Despite its name, Taiwan ramen originated in Nagoya, Japan. It was created in the 1970s at the Taiwanese restaurant Misen in Nagoya’s Imaike district, not in Taiwan.
The dish combines a soy-based ramen broth with spicy stir-fried minced pork, garlic, chili, chives, and sometimes bean sprouts. Its name reflects the Taiwanese background of its creator and the restaurant’s cuisine, rather than the dish’s geographical origin.
Taiwan ramen became associated with Nagoya’s distinctive “Nagoya meshi” food culture, which includes regional specialties influenced by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Western cooking. The dish is often confused with Taiwanese noodle dishes such as danzai noodles, but Taiwan ramen is a separate Japanese creation. Taiwan itself has spicy noodle soups, yet this particular ramen style is generally regarded as a Nagoya invention.