Menraku Japanese Curry "Udon"

Made By:  Hikari Miso Co. Ltd. [Japan]
Required to Prepare:  Hot Water
340 calories per package

Available online via AsianFoodGrocer

One of the perks of my job is that I don't get a lunch hour.

No, really, it's kind of a perk, because in trade for having to be present and on-call through lunch, the company buys all my work lunches (along with providing lunch for the examining doctors). Occasionally, though, there is a day where none of the doctors want to order lunch--and rather than make a delivery order just for myself, I try to keep a (company-purchased) stash of bowl noodles and yakisoba-style 'tray' noodles in the cabinet for such occasions.

Anyway, I recently had the opportunity to try Menraku's Japanese Curry "Udon" for lunch at work.  The bowl has the standard two packets (soup base and dried veggies) and some wide, thick instant style noodles.  To prepare, we empty the packets into the bowl, fill up to the fill line with boiling water, and stand for five minutes.  Then after a quick stir, the noodles are ready to eat!

I am glad that Menraku put the word "Udon" in quotation marks on the package, as if they know they're using the term loosely, because these noodles are almost completely unlike any 'real' udon I've experienced.  It's almost as if they're overcooked and undercooked at the same time; they seem a bit soggy, but are also sticky and gummy.  I know it's not fair to compare them to 'fresh' vacuum-packed udon, but Samyang has already proven to me that it's possible to do a dry udon that is reminiscent of the fresh ones.
The noodles did seem to get more pleasant the longer they sat in the broth, but I think that was just that they were transforming from sticky+soggy to just plain soggy.

The broth doesn't save this one either; it has a hint of the proper Japanese curry flavor, but it seems very bland and watered down compared to other curry noodles I've tried--Ottogi's Bekse Curry Myon was way better, and even the 'cheap' Nissin Demae ones were more satisfying.  There isn't even any fun inclusions in the vegetable packet like the potato bits in the Ottogi one.
Unpleasant noodles and mediocre broth adds up to a bowl I won't be buying again, and I'll probably avoid any more of Menraku's quote-unquote "udon" as well.  :\

Nissin Souper Meal Picante Shrimp Flavor

Made By:  Nissin USA
Required to Prepare:  Water, Microwave
580 calories per package

I've decided it is high time I have some noodles for lunch again!  So, even though the doctors are all having Jimmy Johns for lunch, instead of getting that for myself, I brought some ramen to work.  I got these Souper Meals on sale at Safeway the other day for buy-1-get-1-free, so today's lunch will be an enormous bowl of Picante Shrimp noodles!  With "Improved Flavor and Premium Straight Noodles," I don't see how we can go wrong.

There are two packets to open inside, one with dried goodies (including some tiny shrimp), and the other with a spicy-smelling soup base.  We add water to the inside line, then microwave for around 4-1/2 minutes.  We are supposed to let it stand for 2 minutes before serving; mine ended up standing a bit longer than that as work interfered for a while, and the delicious aroma of noodles permeated a good portion of the office, taunting me, until I was able to get away again and enjoy my lunch.

There seems to be even more noodles in one of these than I remember!  They have a nice soft texture, not unlike an egg noodle from a canned soup, and they absorbed the flavor of the broth well.  The broth was not dramatically spicy, but did have a nice chili-powder flavor to counterpoint the typical shrimp broth.  I definitely enjoyed this!  The portion size was a little bit ridiculous, honestly, since no-one is really going to eat the "serving size" of half the container; however, I did finish the whole thing without feeling miserable.  I'd buy them again!  :)

Oh, ramen, how I've missed you.  If grocery-store ramen hits the spot like this, I really need to get to an Asian market soon.

Fuwaritoshita Tenpura Soba

Made By:  Yamamoto Seifun
Required to Prepare:  Boiling water (~12 oz.)
430 calories per package

Has it really been three months since I did a noodle review?  Time flies when you're having....  Well, without delving into things that the average ramen connoisseur wouldn't be interested in, it's been a crazy year.

