Tag Archives: top ramen

#1253: Nissin Chow Mein Teriyaki Chicken Flavor Chow Mein Noodles

Here’s one I’ve had lurking in the bin for a while – I figured it was time to haul it out and give it a try. Let’s check it out!

Here’s the bottom of the outer wraps (click image to enlarge). Contains chicken. To prepare, put the solid ingredients sachet in and add water to the line. Microwave 5 minutes and let it sit for a minute. Add the liquid sachet and stir.

Here’s what you see under the wraps (click image to enlarge).

The noodle block.

Here’s the liquid sachet.

Has a nice teriyaki scent.

The solid ingredients sachet.

A nice little melange.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added broccoli and chicken sauteed in light soy sauce. The noodles are flat instead of rounded but not very broad. They have an agreeable chew, albeit slightly crumbly, but that’s okay in this context. The flavor is full, ever-present and quite tasty. When I think of teriyaki, I generally think of that sweet thin sauce with rice, but here the sauce is thick with noodles and it’s a nice pairing. The vegetables did pretty well. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 070662087299.

Here’s a TV spot for this one.

#1233: Nissin Sabor A Pollo Sopa Instantanea Con Fideos

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I thought today I’d do a couple reviews. My son had a craving for some noodles for lunch and I thought hmmmm… Which one? I’ve currently got a ton of varieties to pick from right now, but there are many he will definitely not like. One of his faves is Nissin Top Ramen Chicken flavor and so thought he might like this one. This one’s for sale in Colombia, made by Nissin here in the US, and is basically a repackaged version of the chicken Top Raen. Let’s see how it goes!

Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Looks to be meat-free but check for yourself. To prepare, add the noodle block to 2 cups of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add in the soup base sachet and stir.

The noodle block.

Look familiar? It should – it’s identical to the chicken Top Ramen soup base sachet.

A very light yellow powder with the scent of chicken.

Today we watched Indiana Jones #3 and #4. Andy was working on his Minecraft game too!

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added chicken, bell pepper, sweet onion and lime. Andy wasn’t so sure about this one – actually, it wasn’t the soup and noodles so much but the lime. He’s never dealt with lime before and I told him not to eat it but to just let it float around. Well, being a standard 8 year old you can guess what he did. That was a puckerface if I’ve ever seen one! He took it in stride though and finished the rest of the bowl. This is the true baseline for me of the instant noodle. It can get better from here and worse from here. This is literally Chicken Top Ramen, just with different packaging. The noodles are nice and have a good texture. The soup is good too – nice chicken flavor. I’ve eaten this many times in many
different ways. 3.25 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 7770662018035.

Here’s a very old Top Ramen commercial.

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Made In The USA Of All Time 2013 Edition

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The instant noodle originated in 1958 in Japan, but since that time, they’ve expanded in popularity all over the world, including of course, the United States. Seeing this, instant noodle companies thought it wise to start building plants here in the 1970s. Since then, many brands operate factories here in the US, mostly in southern California. This is a list of my favorite varieties produced here, encompassing my over 1,100 reviews to date. With that, here’s your top ten, America!

#10: Nongshim Shin Bowl Noodle Soup

Shin Ramyun is one of the most popular instant noodles in South Korea. It’s spicy and beefy. This one here has that same great flavor and is microwaveable! A while back, they changed how they make their noodles for their line of bowls, and although they were great before, they’re even better now. Original review here

#9: Nissin Top Ramen Short Cuts Roast Chicken Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup

Nissin came out with this new line of noodles fairly recently. What’s unique about then is that they are a large box with a bag of seasoned noodles. You can use as little or as much as you like! The noodles are short and broad with a ‘comfort food’ appeal and a nice roast chicken flavor. Original review here

#8: Maruchan Bowl Hot & Spicy Shrimp Flavor Ramen Noodles With Vegetables

Maruchan has been known for a long time for their Instant Lunch line of noodles cups, but here we have something new for them – bowls! This one stood out for me – it had a ‘south of the border’ heat to it and was full of noodles of great quality. Spicy, but not so spicy most couldn’t handle it. Original review here

