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Guest Blog: Taking Japanese Ramen to Africa

Oct. 18 - Today's guest blogger is Andy Utschig, who departed Embassy Tokyo's Consular section last summer for his new assignment in the Gambia.

Jim


What Gambians Think of Sapporo Ichiban

What a wide selection!

Working at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo from 2009 to early 2011, I joined colleagues every Friday and visited ramen noodle shops in neighborhoods around the Embassy. We wrote reviews and shared them with each other so everyone could try the various shops if they missed one. I had a great time learning about this fun piece of local culture.

When I left Tokyo, my Japanese colleagues sent me off with a gift of about two dozen packages of instant ramen, in case I missed it while transitioning to my new Post in Banjul, The Gambia in West Africa.

Fiddling with chopsticks is half the fun.

Writing up the ramen reviews

I've been enjoying the ramen but missed the camaraderie of eating with my colleagues. So the idea of a Gambia "Ramen Taste Test" was born. I lined up the ramen by type on the table, and each of my colleagues in the Consular Section chose their own package. I made sure to check the ingredients list beforehand with my wife, who is from Japan, to see which ones were free of pork. Many Gambians are Muslims, and we wanted to make sure to have appropriate choices to offer.

I gave a short lesson in the use of chopsticks. Some of my colleagues ingeniously developed their own methods, such as winding the noodles around the chopsticks like spooling thread. We had a lot of laughs. Two of my colleagues said their ramen reminded them of local Gambian dishes. One of the fish based broths, for example, has a similar flavor to a popular Gambian dish, smoked catfish. Afterwards, we sent our reviews to my colleagues in Tokyo.

When we are not enjoying ramen, one colleague often picks up sandwiches from a street cart near the Embassy: Meatballs, beans and spicy sauce, chicken, or other toppings on fresh french bread. Delicious!

That's me at left, enjoying ramen again with my new colleagues.

We enjoy talking about and comparing our sandwiches, just like with ramen in Tokyo. What a pleasure to be able to mix cultures and traditions all over the world, from Tokyo to Banjul.

- Andy Utschig

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