is a Japanese condiment made from lacto-fermented bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots are dried in the sun or through other means before the process of fermentation. Menma is a common topping for

noodle soup Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such as ...

s, notably

ramen is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...

. Menma is primarily produced in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, with brands imported from

southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

being popular. Menma is also known as , "Chinese bamboo".

Etymology

The trading company that would later become Marumatsu Bussan had been exporting dried bamboo shoots produced in

as ''shinachiku''. In 1946, responding to a formal objection to the use of the term Shina from the Taiwanese government, the Japanese Foreign Ministry issued a memorandum recommending that the term be avoided.See :wikisource:支那の呼稱を避けることに關する件 Marumatsu Bussan founder Shūsui Matsumura claims that he came up with the new product name menma, a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of ''ramen'' (拉麺) and ''machiku'' (麻竹), the type of bamboo from which it is made, after seeing it served atop ramen in

Yokohama Chinatown is located in Yokohama, Japan, which is located just south of Tokyo. It was established in the late 19th century, and has a population of about 3,000 to 4,000. Yokohama Chinatown is the largest Chinatown in Japan, larger than both Nankin-m ...

. This name could not be trademarked but gradually became accepted as the common name for the condiment as its popularity grew in Japan. Menma is not, however, customarily eaten atop noodles in Taiwan; the vegetable toppings on the popular noodle dish Zhajiangmian, 菜碼 (

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: càimǎ) were once called 麵碼 (miànmǎ).

References

External links

Recipe at RecipeZaar.com

Măng khô
Asay food Japanese condiments Chinese cuisine Toppings Plant-based fermented foods {{Japan-cuisine-stub

Etymology

See also

References

External links