#7: Nissin Top Ramen Cucharealo Home-Style Picante Chicken Flavor

This is a serious fusion: the noodles are short and thin. I remember noodles kind of like these in other products when I was a kid, but always felt like I was getting way more soup than noodles. This one quells that need for more noodles – there’s plenty of them. The picante chicken flavor is excellent with notes of chili powder and cumin. Original review here

#6: Nissin Chow Mein Spicy Teriyaki Beef Flavor Chow Mein Noodles

I would have never thought that mixing teriyaki and spicy heat together would work, but it does. The combination is excellent – especially since the sauce coats everything so well. The vegetables hydrate nicely and it’s an all around great meal. Original review here

#5: Nongshim Chapagetti Roasted Chajang Noodle

Thick, slightly chewy noodles in a rich black bean sauce – excellent stuff. What’s also excellent is that you can make it in the microwave. It uses just a little water and the finished product has sucked it all up, leaving you with nice, saucy noodles. Original review here

#4: Maruchan Creamy Chicken Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup

I absolutely adore this stuff. Take your standard instant noodle and add a nice creamy chicken flavor. The broth has a really nice ‘stick to your ribs’ way about it. Whenever I’m under the weather, this is my go-to comfort noodle. Original review here

#3: Nongshim Shin Ramyun Black Premium Noodle Soup

After twenty years of Shin Ramyun, Nongshim decided to upgrade it. Enter Shin Ramyun Black. It has a richer broth, great noodles, and an amazing packet with nice veggies and beef – yes, beef. This one has little pieces of freeze dried beef that spring to life – and have an enjoyable chew and flavor! Original review here

#2: Sapporo Ichiban Japanese Style Noodles Chow Mein

This one requires a different approach to cooking, but it really pays off in the end. The noodles are cooked in very little water, which they slurp up rather quickly. Then you stir in the flavor packet and you’ve got some exceedingly wonderful chow. The flavor is reminiscent of yakisoba sauce; kind of a Worcestershire sauce thing going on. Then the fun part – a little packet of ‘green laver’ (powdered seaweed) is supplied for you to sprinkle on top. With it or without it, this one’s worth your time to try. Original review here

#1: Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja Flamin’ Hot & Nutty Noodle Soup

For regular followers of The Ramen Rater, this should be no surprise. I have been touting the greatness of this one back when it was only produced in South Korea. Happily, they make it in southern California now. Jinjja Jinjja (translates to Really Really) is a sumptuous sojourn to flavorland. Ramyun noodles are a little thicker and a little chewier than others. Combine that with a spicy and hearty pork broth, nice veggies and a packet with black sesame seeds and peanut powder. The result is absolutely perfect. Original review here

Samples From Nissin Foods USA!

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A big box…

Full of…

New stuff! Scott A. over at Nissin Foods USA sent a couple new items – Habanero Lime Chicken and Habanero Lime Shrimp Big Cup Noodles, Spicy Teiryaki Beef Chow Mein and a couple from Japan – another Nissin Raoh (this time miso) and the pack version of the Nissin Raoh Rich Soy Sauce & Backfat! Awesome! Thank you very much!

#980: Meet The Manufacturer – Sun Noodle Cold Ramen Soy Sauce Vinaigrette Sauce With Honey Apple Added

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Here’s another cold variety to check out!

The ingredients and instructions (click image to enlarge).

Noodle packet.

The seasoning liquid.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added hard boiled egg, ham and Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake. The noodles are nice – chewy and very hospitable to their chilliness! The liquid ‘dressing’ is salty and flavorful – light and has a nice balance of saltiness, vinegar and fruit. Delicious! 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 085315400066.

