Huge noodle bowl! Fresh noodles!
Okay so this is the second one of these I’ve ever had! They are a bit spendier than the regular ones – usually they’re between $2 and $4…
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Huge noodle bowl! Fresh noodles!
Okay so this is the second one of these I’ve ever had! They are a bit spendier than the regular ones – usually they’re between $2 and $4…
So here’s another Shirakiku. I’ve enjoyed a lot of their products – most memorably their kizami shoga. This will be the second of their instant noodle line I will review. Here we go!
So found this at Uwajimaya – Higashi Foods makes it. The sticker on the back says Higashimaru Nagasaki Sara Udon. It is 99% in Japanese.
Thought Miso would turn out to be kind of boring so I’ve been putting it off. But it was a choice today between Sapporo Ichiban Miso and Ottogi Jin Ramyun and Kit picked the Miso so here we go!
So this is where I originally started getting the instant noodles. My folks took me here when I was very young as a regular destination for food.
So this stuff is uber elite – probably one of the most amazing things I’ve ever had in the world of instant noodles. It’s 5 / 5 stars right off the bat. I’ve had this maybe three or four times and every time I find it just a little more amazing.
So for my #100 review, I thought since being jabbed at recently about not having ramen from a restaurant, I’d better try it out. Long story short, I found this bowl rather lackluster. Not very spicy. The noodles were very nice, but the egg wasn’t much. I was left wanting… Something more… I had to give it 2.0 of 5.0 stars
I last tried this variety when I was about 15 years old I think and I absolutely hated it. I have been avoiding it like the plague ever since. I suppose 20 years later, its time for another go.
I think after this, sesame flavor and spicy seafood flavors are left! So let’s get it on with the spicy flavor! Woo haw!
So as I’ve mentioned before, my options as far as varieties of Nissin Demae Ramen are dwindling quickly. I think I’ve got a couple after this one so here we go with Miso. Kitten was wondering what the heck miso actually is, and since I couldn’t give her a decent answer other than a kind of Japanese soup, I hit up wikipedia for some info…
Miso (みそ or 味噌?) is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus kōjikin (麹菌?), the most typical miso being made with soy. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called misoshiru (味噌汁?), a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso played an important nutritional role in feudal Japan. Miso is still very widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining world-wide interest.
This one came with a couple packets, one being soup base and the other being seasoning powder. I am imagining the seasoning powder was the miso. It had a slightly musty scent to it – if asked to define, fermentation wouldn’t be too far off the beaten path for the olfactory reaction here.
On the left is the seasoning powder. I was thinking of using a spoon and making a yin yang or some kind of neat design with the two colors of noodles but thought better of playing with my food.
So here’s the finished produc (click image to enlarge)t. Made something to drink (Crystal Light knock off from Walmart) and so the noodles cooked a bit longer than they normally do. They were a little slimy to be honest, but kind of a fungus like slimy. I don’t know if there truly was fungus among this, but all said and done this wasn’t a shabby bowl of noodles. The noodles kind of turned into a greasy udon-esque affair. The broth was a little salty but the flavor had some complexities I wasn’t accustomed to which I found interesting; a mustiness and pungency that I found interesting. Did I like it? Sure – not a bad bowl of noodles as I said. Will I jump off a chair and tell people to run and get it? Nope. This one gets 2.75 out of 5 stars. Get it here.
"Miso." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2010. Web. 25 July 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miso>
Today, Kit & I walked to 99 Ranch Market together which was a lot of fun. I wanted to pick an interesting instant noodle to review, so I went with this one – Sapporo Ichiban Kitsune Udon.
Seeing things like this make me want to break out into a musical number like Peter does on Family Guy. Nothing more lovely than a huge mountain of instant noodles. I really enjoy seeing such things. Today, I got an extra ingredient for dinner, but I’m also going to toss it in the instant noodles too so we’ll see if it works.
Today’s walk to the Asian supermarket was a lot of fun. Was nice to be able to chat with my lady on the phone whilst perusing the noodle aisle of 99 Ranch Market. I gave her the choice of which I should get – Miso, Seafood or Prawn flavor Nissin Demae ramen. I had a feeling she’d go for the prawn flavor…
So this is one of the few flavors left at 99 Ranch Market for me to try to here we go. Felt like a rather we stuffed package which gave me hopes of an interesting and unique meal with surprises and multiple packets…
Tuck in folks! Let’s get down with some artificial pork flavoring!
Two flavor packets on this one – Soup base and seasoning sauce.
So I liked the Indomie Mi Goreng Satay flavor – this should be good.
Two flavor packets! Not too shabby!
I figured this’d be a good gamble. Seafood flavor ramen usually isn’t my thing, but what the heck, let’s be adventurous!
Some might consider this to be beyond nasty, but I’ve found faith in humankind when it comes to these cheap, tasty noodles. Perhaps you will too as ramenrater.com reviews Sapporo Inchiban’s Chow Mein style Japanese noodles.
Lime green. A pleasing color to the eye however not one I would triangulate with chicken flavored instant noodles. This is really the only oddity I found here as I sampled Sapporo Ichiban’s Japanese style noodles and chicken flavored soup.