Be that as it may, today I am having this Japanese noodle bowl for lunch, and so I decided to take pictures and write about it, just like old times!  The only english writing anywhere on the package is on the importer's sticker on the bottom, which identifies the manufacturer as Yamamoto Seifun, and the product as Fuwaritoshita Tenpura Soba, which means it is the same noodle dish as the Midori no Tanuki Tensoba that I really liked.

The primary difference between this product and the Maruchan one, in fact, seems to be the gimmicky-feeling addition of some whole shrimp embedded in the tempura disk; otherwise, the package contains just the standard block of soba noodles and packet of dry soup base.  Preparation is the same as practically any other bowl noodle:  Add boiling water to the line, wait three minutes, and stir and serve!

While the broth does have the requisite dashi-shoyu flavor going on, it seems bland to me; it doesn't seem to have quite the same savory depth of flavor that I am used to from other Japanese-style noodle products like the ones from Nong Shim or Maruchan.  Likewise, the noodles have the breadlike mouthfeel I was expecting from my experience with other instant soba, but the deep nutty flavor isn't as prevalent.  Even the tempura seems to lack the same richness as in the Midori no Tanuki tensoba.

And then we get to the negative part:  the little shrimp I mentioned earlier.  When I said they were whole dried shrimp, I meant it--there are actually tiny unpeeled shrimp, i.e. complete with tiny shrimp legs and tiny shrimp shells, imbedded in the tempura disk.  As you contemplate whether this seems like a good idea, think back to the last time you were eating a shrimp dish and ended up trying to bite into one of the tails by mistake.  Then, imagine that someone hid a bunch of chopped-up shrimp tails in your bowl of noodles as a practical joke, because that's exactly the experience of trying to eat this soup.  After the first one, I thought I was being vigilant in picking the stupid things out, but I still managed to end up spitting out shrimp shells several more times before I finished the bowl.  For me, it completely ruined the experience, and  turned what would have been a perfectly mediocre bowl of noodles into something that was actually pretty disgusting.
I have to be honest, I simply don't get it.  :b

Maruchan Midori no Tanuki Tensoba

Made by:  Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. [Japan]
Required to prepare:  ~14oz. boiling water
460 calories per serving

Available online through Amazon.com

Last time I was at Uwajimaya, I picked up the 'sister product' to the Akai Kitsune Udon that I reviewed a few months back.  Again, the name of the product is not disclosed in english, so I am left to translate the Japanese writing myself and come up with "Midori no Tanuki Tensoba", which roughly means 'green raccoon* noodles (with tempura)'.  I've heard of a red fox, but I don't think I've ever seen a green raccoon.  I actually imagine they are referring to the mythological kitsune and tanuki instead of the indigenous woodland creatures, though, so maybe a tanuki can be green if it wants to be.

Mythified critters aside, what we have here is an instant rendition of Japanese "Tensoba", short for tempura-soba, or buckwheat noodles topped with some fried tempura.  Preparation is largely the same most other bowl noodles; we add the contents of the included packets (a powdered soup base, and what appears to be an extremely tiny amount of chili powder), fill to the line with boiling water, and cover and let stand for three minutes.

The included noodles are 'real' soba, at least to the extent that they have enough buckwheat flour in them to produce the traditional grayish color.  They have an interesting bread-like mouthfeel and a deep nutty flavor.  The broth is pretty much the same dashi-and-shoyu "Japanese-style" savory flavor as in the Akai Kitsune Udon, and in other "traditional" imported noodles.  I happen to love the flavor, but if you didn't like it in any of the other products, this one won't be for you either.  The tempura disk becomes extremely soggy, of course, which one would expect, but which Americans might not associate with the word "tempura".  Unlike the abura-age from the Kitsune Udon, the tempura disk ends up breaking up into the soup instead of being eaten separately, providing nice little counterpoints of flavor throughout the dish.

While the two products--Akai Kitsune Udon and Midori no Tanuki Tensoba--have similar flavor profiles, since the broth is (as best as I can tell) exactly the same, I have to say that in the battle of Red Fox versus Green Raccoon*, I greatly prefer the Raccoon's tensoba.  I think the soba noodles have an amazing flavor, and I like the way the tempura becomes a component of the dish instead of staying a separate garnish.  Both are really good, naturally, but given the choice this is the one I would go back to on a regular basis.  :D

*While often translated as "raccoon", the Japanese tanuki is unrelated to the true raccoon native to America and is more accurately a raccoon-dog, since the tanuki is a canine.

