I stumbled upon a quirky story in The Washington Post about how ramen has become a currency in American prisons! 📦 Once upon a time, it was cigarettes that served as money – not that I know from experience, of course – but now it seems ramen is taking over! It’s like the world moving from cash to cards, or from cards to pay apps.
In movie prison scenes, villains always have a cigarette dangling from their lips, whether they’re bullying a fellow inmate, hanging out with their crew, or lost in thought. You’d almost think cigarettes were issued monthly like in the old military days, but what they were really doing was smoking money, folks!
In Kim Seong-mo’s comic ‘Sagang Villains,’ there’s a scene explaining how cigarettes are smuggled into prison. Typically, they bribe people on leave, newly released, or on parole. The accomplice buys cigarettes, heads to a mill, and flattens them like blades. Then they tape them to free publications distributed in prison – they’re so thin that they go unnoticed. I don’t know if this is common, but it seems pretty clever with the illustrations.
Anyway, if it’s currency, it ought to be portable, but ramen isn’t quite that. Besides, sneaking ramen in seems tricky. Unlike cigarettes, which you can hide in creative places like behind your ear or… elsewhere, ramen’s just too bulky. Not my problem, but hey, life’s unpredictable. 🍜
According to Michael Gibson-Light, a researcher in sociology at the University of Arizona, prisons are currently dissatisfied with food quality and quantity, so they rely on tasty, high-calorie ramen. I get why ramen’s popular, but how do they cook it inside? The article shares insights from Gustavo “Gus” Alvarez, author of ‘Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars’ and a former inmate, who explains how to eat ramen without boiling water.
“Sit by a sink and warm the ramen package with hot water for about an hour. Then carefully open the package, take out the soup, and add warm water to soften the noodles. It’s surprisingly edible!”
Reading this, I couldn’t help but wonder why they don’t just add hot water to the package from the start. The noodles soften with water, so why warm the package for an hour first? Then again, in prison, time’s what you’ve got, so maybe it’s not such a waste. Perhaps it even makes the ramen more enjoyable, knowing you’re an hour closer to release. 🍜 Gustavo also shares his own recipe for ‘Ramen-wich’ – spread mayo on bread, add cheese, top with ramen, then close it up. Just the thought makes my appetite vanish, but I guess Westerners have strong stomachs.
The reference photo in the article showed Maruchan ramen, an American brand, but I wished the inmates could taste Korean ramen like ‘Shin Ramyun.’ I still think Korean ramen is the best. 🍜
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