Category: * News / Noodle News

Out Of The ICU! Maruchan Feel Better Recovery Ramen!

An older package of Maruchan Chicken flavor Ramen Noodle Soup

You may have seen that I was in the hospital this week. I can describe the whole thing in the video below since it has been typed a lot of times and I had a TON of blood draws in the past few days and to put it short, they had to get them out of my dominant hand and it’s a little sore after being poked so many times, so my apologies. ...see full post

The Definitive Guide To Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodles

The Definitive Guide To Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodles

Definitive Guide Series – Maruchan Ramen Noodle SoupSamyang Buldak * Nongshim Shin Ramyun * Indomie Mi Goreng
UPDATE 3/15/2023 – Added Shin Vegan cup
UPDATE 3/12/2023 – Added section referring to new Shin Gold and Shin Green US variants.

Back in 1986, a South Korean company called Nongshim 농심 (which translates to Farmer’s Heart), introduced a product called Shin Ramyun. Since then it has been one of the most popular varieties around the world. In this post, I’ll do a deep dive into the product – a tear down of the package and it’s contents, my tips of preparation, and some things you might not know about it. While not my favorite variety I’ve tried, chances are it may be yours. I run a group called Ramen Junkies on Facebook and the topic and focus of the bulk of posts on there surround this product. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

One thing I’ve noticed – spicy is in. This list tends to be the most popular on my website The Ramen Rater every single day. People just want to get all the spicy they can get. Why is that? Spicy is intense. Spicy compliments flavor. Spicy will knock you on your butt. The challenge and chase for the endorphin rush that ultra spicy things give people is extremely tempting for many. These are the spiciest varieties I’ve had the opportunity to sample as of my 3,950th review. Ready to burn? Let’s get to The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s 2022 Subscription Box Buyer’s Guide

I thought hey – it’s the last day of November – perhaps I should do a roundup of subscription boxes I regularly test out with prices and coupon codes – maybe people would like that. Well, let’s find out! I regularly get samples of four different boxes. The prices listed in the video are a snapshot from November 28th, 2021 and so could change. You can use the coupon code THERAMENRATER on any of these for a discount. If you’d like me to check out other subscription boxes that you know of, drop them a line and tell them to contact me! ...see full post

Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten American Instant Noodles OF All Time 2022 Edition

Formerly the Made In The USA list, The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time still is comprised only of varieties manufactured in the United States. This year’s list is comprised of all the best varieties from the United States in my reviews up to number 3,950. These varieties are mostly easily found as they’re not imports. Lots of great stuff to try here as well as links to find it on Amazon. I’ve also included some announcements at the bottom so make sure to check those out as well. With that, let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition! ...see full post

Nissin Sends New Products Including Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice – USA

In August, Nissin announced that they would be producing a pumpkin spice flavored Cup Noodles product. This is really quite daring; very different and out of the norm, but a risk worth the reward. Pumpkin spice is an extremely popular flavor, and even for those who abhor it, it gives them reason for tantrums. Such an emotional response to something like this is worth a lot. ‘You hear they made a pumpkin spice Cup Noodles?’ ‘What? That’s ridiculous!’ Then they tell someone who tells someone – that’s gold right there. As Momofuku Ando once said ‘when you hear what consumers are saying, you’re hearing the voice of God.’ ...see full post

Nissin Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles: Everything You Need To Know

Nissin Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles: Everything You Need To Know

Alright – so the Nissin Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice Flavor is now appearing exclusively at Walmart stores around the country. People’s reactions have been ranging from inquisitiveness to utter disgust. If you’re inquisitive, I’ll tell you right now you should go out and get some because they’re not going to be around for long. I asked for some samples and Nissin USA sent me one. Just one. They were apologetic, but they didn’t have many left – it’s a very limited run. ...see full post

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ramen Bars Recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ramen Bars Recipe Umai Crate

