Champon

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Champon (ちゃんぽん) is a type of noodle dish originating from Nagasaki. It has a partially Chinese origin as it was invented by an owner of a Chinese restaurant, Shikairo (四海楼). In the middle of Meiji period, the owner saw a need for a cheap, but filling, meal that fit the taste of hundreds of Chinese students who came to Japan for schooling opportunities.

Champon is made by frying pork, seafood and vegetables with lard; a soup taken from chicken and pig bones is added. A ramen noodle made especially for champon is added and then boiled. Unlike other ramen dishes, only one pan is needed as the noodle is boiled in the soup. Ringer Hut is the most famous restaurant chain in western Japan that specialises in champon.

The word champon may also be used for many kinds of random acts where things are mixed. It can also be used to describe the practice of mixing different types of alcohol on a single occasion. The word is thought to have the same origins as the Okinawan dish chanpuru and the Indonesian / Malaysian word campur (both mean "mix").

[edit] Equivalent dish

This dish is almost identical to a Korean dish called Champong or Jjamppong (짬뽕) and a Shandong, China dish called chao ma mian (山東炒碼麵). The Shandong version tends to be the most spicy hot. Due to the proximity of these locations, the three dishes most likely share the same origin.^{[citation needed]}