Every January 19th for the past 5 years, I’ve done a special post in homage of Momofuku Ando. Who was he? Just the guy who invented instant noodles in 1958. If it weren’t for him, my world would be a whole lot different – and many other people’s as well. Actually, I should thank Mr. Ando’s wife as well – the story is that he was attempting to make an easily prepared, shelf stable instant noodle, but couldn’t figure out how. He tried many different techniques, but it was when he saw his wife making tempura in the kitchen one night that it dawned on him – fry the cooked noodles. This leaves holes in the noodles and extrudes the water. Not only that, the oil keeps the noodles shelf stable for a long time. His vision of a way to create and easy way to feed the masses has been a huge success and considered one of the great innovations of the 20th century. I think he deserves a day in his honor, and that day is today, January 19th.

I did a review video especially for today – Nissin Emergency Chikin Ramen – hope you enjoy! Here’s the regular review below.

So I got this can of instant ’emergency’ noodles from doing an interview for Courrier Japon magazine a few years back.

Under the plastic lid is this little disc.

Under the lid (click to enlarge).

Detail of the side of the cam (click to enlarge).

The can contains two emergency servings and includes two of everything.

Here’s the side panels of the cup (click to enlarge). Contains egg and chicken. To prepare, add a noodle block and contents of a seasoning and garnish sachet. Add boiling water to fill line. Let sit for 3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!

Two included forks.

A noodle block.

A seasoning/garnish sachet.

Pieces of chicken, egg and spring onion.

A dessicant sachet – not to be used for human consumption.

Finished (click to enlarge). The three minutes were ample time for the noodles to hydrate, and they were very good – just like the pack version I grew up with. The broth is kind of a soy chicken kind of thing – salty and tasty. The big win here is the decently sized pieces of egg and chicken (both of which actually had a good consistency, texture and quality). The spring onion was very nice too – everything jibed together nicely. Excellent! 5.0 out of 5.0 stars.  JAN bar code 4902105213360.

A book I’ve wanted to get my hands on for years – Momofuku Ando Speaks

My wife’s favorite Nissin Chikin Ramen TV commercial.