I often get samples of www.japancrate.com’s Umai Crates – they’re boxes full of Japanese ramen and extras – and one of those extras are recipe cards. I thought hey – here’s an interesting one and decided to share it today. By the way if you want to get an Umai Crate, check out the Japan Crate site and use THERAMENRATER as a promo code at checkout for a discount! These would make really great holiday gifts for people who are into Asian food and culture – lots of neat stuff to find in these boxes. ...see full post

Halloween Candy Kimchi Ramen Bread #ramenbread

Now I know what you’re thinking. ‘He’s gone mad, The Ramen Rater, he has.’ Not in the slightest. No more than usual, at least. I thought I would try something and see what would happen. Making bread is a lot of fun and I’ve never made any kind of really sweet sugary bread before and kimchi ramen would have a tangy and acidic bump to it, right? Well, so here we are. Tons of candy in the house and a bread machine wanting to make ramen bread. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

Halloween 2021 – Sriracha Ramen Franken #ramenbread

Well, shoot. This was going to be super awesome – at least that was the plan. I had a box of nice Aces Sriracha Ramen Noodle Soup bowls and I thought hey – let’s make some flour out of the noodles and a neat load of pure #ramenbread. Well, it didn’t work out and when I realized that, I started adding things… ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

I’m very happy to announce that the long time that I wasn’t able to step in from of the green screen is over and I’m back to doing top ten videos are back to the way I used to do them. It’s been a long time coming! Turning the family room into a recording studio is hard when the kids aren’t in school! But they’re happily back to enjoying learning and having recess! This is the first of many special videos to come. Taiwanese noodles are among the finest in the world, with such amazing flavors and textures not only born of tradition, but elevated by competition and innovation. This list comprises the best and most memorable varieties I’ve tried from Taiwan – current as of review #3950. ...see full post

Nissin Top Ramen Popcorn Chicken #ramenbread

Nissin Top Ramen Popcorn Chicken #ramenbread

The last ramen bread I made was 100% instant noodles, however had more moisture than I wanted it to have, so I thought perhaps lighter on the eggs and liquids would prove for a more loafy loaf – less cake like. Well, what happened was nothing short of a Christmas miracle really and something new. What if I told you you could take a few packs of Top Ramen and turn it into popcorn chicken? That’s like diamonds in the microwave but it actually happened! Let’s give it a whirl, Earl! ...see full post

Bread Made Completely From Instant Noodles! #ramenbread

At the outset of my bread making journey, the idea of making a loaf of bread by grinding up noodle blocks was always in the back of my head. Literally transmuting instant noodles through kitchen alchemy into a loaf of bread. I tried it once and it failed miserably. I wanted to find out why and I asked an expert in the field of wheat and noodles. Well, he said I needed an emulsifier – that would release the oil from the ramen ‘flour. Huge thanks to Dr. Gary Hou!’ Well, let’s see how it went this time – spoiler alert – it worked! ...see full post

Red Chef Pandan White Curry Ramen Bread! #ramenbread

Yeah I’m back at it. I saw a Zojirushi bread machine at a  thrift store the other day and thought ‘man, this thing looks cherry,’ so I carried the thing to the grocery store where I got a gallon of milk and other stuff (which was my original reason for venturing out) and then had to carry everything home. This bread machine isn’t small or anything so yeah – it was a battle I fought and won which I enjoy thoroughly. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater: How I Review Instant Noodles v3.1

The Ramen Rater: How I Review Instant Noodles v3.0

As I quickly approach my 5000th published review, I thought I ought to share how I do all my reviews. Over the years, the way I do things has evolved. In my first video, back in 2015, I was using much different equipment. In 2017, I was using much different equipment as well, and using different techniques. Now in 2023, things have changed slightly as I’ve concentrated quite a bit on even more streamlining of workflow. I’m always trying to streamline things and making the stuff I have to do more efficient so I can take less time on the technical side and more time on the creative side of the process. ...see full post

