
Well, this is it. The last of the Momofuku varieties. I’ve been waiting to do this one and as this is Thanksgiving eve eve, hopefully I’ll be doing this one tomorrow. On with the pre-turkey noodling!
Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002

Well, this is it. The last of the Momofuku varieties. I’ve been waiting to do this one and as this is Thanksgiving eve eve, hopefully I’ll be doing this one tomorrow. On with the pre-turkey noodling!

Here’s my next to last of these varieties and I have to say I’ve enjoyed them so far. Nice chewy noodles, good Taiwanese style flavors. These are made for Momofuku, a restaurant founded by David Chang. A-Sha Dry Noodle is making these, so if you like their products, you’ll like these. Let’s cook it up!

A couple of years ago, I found out about Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp. A crunch, oil, and a little spiciness. I dubbed it ‘Love Sludge’ – it was so good that I evangelized it to all my friends. Since then, the enamor has most certainly worn off. I don’t know if they changed the recipe, but the last couple of times I’ve gotten some, it’s ended up in the bin, not completely used. Well, I thought a list of alternatives to Lao Gan Ma that are out there that not everyone’s heard of (nor I myself) would be neat. So, I started sending a few emails, asking for samples, and here’s The Ramen Rater’s Chili Crisp Roundup & Buyer’s Guide. I figure 14 varieties is more than enough to show a landscape of flavor and textures that are out in the wild – and I’m sure there are many more. With holidays coming up, if you’ve got a ramen junkie or chilehead to get something for, there’s a lot of different things here that will work that they might not have tried. These are in order of when I received/bought them. Each one has a link to where you can get them. If I end up with more, I will be happy to add them at the bottom. With that, let’s get oily!

Hey it’s Monday. A windy, rainy Monday on November 4th – my mom would’ve been 89 today. This is a variety of dry noodle from A-Sha for the Momofuku restaurants. Really looking forward to this – and I’ll be adding something neat into it. Let’s give it a go!

Here’s the first of a slew of A-Sha varieties. This one is a collab between Momofuku, a hoidy-toidy restaint chain and A-Sha. While made in Taiwan, this is specifically for the US market. Shall we?

Recently, I got samples of the Momofuku x A-Sha collab noodle products. They mention Momofuku Chili Crunch on there and so I reached out – here’s what they sent!

On August 25th, 1958, Momofuku Ando’s mission of creating the instant noodle was complete. Today we mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of its invention.

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.

Got a box the other day. I’d been talking with Nissin Foods USA about the photo contest and other things and they wanted to send some samples for one of today’s reviews involving Cup Noodles.


Momofuku Ando (安藤 百福) – (March 5, 1910 – January 5, 2007)
Today is January 19th, 2014 – and you know what that means? Momofuku Ando Day! In 1958, Momofuku Ando invented the very first instant noodles and started Nissin Foods. I do a special video every year to commemorate the occasion (see below). First, here’s what the Nissin Foods USA website has to say about the man:
Today I watched “Mind Of A Chef,” a PBS show (here’s a link so you can watch it – it’s amazing!) . It has David Chang, who is really great to listen to and watch cook – and ramen is something he definitely has a passion for. Feeling kindred in this respect, I decided to use some of the things I saw in the show to make myself some dinner. I had some leftover frozen Yamachan ramen noodles. I thought these would be a good start, then I used the following.

This one was taking a little punishment in the noodle hamper, so I decided it better see the light of day and become ingested.

Last time I had a bowl of Beef Top Ramen was way back at review #221! That seems like forever ago! Well, it’s Meet The Manufacturer: Nissin week and I couldn’t go without reviewing some Top Ramen, right? Decided I’d go with beef. Here we go!

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!

Well, today’s the day! The first Ramen Rater Momofuku Ando Day! I hope people out there are enjoying noodles today! Been a great day here – had some good noodles (which you’ll see shortly in the video) and was featured on the Seattle Weekly’s blog! Today I decided to review the closest thing I had to the 1958 Nissin Chikin noodles – the first instant noodles that were produced ever. I went with Nissin’s Top Ramen Chicken flavor; kind of the great grandchild of the Nissin Chikin! So sit back, relax, and check out the video. Happy Momofuku Ando Day!

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!