Nissin
Cup
3 Stars
So I currently have a cold/giraffe flu and thought perhaps a liquid suspension of sodium and noodles would help. Being the microwave gourmet I am these days, I went for the big sucker pictured here. 1420mg of sodium and some Flonase and I’m starting to perk up! This was a marginal cup noodle. The noodles themselves are rather weak by comparison to Cup Noodle for example. Of course, one plus is the multiple packets. I’m a packet junkie as all Ramen Rater readers know. You get a little dehydrated veggie packet, one with soup base and then one that you add at the end with the mysterious beckoning ‘Finishing Touch.’ The veggies rehydrate quite well and provide a decent amount, but just like all other things, there’s never enough. As I said above, the noodles lacked gumption. As for the ‘Finishing Touch,’ its an oil – probably sesame. All in all, it wasn’t anything to call home about, but nothing to call the police about either. The whole deal surrounding this product is just that its enormous. Get it here. UPC bar code 070662007020.
Doll: Instant Fried Noodle w/Chili Sauce [Box]
Stars: ***
Notes: A nice sqare box of noodles – hot chili flavor was alright – not too hot though.
One thing I found very unique about this particular bowl was that it came with a a little packet of tea!
Maruchan: Noodle Soup – Shrimp Flavor
Stars: **
Notes: I don’t know why, but the ramen companies that cater to the U.S. customer really dropped the ball here – there’s only one packet and the noodles are of very poor quality. However, this type of ramen’s saving grace is it’s ability to be used to make a bastardized version of ‘Spaetzel,” a Scandinavian dish. Get it here.
Myojo: Ippeichan Yakisoba Japanese Style Noodles
Stars: ****
Notes: This stuff was way cool – it comes in a box with four seasoning packets. So ya take em’ out and fill it up to the line with boiling water for 3 minutes. Then, you drain it [the lid has very keen drain spouts] and mix in the flavors. There’s vegetables, nori, soba sauce and this very odd packet of mustard mayonnaise. Wish that Dijonnaise tasted half as good. So yeah – very good box of ramen, and lives up to it’s claim of being Japanese style. [AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”B0028PDFQG”]
Myojo: Special Duck Flavor Stars: *
Notes: This stuff is nasty. It does live up to being duck flavored, as it’s VERY gamey and really stinks. Will NEVER eat this again. Get it here.
Nissin: ORIGINAL – 1958
Stars: *****
Notes: This is where ramen noodles all began. In fact, this is what
really got me into noodles. A long long time ago, I was able to get
Nissin brand ‘Roasted Ramen’ noodles at the normal supermarket.
For ages I tried to find it again, but finally found it at the local
oriental grocery. This stuff is awesome – it’s got the seasoning in the
noodles. You can also eat this stuff uncooked – like potato chips,
or sprinkle it on salad etc. This is a score – try it!
Nissin: Curry Demae
Stars: ****
Notes: Oh sweet elixir of life that brings exquisitely painful heartburn, curry be thy name. This stuff was excellent – very good curry flavor! The ‘demae’ variety is what we call Top Ramen in the United States. The character depicted on this pack is called ‘Ching Chai,’ and there’s a big following for this little guy in Japan. Really good with some sliced hard boiled egg on top of fried egg with runny yolk makes the broth richer. Get it here.
Nissin: Soba Noodles w/Mustard/Mayo Squirt
Stars: ****
Notes: A very decent box noodle – lots of the squirty mayo/mustard goop and the noodles tasted very much like Sapporo’s chow mein style. The best part is squirting the magical mayonnaise-mustard packet all over the place! It’s very difficult to have the control needed to make the beautiful latticework as shown in the serving suggestion, so a picture of myself eating noodles was what I went for. Worth a try for sure.
Nissin: Spicy Flavor
Stars:***
Notes: This is the variety of noodles you see when you enter this site
and in the background. It lives up to its’ name as it is quite spicy. My only
issue with it is that the noodles are of the rice-vermicelli variety. Way too thin for me. Get it here.
Nissin: Spicy Seafood Flavor w/Chili Pepper
Stars: **
This wasn’t too bad at all, just not much really
special about it. As far as spiciness, nothing to sweat.
Nissin: Top Ramen Creamy Chicken Flavor Stars: **** 1/2
Notes: As I have said before, dropped the ball here – really pedestrian. If you’re looking for something authentic, this isn’t it. One thing though – this is the company that originated ramen! This flavor caught my eye today as I feel under the weather and was
hungry. I threw a good tablespoon or two of minced onion [dehydrated] in it
and was pleasantly surprised. If I had another package of it, I would be hard
not to eat it right this instant. The high marks are earned for the flavor, but as far as adventure, it gets a single star.
Sapporo Ichiban: Chow Mein
Stars: ***1/2
Notes: Now this stuff is quite different – and quite good as well. It definitely
tastes like a greasy, heavily sauce laden noodle. The broth is dark brown
mainly because of all the soy, but it’s not all that salty. It is quite good
and I highly recommend it. One of the more compelling packets in this one is a little cellophane pouch of ‘green laver.’ It’s seaweed powder and adds a delicately mossy green shade to the concoction if added like pepper evenly to the top. This is a must for the adventurous and keen on the weird factor.
Sapporo Ichiban: Shrimp Flavor
Stars: ** 1/2
Notes: Wasn’t all that jazzed about this stuff – I do think I like the Maruchan Shrimp a
tad bit better. The difference however, is that this package of noodles is very
dense – lots of noodles! A plus, but not enough to make me stoked. Get it here.