Maruchan Akai Kitsune Udon

Made By:  Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. [Japan]
Required to prepare:  ~14 oz. boiling water
410 calories per serving

Available online through Amazon.com

Today is a cold, rainy day in Woodinville, WA, so a hot comfort food sounds like just what I need for a quick lunch!  I'm trying these noodles from Maruchan of Japan (who should not be confused with Maruchan USA).  Although there is english writing on the package in various places, such as the instructions and nutrition information, strangely there is no translation of the name on the package.  So, I have to resort to my extremely-limited japanese-decoding skills, and I make out the name as Akai Kitsune Udon, which seems like it would mean something like 'red fox noodles.'  Whatever they're called, I'm ready to try them, so on with the review!

The kitsune [fox] part of the name means that the noodles are topped with an abura-age, which is a seasoned fried tofu pocket thing, and which are the same thing used for making inari sushi.  Unlike other 'udon' products I've tried, these are dry noodles rather than being vacuum-packed fresh ones.  We also have a double-packet of seasonings, that has a basic-looking soup base in one side and what seems to be an extremely tiny amount of chili powder in the other.  We open the packet into the noodles, fill the bowl to the line with boiling water, close the lid, and let stand for five minutes.  Then after a quick stir we are ready to eat!

The broth is mild but quite flavorful; it has that dashi flavor that I really love, like in the Nong Shim Japanese-Style Udon.  I don't notice any sort of heat at all; if that really was chili powder in the packet, there wasn't enough of it to change anything.  The noodles are nice, but remind me more of an egg noodle than a true udon--the flavor is close but a little too rich, and the texture isn't quite right either.  Still, they are not bad by any means and accompany the broth well.  The abura-age has an interesting flavor, if you've never had one; they're mildly sweet and kind of remind me of a waffle.  It can also be a bit unwieldy to eat, especially (I would imagine) with a different implement than chopsticks--the outside crust is quite firm and tends to resist efforts to stab or cut it.  I can fold it in half and pick it up to take bites, but I'm not sure how you'd go at it with a fork or spoon.

Overall, I liked this one quite a bit; it seemed like another nice variation on traditional Japanese noodle soup. It might not be my absolute favorite in the category, but I'll probably buy it again. :)

Little Cook TVP Curry Chicken

Made By:  Namchow (Thailand) Ltd.
Required to Prepare:  Boiling Water
500 calories per package

It's been quite a while since I've been making regular updates here, but I did have a good reason for it--I've been busy trying to get my new candle business off the ground!  The website is far from done, but at least things are started up now.  Yesterday I finally made another run to Uwajimaya, so there are new noodles to review!  So, for a light dinner tonight, I decided to have this Curry Chicken flavored big-bowl noodle from Little Cook.  I thoroughly enjoyed the previous Little Cook product I tried, so I'm hoping this one will hit the spot as well.

Inside the bowl is the block of wide noodles, a small packet of seasoning powder, and the foil retort pouch that contains our curry sauce and meat.  We open the powdered seasoning and add it to the bowl, fill to the line with boiling water, close the lid, and place the retort pouch on top to warm up.  Three minutes later, we remove the lid, add the contents of the pouch to the soup, and stir it up.  While adding the pouch, I find myself slightly taken aback by how much the contents resemble the canned "Kibbles & Bits" food that we get as a treat for our German Shepherd... but it does seem to have a decent curry aroma, so I try to stay optimistic.

