — including processed American cheese slices. After the war ended and the soldiers returned home, American cheese remained in Korea and Korean cooks started experimenting with adding cheese to Korean cuisine.

Nowadays, cheese can be found in a number of popular Korean dishes, such as cheese ddukbokki, cheese jjimdak, cheese soondae, and of course, cheese ramen. And for those who prefer to eat their ramen precooked, instant cheese ramen can even be found and purchased in stores.

A post shared by 💋就只懂得吃的...香港胖妞🙋🏻😋 (@muimui_foodie) Dec 20, 2017 at 6:35am PST

On Twitter, many people pointed out that putting cheese in ramen is something that Koreans and Korean-Americans have been doing for a while now.

—M. Cory Broussard (@Freeirony) May 7, 2018

—jean danica padilla (@jeeeandanicaaa) May 7, 2018

—flavored juice drink (@VeveTheX) May 7, 2018

The New York Times has been criticized in the past for its coverage of Asian foods.

The New York Times has been criticized in the past for proposing recipes for ethnic food that are seen as culturally insensitive. One example of this is when they tried to persuade their readers to add green peas to guacamole.

While Sifton told us that this recipe did not attract criticism from Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, it seems that some members of that community did actually take offense to the pea guacamole recipe.

The backlash to pea guacamole was strong when the recipe was first published in 2015, and it's clear that people have not forgotten.

Many people may also be wary of the New York Times' ramen recipe because the last time they talked about Asian food — bubble tea, to be precise — they ended up describing it as a "curious amalgam" found on "exotic menus" that features "blobs in your tea." These word choices struck many as highly insensitive and otherizing, and the uproar led to an editor's note as well as extensive revisions to the original article.

In this case, Sifton pointed out that "you can think American cheese in ramen is disgusting." However, given its roots in Korean and Korean-American culture, it might be worth putting a slice of American cheese on your next bowl of ramen after all.

Roy Choi did not immediately reply to INSIDER's requests for comment.