This review is dedicated to my mother, whom we lost since review 3000. She is missed every day.
I want to thank Sugoi Mart for donating this enormous Petamax Yakisoba for my 400th review! If you want to get one of these mammoth trays, that’s where to go.
When I did review #3000, it was a big yakisoba called Gigamax, but not nearly big as Petamax. It was also when my mother still with us; the matriarch of The Ramen Rater (you can see the interview I did with her). Probably the most commonly asked question I get is ‘how did you get interested in instant noodles?’ Well, that was because of my mom. She would pick up instant noodles at a store called Prairie Market (we lived on Fidalgo Island which isn’t exactly a prairie) when I was really young make me breakfast with them. She would cook the noodles two instead of three minutes, drop them in a pan with a little oil, fry them, then add some beaten egg. The result was excellent – the noodles ended up a little crisp on the edges and then beaten eggs are added. If you scroll down there’s a video I made using this yakisoba and a plate from when I was a kid.
Well, the particular variety (Nissin Roasted Ramen) went off the market and we drove to Seattle to a big Japanese grocery. The folks there knew of the variety and recommended one with a little chicken character on it. It turned out that was the first instant noodle that was ever introduced for sale, back in 1958.
While at the store, I saw lots and lots of other varieties with different packaging. colors, exotic text. I was a kid who often slept on the patio in the summer – playing with a shortwave radio to hear some exotic sounds. I also remember my mom would call a toll number and we could listen to the mission control when the Space Shuttle was going to launch. She collected stamps – a hobby I had originally started, keeping them in a wheat germ jar. Long story short, I was always fascinated by the exotic and different while growing up on insular Fidalgo Island.
Over the years, I would try varieties here and there, but it didn’t become a hobby or website until 2002. I wanted to go to school and become a web designer; something I could combine creativity and design . I played around with some ideas and the first was a website that was just a list of the varieties I’d tried – a simple image, a range of 0-5 stars, and a one sentence review. This was about the first 50 reviews I did (you can see what it looked like in its infancy here).
Some years later in 2010, I met the girl of my dreams and we started a life together in Edmonds, Washington. We moved to an apartment near a decent sized Asian grocery store which was within a very short walk. This rekindled my interest in instant noodles. I would walk to the store, get something I’d never tried, come home, take pictures, cook, and review.
The way I design my reviews has evolved over the years, but the way I review hasn’t. If I love it, it gets a higher score. If I don’t, the opposite happens. Today, my 400th review. That’s a lot. I was asked yesterday ‘how do you feel about getting to such a monumental point?’ Honestly, it’s pretty neat but I’m more concerned with trying more new varieties. You might think that trying the same thing every day would get boring, but I rarely sample the same thing twice. Flavors from all over the world are painted on this little canvas of fried (or often non-fried these days) wheat flour. It’s an incredibly competitive market, and so innovative new varieties pop up all the time.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thanks everyone for supporting what I do over the years. I’ve met so many neat people who like instant noodles. I also want o announce something you’ll start seeing soon. I’m changing the images on my posts – they’re bigger. I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but I thought this would be a good time to starts. The package and finished pics will be 600px wide now, and other pics 500px wide. Thy always have been 500px and 300px, so I think people will like this. Of course the click to enlarge shots will be big still.
I really enjoy doing what I do; it’s sometimes very hard to find the time to do it, luckily I review about three varieties in one day, so I’m usually around 100 reviews ahead of what you see posted. During this journey I had to make a tough choice too. I had to get healthy – my doctor warned me not of instant noodles, but of gaining too much weight and having high cholesterol. So I did something about it and lost a ton of weight. I don’t usually eat the whole bowl of instant noodles – kind of like people who do wine tasting; they don’t usually up-end the bottle. I take a week or two off sometimes and then do 15 in 5 days others. Today, I’m doing just one review – the massive Petamax.
Peyoung Extra Extra Extra Extra Extra Extra Large Portion Yakisoba Petamax – Japan
Detail of the Petamax outer box (click to enlarge). Alternately, here’s a PDF with English instructions (click here). Contains beef, chicken, and pork. To prepare, add in vegetables sachets and boiling water to line (2200ml). Cover for 3 minutes. Drain. Add in liquid sachet contents and stir. Add small sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Detail of the tray lid (click to enlarge).
Here’s a top down shot of the noodle blocks. These are very large!
Two big sachets of yakisoba sauce.
Two large sachets of vegetables.
Two large sachets of garnish.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added shichimi, baked chicken, sesame seed, and spring onion. I was very surprised I liked this as much as I did what with previous experiences. The noodle came out great – nice gauge and chew. The yakisoba flavor was good, although it just didn’t have the tanginess I really like from sauce yakisoba. Vegetables were everywhere! This was a lot of food – as you’ll see below, I tried to use a ton of it for different things, but didn’t even use half of the massive tray! 4.25 out of 5.0 stars. JAN bar code 4902885006626.
Super Big Big Big Big Big Big Max Peyang Yakisoba
Watch me cook on Instant Noodle Recipe Time!
Making things with Petamax Yakisoba
Mom’s Recipe Yakispaetzle
Finished (click to enlarge). This is my mother’s recipe that got me interested in instant noodle way back when I was a kid. I used the Peoung Petamax Yakisoba and 3 eggs. You simply fry the noodles in oil until they’re a little crisp and then drop in the egg and cook it until it’s done. It might not look so pretty, but I’m telling you it’s quite delightful. I used a bowl that very likely was used to hold this stuff when I was a kid.
Yakisobread
A sandwich (click to enlarge). Added homemade chashu, mayo, and spring onion. The bread was a serious experiment. I got it on good authority that if I want the loaf to work best when using instant noodles, I should use an emulsifier – soy lecithin or whole egg. This loaf has 2 eggs, some soy sauce, and half a chicken breast in there and it came out great – especially using our meat slicer to cut it up. Asoka!
Yakisoburrito
Finished (click to enlarge). Used Cheetos and Doritos – neither were Flamin’ Hot. Added spring onion and mayo. Honestly, these aren’t really my cup of tea, but they’re kind of fun to make. You just make a big pot of mushy slop and put it in a bag and let it sit until the liquid just engorges the dry ingredients.
Triangle Tortilla Yakisandwich
Finished (click to enlarge). Some mayo and spring onion and a little Velveeta for cohesive fortitude. Yeah, it’s crispy and kind of weird – not something highly recommended but it does look interesting, eh?
