September 24, 2016 By Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

Meet The Manufacturer: #2183: MAMA Instant Rice Noodles Moo Nam Tok Flavour

I thought the first thing to do would be to look this up on Wikipedia. I found an entry for nam tok and here’s some of what it said:

Nam tok can refer to two different kinds of preparation:

In Central Thailand, nam tok is mainly a spicy soup stock enriched with raw cow blood or pig’s blood. Blood is often used in Thailand to enrich regular noodle dishes. One of the most popular variants of the nam tok noodle soup is known as kuai-tiao mu nam tok. It includes broth, blood, noodles, bean sprouts, pieces of liver, pork, dumplings, green vegetables and spices. This type of soup has an intense, rich and pleasant taste and is often served by streetside vendors in small food stalls.^[1]
Nam tok can be also an Isan and Lao meat dish which is similar to lap (larb). This dish is known in Lao as ping sin nam tok (Lao: ປິ້ງຊິ້ນນ້ຳຕົກ) and in Thai as nuea yang nam tok (Thai: เนื้อย่างน้ำตก, “waterfall grilled beef”), if made with beef, and as mu nam tok (Thai: หมูน้ำตก, “waterfall pork”), if made with pork. The name supposedly refers to the fact that there is still “water”, or liquid, in the meat, that is, blood. The “dressing” of this meat-based salad is made with ground roasted rice, ground dried chillies, fish sauce, lime juice, shallots and mint leaves. It can also feature spring onions. It is traditionally eaten with sticky rice and comes with raw vegetables such asthua fak yao (Thai: ถั่วฝักยาว, yardlong beans) and kalam pli (Thai: กะหล่ำปลี, cabbage).^[2]

Ah ha – so from the second bullet point it looks as though this is a pork variety. Let’s check it out!

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add everything to a bowl and add 300ml boiling water. Cover for 3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!

The rice noodles.

A large sachet.

Has a rich scent.

A liquid sachet.

A dark, oily paste.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, fried garlic, thin sliced chashu pork, coriander and chilli flake. Really like the gauge of these noodles yet again – good stuff! Hydrated well in the time allotted. The broth has a kind of mysteriousness to it; dark in color with a sour and spicy taste and other tastes lingering about. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8851876001132.

Instant Mama Rice Vermicelli Noodles Moo Nam Tok Pork Flavor – Pack of 6

A short video showing the preparation of moo nam tok in Thailand by a hawker.

Products cooked according to package instructions. Product reviews done prior to adding any additional ingredients.

By Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

Meet The Manufacturer: #2182: MAMA Instant Rice Vermicelli Clear Soup

Comments

I’ve always been curious about the clear soups; where are they enjoyed and who enjoys them and with what? Well, let’s find out what it’s like!

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add package contents to a bowl and add 350ml boiling water. Cover for 3 minutes. stir and enjoy!

The vermicelli block.

A dual sachet.

Chilli powder atop soup basr.

An oil sachet.

Has a strong garlic scent!

Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, tofu puff, coriander, fried garlic and chilli flake. The vermicelli is ultrafine stuff. I used a pair of kitchen scissors to make a couple cross cuts, allowing easier ease in consumption. The broth has a salty component, a little sweet and a bit of spicy. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8850987201295.

Thai Mama Instant Rice Vermicelli Clear Soup 55g – 12 Packs

A travel and tourism video about Thailand.

Products cooked according to package instructions. Product reviews done prior to adding any additional ingredients.

September 23, 2016 By Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

Meet The Manufacturer: #2181: MAMA Instant Rice Noodles Chicken Flavour

Comments

Here’s the third of the more European varieties in this series. Chicken! Let’s check it out!

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Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add everything to a bowl and add 350ml boiling water. Cover and steep for 3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!

The noodle block.

The soup base sachet.

Light powder with bits of herbs.

An oil sachet.

Has a nice garlic scent.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, coriander, baked chicken, fried garlic and chilli flake. I really liked the noodles yet again in this series – nice width and thickness and hydrated perfectly. The broth definitely was chickenny – a little salty, but worked very well. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8851876201754.

Instant Rice Vermicelli Noodles (Pack of 3)

Ban Pong morning market in Ratchaburi, Thailand.

Products cooked according to package instructions. Product reviews done prior to adding any additional ingredients.

September 22, 2016 By Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

Meet The Manufacturer: #2180: MAMA Pho Ga Rice Noodles With Artificial Chicken Flavour

Comments

Here’s the seond of the pho bowls – chicken! Let’s give it a try!

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add everything to the bowl and add boiling water to the fil lline. cover for 4 minutes. Stir and enjoy!

Detail of the lid (click to enlarge).

An included fork!

The noodles.

A dry soup base sachet.

A powder with herbs mixed in.

An oil sachet.

Lots of little bits in there!

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Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, basil, baked chicken, fried garlic and chilli flake. The noodles hydrated nicely and were of good nature. The broth was alright – kind of on the lighter side. I noticed a lot of floating bits that were much like TVP and seemed rubbery – I’m guessing fake chicken. This just didn’t work for me and really bummed me out. 2.75 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8851876001316.

Mama Instant Pho Ga Rice Noodles, 2.29 Ounce Bowl — 6 per case.

A really old video by Mark Wiens of a floating market in Thailand.

Products cooked according to package instructions. Product reviews done prior to adding any additional ingredients.

September 21, 2016 By Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

Meet The Manufacturer: #2179: MAMA Oriental Kitchen Instant Rice Vermicelli In Gravy

Comments

This sounds interesting! I don’t think I’ve heard of rice vermicelli in gravy before. It looks like it will be beef gravy from the picture. Guess we’ll see! Let’s have a looksie…

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add everything to a bowl and add 210ml boiling water. Cover for 3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!

Superthin vermicelli.

The first of two sachets, this one large and dry.

Lots of fluffy powder.

A large liquid sachet.

Thick and oily!

Finished (click to enlarge). Added beef and basil. The vermicelli came out very well – and of course I used a pair of kitchen scissors to do a couple of cross cuts. Now, the gravy was definitely gravy; very thick and very good! I am really impressed with this one; has a kind of beef kind of spices kind of hint of spicy thing going on and just kept my tastebuds confused, astounded and fascinated. It’s not extremely often I find something new that is nothing like I’ve tried before and like it, too. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8851876000265.