Trailer for ‘Ramen Dreams’

#979: Meet The Manufacturer – Sun Noodle Nama Soba Buckwheat Noodle

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First off, I’d like to wish everyone a wonderful Lunar New Year! Here’s another one from Sun Noodle! This one is served either hot or cold, and I thought I would try it cold.

Here are the ingredients and instructions (click image to enlarge).

The noodles. Notice how they are of a different gauge and color.

The liquid seasoning.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added green onion, hard boiled egg slices and Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake. The noodles are interesting; they definitely have their own flavor of buckwheat and are sturdy and chewy. The liquid has a very light flavor – this reminds me of a salad dressing but exceedingly light in flavor. This was good stuff – never been a huge fan of cold noodles until the last year and really like these. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars.UPC bar code 085315122333.

Talking ramen with Keizo Shimamoto of GoRamen.com

#978: Meet The Manufacturer – Sun Noodle Ramen Pork Flavor

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Here’s another of the Sun Noodle line – pork flavor ramen! Let’s check it out!

As you can see these are fresh ramen. The way you cook them in different from an instant block (click image to enlarge).

Here are the fresh noodles in a little baggie. There are two of these included.

Here’s the broth mix. Tonkotsu is a pork bone broth.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added hard boiled egg, green onion, sweet onion, chopped ham with garlic, narutomaki and Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake. The noodles are suberb – it is no wonder that ramen restaurants pick these to use. They are so nice and fresh and quite elastic. I have never understood the plusses or minuses of elasticity, but have heard many comment on a good noodle’s elasticity and these have elasticity! The broth is excellent as well – a deep and flavorful pork bone broth with a great balance of flavor, saltiness and depth. This is top-notch stuff. Easy 5.0 out of 5.0 stars.UPC bar code 085315400035.

Here’s a video made mentioning Sub Noodle during the Japan Film Festival in Los Angeles.

#977: Meet The Manufacturer – Sun Noodle Yakisoba Japanese Style Stir Fry Noodles With Powdered Sauce

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Here’s the first review of the Sun Noodle Meet The Manufacturer spotlight, their Yakisoba. Yakisoba is one of my favorite Japanese noodle dishes. What’s nice is that the flavoring contains one of my favorite flavors – Worcestershire sauce!

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

The pack comes with two packs of noodles and two packets of seasoning.

Here’s one of the packets of Yakisoba seasoning.

Has a great aroma of Worcestershire and has a nice taste.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added chicken, sweet onion, broccoli and green bell pepper. Also added kizami shoga (pickled ginger) and Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake. the noodles are remarkable – nice and mellow and really good. Definitely fresh stuff! The flavoring is excellent – full of great yakisoba sauce flavor. Awesome – 4.5 out of 5.0 stars!UPC bar code 085315233350 .

Here’s a link to a really nice video about Sun Noodle.

Meet The Manufacturer: Samples From Sun Noodle

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A nice big box…

…of fresh noodles from Sun Noodle for Meet The Manufacturer! Ramen, yakisoba, udon, saimin… Lots of different flavors to review! Thanks go to everyone at Sun Noodle!

Meet The Manufacturer: Sun Noodle Interview

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Welcome to another installment of Meet The Manufacturer! This time, it’s Sun Noodle – purveyor of fresh ramen noodles and other fine products. Here’s an interview I did with them via email.

THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you very much for agreeing to do this interview! Could we start off with some information about Sun Noodle; when was Sun Noodle founded, where and by who?

SUN NOODLE> Sun Noodle is a family-owned business which manufactures fresh noodles, gyoza (pot sticker) and wonton wrappers; as well as an importer and distributor of Japanese noodle soup bases and sauces. The
company was founded in 1981 by Hidehito “Hide” Uki in Honolulu, Hawaii. With the growing demand of Sun Noodle products in the mainland, Sun Noodle California was established in 2004, now located in Rancho
Dominguez, California; then Sun Noodle New Jersey (Teterboro, New Jersey) set foot in 2012 to meet the demands of the East Coast.

