Category: Nissin

#142: Nissin Original Chow Mein Teriyaki Beef Flavor Chow Mein Noodles

So this is what you’ll find at your local grocery store in the United States. I picked this one up at a dollar store. Looked interesting so thought I’d give it a go. I’m always looking for the exotic and felt I was kind of missing the more domestic and such. How can I be a true Ramen Rater without trying the stuff from across the ocean as well as in my backyard? ...see full post

#539 & #540: Challenge: Nissin Demae Ramen Chicken Flavor versus Nissin Top Ramen Chicken Flavor Instant Noodles

So I thought why not do a head to head – same company, should be same noodles right? First off the left is the Demae Ramen, more of the kind that you would find in Japan or Hong Kong and to the right is the United States version. The Demae is a bigger brick of noodles and says it is one serving while the Top Ramen is smaller yet says it is two servings. ...see full post

#82: Nissin Demae Ramen Miso Flavor Instant Noodles

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> ...see full post

#78: Nissin Demae Ramen Seafood Flavor Instant Noodle

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. ...see full post

#77: Nissin Demae Ramen Prawn Flavor Instant Noodles

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… ...see full post

#65: Nissin Top Ramen Oriental Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup

So after years of reviewing instant ramen noodles, here it is. Finally. Hold onto your coiffure taming device: oriental flavor. I have always considered this to be the most boring of all flavors as it really isn’t that adventurous. We’ll see if it stays in that realm of blandness as I review the latest instant noodles for ramenrater.com. ...see full post

#63: Nissin Souper Meal Chicken Flavor with vegetable medley

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. ...see full post

#28: Nissin Chikin Instant Ramen Noodles


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! ...see full post

#27: Nissin Demae Ramen Curry Flavor


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.
...see full post

#26: Nissin Yakisoba Noodles w/Mustard/Mayo Squirt


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. ...see full post

#23: Nissin Top Ramen Creamy Chicken Flavor


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. ...see full post