#700: Meet The Manufacturer – Nissin Chikin Ramen (Local)

Here we go – this is the original instant noodle. This is what Momofuku Ando first sold in Japan! This is the real deal. Here’s a link to my post on Momofuku Ando Day!

My wife got me this five pack of Chikin Ramen for my birthday from Japan on eBay – unfortunately, the shipper wrapped it in newspaper and a plastic bag – the packs were all damaged in the extreme and only one had enough of the form to use for review.

See, this little dimple in the middle is what it;s all about. You’ll see what I mean.

Here’s the front of the individual pack.

This is the back of the big 5-pack bag (click image to enlarge). So what you do is put everything in a bowl, drop an uncooked egg on top, add 450cc water and cover for 3 minutes.

Here’s the back of the individual packs (click image to enlarge).

Here’s our poor specimen (this was the nicest one out of all five packs – all the others were mostly like the pulverized bits on the underneath of this one) there’s no seasoning packets – it’s all infused into the noodles.

I decided in honor of this ‘Meet The Manufacturer’ week and being review #700, I thought I’d make a video showing how I made this stuff.

The finished product (click image to enlarge). It seems like this would be about as hum-drum and normal as you can get, but quite honestly, there’s really nothing else that I’ve tried that’s like it. I’ve had some noodles that are pre-seasoned and tasted somewhat similar, but they don’t come out like this. The noodles have a very light, almost ‘springy’ texture to them. They bulk up when steeping and you end up with a pretty decent portion. The broth is thin; like I said, all the seasoning is in the noodles themselves. The flavor is kind of like a chicken sesame. I think calling them ‘Roasted Ramen’ when they were available in the US for a short time was an apt title. These are a work of art and a testament to Momofuku Ando‘s ingenuity. With the egg, it’s a good, filling meal. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars!!! UPC barcode 4902105001103 .

Chikin Ramn commercial.

Making of a Chikin Ramen commercial.

13 comments

  1. I am graced to live in London where you can order these for £7.55 off of Japancentre.com
    Just bought a pack of 5 and tried it for the first time. TASTE AMAZING! Well worth the price.
    Going to have my parents bring some back from Okinawa.
    YUM!

  2. It is worth the hunt for these noodles (definitely the best!). Sometimes at Uwajimaya in Seattle. Izumi-ya in Richmond BC. Pack of 5 is about $10.

  3. Where can I get this in the US? I always bring back a bunch every time I go to Japan but never seem to get enough to last till the next time I go back. Please let me know if you know where to get it. Thanks.

    1. Phillip – I got these as a gift. They were purchased on eBay – kind of expensive too. Also, this one I reviewed was the nicest looking one in the bunch – the rest were pretty destroyed… I think all said and done wityh shipping it was $20 for a 5 pack. Kind of ridiculous – hey if you go to Japan again, feel free to bring some odd varieties to donate for The Ramen Rater 🙂

      – TRR

  4. This was one of my most very favorite Ramen Ratings! My Partner-In-Ramen and I scrolled as slowly as we could, just to make each line even MORE fabulous. We actually held our breath during the unveiling. The accompanying soundtrack was wonderful, and made me want to go shopping at “Daiso: Japan”. (You should feature a video of your ‘weird’ canned food collection, someday! It was so awesome!)

  5. Would sure be neat to get your hands on one of the original ones from back in the day and hang the package up on your wall or something.

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