TRR> For those of my readers who are not familiar with your line of products, could you tell us a little about them?

SN> We produce a wide variety of noodle products for both food service markets and for retail markets. First off, we have our assorted ramen(s):

Shoyu Ramen
Miso Ramen
Tonkotsu Ramen
Shio “Vegetable” Ramen
Tantanmen (“Spicy Sesame”)
Hiyashi Chuka (“Cold Ramen”)
Cold Ramen with Gomadare (Cold Ramen with Sesame Seed Sauce)

We produce other types of Japanese noodles as well: Yakisoba, Udon, Nihon Soba (Buckwheat), Wakana Soba (Spinach), and Okinawa Soba. The great thing about being in Hawaii is that it has opened Sun Noodle to many different types of cultures. With that, we produce Chinese noodles as well as “local” noodles of Hawaii. We have Chow Mein, Chow Fun (also known as Look Fun), Cake Noodle, and Saimin Noodles.

TRR> What is the story behind the name Sun Noodle?

SN> The meaning of the “Sun” in Sun Noodle is twofold. Hidehito Uki was attending Hawaii Pacific College for about a year before starting up the noodle business. He said that when he thinks about Hawaii, the first
thing that comes to mind is the sun (and the beautiful ocean, of course!). The second meaning behind “Sun” is that the Sun as the center of the solar system is the most powerful of its kind. Without it, many living
things cannot survive and Hide believes that the sun provides people with positive energy. Like the sun, Sun Noodle strives to be the best at providing quality noodles, providing noodles to give people the same type of
positive energy.

TRR> Is Sun Noodle involved in the local community around you?

SN> Yes, we are involved in our local communities at all three locations: Hawaii, California and in New Jersey. Every year, we make charitable donations to non-profit organizations. In Hawaii, we participate in
the annual Okinawan Festival, which strives to perpetuate the culture with the community of Hawaii. We are also actively involved with the youth soccer community in Hawaii. In California, Sun Noodle is involved with
various Japanese Festivals and other Japan related events such as the Summer Festival at the Mitsuwa Market and the Japanese Food and Sake Festival. We recently started serving ramen at UC Santa Barbara and hold
ramen classes at our local cooking schools from time to time. With the recent devastation of Hurricane Sandy, Sun Noodle New Jersey took part in an event with Chef Ivan Orkin to raise funds for the victims
affected by the hurricane.

TRR> How many miles of noodles would you estimate you produce a year?

SN> 600,600 miles of noodles.

TRR> Are there any new products that will be coming out soon that you could tell us about?

SN> For the professional use, we have some new frozen soup stocks and NO-MSG “tare,” sauce that enhances the flavor or body of the ramen broth. The retail packs will be redesigned to be more appealing to the customer.

TRR> Can you tell us about the different varieties of noodles you produce and how they differ?

SN> Our main business is to manufacture different styles of ramen noodles tailored to the restaurants needs. Besides ramen noodles, we also manufacture yakisoba, Okinawa soba, Japanese buckwheat soba, udon, and pasta.

TRR> A lot of people wonder about the health factors (sodium, etc) when it comes to instant noodles. How do you recommend people made instant noodles a healthy part of their diet?

SN> The key here is moderation. Like all other types of food, it’s about consuming them in moderation – enjoy a bowl of ramen say once a week rather than…everyday. Also, because some bowls of ramen have higher
levels of sodium, it’s important to balance that out by drinking lots of water.

TRR> Do you make/sell products other than noodles?

SN> Yes, we make gyoza or “pot sticker” wrappers and wonton wrappers and we also sell noodle soup bases and
sauces.

TRR> What was your first product?

SN> Our first product was the ramen noodles

TRR> I initially found out about you via a mention on the trailer for the award-winning short film ‘Ramen Dreams‘ – can you tell us about it and your involvement?