Nissin Cup Noodles Bread #ramenbread #UseYourNoodleContest

Nissin Cup Noodles Bread #ramenbread #UseYourNoodleContest

I did say my last loaf of bread would be the last for a while, but then I saw that Nissin Foods was doing a contest (#USEYOURNOODLECONTEST) having to do with innovation for their 50th Anniversary of the introduction of Cup Noodles. I really like making bread from instant noodles; some of you might think I’m a little off my rocker, but it’s fun, completely different from what I’ve been doing, and it’s really neat to put a bunch of things together and have something come out nicely. Whether I win the contest or not (it would be nice to win), I’m happy with what I did here. Let’s check it out =- I used one noodle block and the seasoning from 10 Cup Noodles Chicken flavor! Let’s go! ...see full post

Buldak Corn Spicy Ramen Bread! #ramenbread

Yeah, after the last attempt at making bread out of South Korean instant noodles, I needed to explore further. Today, I’m going to infuse a loaf with a block of instant noodles, a can of corn, and chicken, and a wallop of sesame seeds! One thing to note – in the video I mention the dates this one will release on YouTube – I made a mistake. It’ll release on September 20th, and it will also release on December 24th – I thought it would on September 23rd. So, that was a mistake. Let’s take a trip down Corn Lane! ...see full post

Red Chef Spicy Sakura Prawn Bread – Malaysia – #ramenbread

Thanks to a nice shipment from the folks at Red Chef in Malaysia (you’ll see the unboxing soon), some Spicy Sakura Prawn Soup Noodle came and that was what I was waiting for! I thought a prawn mee from Malaysia in a loaf of bread could be interesting – especially if I dump a ton of shrimp in with it! Did it work? Of course it did! Check out the video and the recipe is down below. ...see full post

Samyang Ramen Bread Experiment #ramenbread

I left it to the folks over at the Ramen Junkie Facebook group to pick which #ramenbread would be next for me. I really wanted to do something that incorporated a South Korean variety – last time I tried that though, it was a big fail as I tried to make flour with the noodles. I’ve learned that is definitely NOT the way to go, but using cooked noodles and bread flour in a good mix makes for a nice moist cake and crisp crust.  Well, here it is! Best loaf yet and infused with chashu, cheese, and egg. Let’s see what happens when I try to put a ton of stuff in a little loaf of bread with a big block of ramen in it! ...see full post

Daebak Ghost Pepper Instant Noodle Bread

Today, I decided to make something spicy. Really spicy! I had a six pack of these Mamee Shinsegae Ghost Pepper Chicken cups sitting here – I’ve done the mukbang and the review – so why not… BREAD?! They have dark noodles and sauce sachets – this one was sure to burn – and it does. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

MAMA Tom Yum Shrimp Instant Noodles Bread Experiment

Yesterday, I tried making bread with Mom’s Dry Noodle brand instant noodles from Taiwan. I figured I’d continue the theme with MAMA – maternal instant noodle time over here I suppose. But anyways, this one is a completely different kind of deal. Let’s give it a go and see what kind of results we end up with. ...see full post

Shin Ramyun Bread Experiment v1.0

Shin Ramyun Bread Experiment v1.0

I had a thought – ramen into bread. I was able to do this successfully by creating a bread with cooked noodles as an ingredient in place of some bread flour. But what of a bread where instant noodles are the flour? I mean, it is flour, isn’t it? Today, We’ll look at my initial attempt and see what was learned from it and how it went. ...see full post

#3934: Sapporo Ichiban Miso Ramen / Garlic / Kewpie Mayonnaise / Egg Version – Japan

#3934: Sapporo Ichiban Miso Ramen / Garlic / Kewpie Mayonnaise / Egg Version - Japan

A longtime follower of the site named Joe C. mentioned I should give this one a try – thanks! It was featured on a YouTube video by a channel called Way Of Ramen. I figured why not and was impressed. The video is at the bottom, but have a look. Maybe a little less mayo? I don’t often do a numbered review in this way, but I thought since apparently it’s very popular right now in Japan, why not? ...see full post

Experiment: The Indomie Bread Recipe

So for a while, I’ve wanted to play with a bread machine. Well, we got one. We could have bought one brand new and had it in a day or two off of Amazon, but my friend Matt is very proud of the machine he got from a Goodwill Thrift store,  and I decided that was the kind I wanted as well. We went to three one day, and then a fourth the second day. In this particular scenarion, fourth time was the charm and we found a Toastmaster 1.5lb loaf bread machine for $12.99 in Redmond, Washington – home of Microsoft and a particularly fancy Goodwill store.

