I like the title of this one, because to be honest, I do want to eat Shio ramen today! Shio translates to salt in Japanese, but it’s not like you get a block of noodles and a packet of table salt. There are four main variants of Japanese ramen, with Shio being one of them. Here’s what wikipedia has to say about Shio:
Shio (“salt”) ramen is probably the oldest of the four and is a pale, clear, yellowish broth made with plenty of salt and any combination of chicken, vegetables, fish, and seaweed. Occasionally pork bones are also used, but they are not boiled as long as they are for tonkotsu ramen, so the soup remains light and clear. Chāshū is sometimes swapped for lean chicken meatballs, and pickled plums and kamaboko (a slice of processed fish roll sometimes served as a frilly white circle with a pink or red spiral called narutomaki) are popular toppings as well. Noodle texture and thickness varies among shio ramen, but they are usually straight rather than curly.
Let’s see what this one has in store!
The importer sticker (click image to enlarge). Contains pork extract.
The back of the package (click image to enlarge). Add noodle block to 450ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, add sachet contents. Add water and noodles to bowl and stir. Enjoy!
The noodle block.
The soup base sachet.
Has a salty and kind of buttery scent.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added green onion, narutomaki, grilled chicken and kizami shoga (pickled ginger). The noodles came out nicely – plentiful and just fluffy enough. A very standard gauge and chewiness. The broth is salty and has a chicken flavor to it. This is very reminisent of a standard chicken flavor domestic, but just a little nicer. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4901990510318.
Maruchan has a premium line called Seimen. Here’s a short cooking video about preparing the Shoyu variety I believe.