SN> Keizo of GO RAMEN! (www.goramen.com) is a good friend of ours and it is our goal to support anyone with a ramen dream. ‘Ramen Dreams’ is a short documentary film about Keizo’s life to pursue his ultimate ramen
dream. The film was featured at the NY Food Film Festival and we wanted to support him any way possible throughout the process. The night of the Food Film Festival, we provided the ramen noodles to be served
after the film showing.

TRR> How does the process in which you make your noodles differ from other brands?

SN> Each company has their own secrets of making noodles. We take care of sourcing the best wheat flour, using artisanal techniques (water temp, flour temp, pressing the dough gradually, adjusting the thickness by
.1 mm for the customer) and doing the best we can to tailor make our ramen noodles for restaurants across the country.

TRR> When you make noodles for yourself, do you add anything or have any recommendations?

SN> Traditional toppings are great [“cha-shu” (sliced char siu), “menma” (bamboo shoots), “nori” (dried seaweed), etc.] but also using local ingredients available at your nearby supermarket is a great way to play
around with flavors.

TRR> Where can people find your products?

SN> You can find our products at most Asian supermarkets such as Uwajimaya, Nijiya Market and Mitsuwa Supermarket. If you’d like more information on the accessibility of our products in your area, you can email
us at our website on www.sunnoodle.com. We are more than happy to help you.

TRR> Thank you very much for this opportunity to learn more about Sun Noodle!

There you have it! My thanks to Hisae and Kenshiro Uki for making this happen and everyone else at Sun Noodle! Watch for a series of reviews of their products during the next weeks!

Interview * Product Samples From Sun Noodle * Sun Noodle Yakisoba Japanese Style Stir Fry Noodles With Powdered Sauce * Sun Noodle Ramen Pork Flavor * Sun Noodle Nama Soba Buckwheat Noodle * Sun Noodle Cold Ramen Soy Sauce Vinaigrette Sauce With Honey Apple Added * Sun Noodle Ramen Miso Flavor * Sun Noodle Tantanmen Spicy Sesame Flavor Ramen (Mild) * Sun Noodle Ramen Shoyu Flavor

#976: Nissin Donbei Tensoba (Tempura Soba)

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Here’s one I found at the Bellevue, Washington Uwajimaya. Pricy stuff – $3.39 for a bowl noodle? Wow. Hope it’s good! Looks like Donbei is a style and tensoba is just a shortening of tempura soba. Let’s hit it!

The importer sticker.

All of the side panels (click image to enlarge).

This was underneath the lid (click image to enlarge). Looks like a contest – did I win? Anyone know about who/what the little musical character is? Check out the website.

Buckwheat soba.

Powder base.

Salty and almost lemony.

A tempura disc.

Has a definite seafood smell.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake. The noodles are very good – they have a nice strength to them and are square rather than round. I like them. The broth has a sweetness of soy and a nice comforting flavor. The tempura disc is crunchy and has a seafood taste. When it soaks up the broth, it lends itself to the other and has a nice heartiness. All in all, a great bowl of noodles. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 4902105033746 – get it here!

Nissin Donbei Tensoba TV commercial.

#975: Ottogi Spaghetti Ramen

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Here one that came from Korea by way of Kristen W. of Arizona! Thank you so much! I’ve wanted to review this one for a long time! Let’s check this unique variety out.

Side panels (click image to enlarge).

The noodle block.

The powdered flavor packet.

The powder had a sweet flavor to it.

The veggie packet.

Corn and meatybits!

Here’s the sauce packet – lots of red stuff in here!

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added sweet onions, light ham and Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake. The noodles are pretty standard ramyun noodles. The seasoning powder that stirs in has a light sweet’n’salty taste. The spaghetti sauce? Sweet and just a little spicy. The veggies are decent. This is a lot of fun and tastes great! 4.5 out of 5.0 stars – unique and enjoyable!UPC bar code 8801045571416.

Old Ottogi TV commercial.

Looks like an older Ottogi TV commercial!