Bread and instant noodles doesn’t sound like an apt combination, but here we are. Here is the recipe we tried and our results. I will say I’m happy with the results – a dense and moist loaf with a nice crust – and very good flavor. It’s exactly as advertised, folks – it’s a loaf of bread made with Indomie – and it tastes like Indomie.

I should mention that the recipe is adapted from the one that came with the bread machine for white bread. We used it as a guideline and made a couple of tweaks. If you’ve got a bread machine, give it a try!

We did a full video on what we did here, but the full recipe is below as well as detailed imagery of the result.

The Indomie Bread Recipe

Ingredients 1 noodle block from Indomie Mi Goreng (cooked and drained) 4 sets of seasoning packets from 4 packs of Indomie - both the dual sachet of dry and triple sachet of wet Lots of shredded coriander (cilantro) 1 cup warm water 2 tbsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 1/4 cups all-purpose sifted flour 2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast ...see full post

BREAKING NEWS: THE RAMEN RATER IS OUT OF NOODLES

For almost 20 years, The Ramen Rater (www.theramenrater.com) has been reviewing instant noodles from around the globe. Unfortunately, that has come to an abrupt standstill. I’ve run out of instant noodles to review. Local stores have nothing new for me. So today, I’m asking if some of you would be kind enough to send me some varieties you may have locally that I’ve not reviewed. I will add your name to reviews (I can leave it anonymous, should you choose). ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2022 Edition

It’s Top Ten time again! These are my favorite cups from my reviews up to #3790. Cups are a neat thing – very portable. They’ve come under fire for ‘tipping themselves over’ in the past, but I assure you they don’t have any intelligence that would be required for them to move of their own volition. It should be said also not to give these or any other super hot things to little ones. Common sense is a good thing. Anyways that aside, you can get some really tasty instant meals in a cup! Let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2022 Edition, and don’t forget to have a look at the big announcements at the bottom! ...see full post

Recipe: Tonkotsu Ramen Burger

#3899: Nissin Demae Ramen Black Garlic Oil Tonkotsu Flavor - Hong Kong

I thought it was a good time to do a post with a product from Hong Kong. As it turns out, Apple Daily has closed it’s doors. What’s Apple Daily? It was a pro-Democracy newpaper that I worked with a couple of times regarding my top ten lists and ramen in general. Really nice people and it’s sad to see that they’ve been put down by the mainland Chinese government. Makes me sad. So, I’m going to d something with some noodles from Hong Kong today. ...see full post

The Easiest Chashu Recipe Ever

Chashu pork is one of the best things about ramen. Round, melt in your mouth, umami medallions. This recipe comes by way of P. Treadway and was used at a restaurant he used to work at. I’ve seen a million recipes that haver some person using expensive equipment like $200 pots, blowtorches, andf tons of ingredients. This one’s super easy and here’s a list ogf things you’ll need… ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2021 Edition

Note – This list has been superseded by The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls 2022 List – See it HERE

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2021 Edition

Well, it’s been another year of reviews and these are my favorite bowl varieties out of reviews #1 to #3790. All sorts of bowls from all over the world have been tried. It’s been a crazy year and it seems (at least in this neck of the woods) things are starting to mellow which is truly wonderful. It’s been a crazy month too – today is Memorial Day, May 31st, 2021. I’ve walked over 1 million steps this month, and on Friday did my personal record – 33 miles in a day. Yes, my feet hurt. Anyways, if you have varieties you want to see reviewed whether they be bowls, cups, packs or otherwise, please contact me. With that, let’s check out this Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2021 Edition. ...see full post