Once the soup is all stirred up, I note that the meat bits bear absolutely no resemblence to chicken whatsoever; they also have an unpleasant and unnatural spongy texture.  It is at this point, far too late, that I realize that the "TVP" on the package must stand for "Textured Vegetable Protein."  Beyond the distastefulness of the "meat," the broth is much more bland than I expected.  I am not sure how this happened, because something with 2,080 mg of sodium in it really shouldn't taste like it needs salt.  The noodles have a decent texture, but don't even manage to pick up the small amount of flavor that is present in the broth.  As a final insult, toward the bottom of the bowl I encounter a lot of gritty stuff that basically makes the last bit of the soup totally inedible.  If there is a high point, I guess it would be the little bits of potato that were included in the retort pouch, I kind of enjoyed the bites that included those... but if potato is what I was after, I probably should have just eaten a french fry.  :b

Little Cook Instant Noodles Stewed Duck Flavor

Made By:  Namchow (Thailand), Ltd.
Extra Ingredients Required:  Boiling Water
500 calories per package

Today is another Noodle Day--I am home waiting for our new appliances to be delivered!  I am pretty excited; the last time I had brand-new appliances was when I got a brand-new house that came with them, and that was quite a few years ago.  Because I don't want to get a bunch of cookware dirty right before installing a new cookstove, I am going to have this Bowl Noodle I picked up last time I was at Uwajimaya.  I hadn't heard of the brand before, but the flavor sounded interesting so I thought I'd see how they were!

Inside the bowl, there are some wide-cut ramen noodles, a packet that contains both powdered seasoning and some dry veggies, and most interestingly, a vacuum-sealed foil retort pouch with some sort of fresh sauce in it.  Preparation is pretty easy; we add the contents of the dry packet and fill the bowl to the line with boiling water, place the retort pouch on top of the lid, and wait for three minutes.  Putting the pouch on top has the dual purpose of holding the lid closed and warming up the pouch, so that part actually seemed sort of clever.  Finally, we add the contents of the pouch--which contains a couple of large chunks of actual duck meat in a sweet curry sauce!  I was not expecting meat in the pouch, for some reason.  We stir it all together, and sit down to eat!

The broth doesn't end up tasting as sweet as the sauce packet smelled; the curry spice is the primary flavor, and there is a nice balance between sweet and savory going on.  The noodles have a nice texture, but are fairly unremarkable otherwise, and the veggies are mostly green onion bits and some sort of leafy herb I don't actually recognize.  The bits of stewed duck meat are a nice addition; their texture is soft but not overly mushy, and they are very flavorful, probably from being stewed in the curry sauce.

I have to say, I really enjoyed this!  I liked the use of the retort pouch to include some actual meat toppings in the product, and I thought the flavor was very interesting.  I like that it is spicy in a different way than just adding chili powder for heat like so many other ramen products.  The serving size is quite generous too, so it makes a good meal without having any chips or sides to go with.  I wish I had gotten other flavors to try too!  I guess it will give me something to look for next time I go noodle shopping. :D

UPDATE:  The last time I saw this in the store (after my experience with the TVP Curry 'Chicken' flavor), I checked the ingredients list and saw that there was in fact no actual duck meat included in this product.  I'm unsure whether this is a change, or if the TVP 'meat' was just that much better in this one.  Maybe someday I'll build the courage to find out.

FF Tom Yum Seafood Creamy Flavor

Made By:  Fashion Food Co. (Thailand)
Tools Required:  Hot water, sharp object
270 calories per package

Rating:  :)

(available through Amazon.com)

My sweetie told me I should have a "Japanese-style" breakfast this morning, which is her way of saying she's going to sleep in and I can eat noodle soup for breakfast.  I picked this Tom Yum Seafood bowl from Fashion Food, since the portion size is fairly small and I won't be ruining our 'real' breakfast later.  I've had this one in the cabinet for a while and I've been avoiding it for some reason; maybe the "Fashion Food" name gives me the feeling that the presentation took precedence over quality or something.  Anyway, this seems like the perfect time, so let's open it up and see what's in there!

I ended up needing a knife to open the shrink wrap; not a real problem but good to know if I were packing this for lunch.  (I also nearly destroyed the instructions by tearing the shrinkwrap off.)  Once we get in there, we find an inner liner that contains our dark-colored brick ramen noodles, a packet of powdered seasoning, and a packet of orange oil.  There is also a small pack of dried seafood and veggies, and another one of those silly little forks which I shall ignore.  We put all of our ingredients into the bowl, fill to the line with "bowling" water, and put the lid on for three minutes.  Once the time is up, I give it a stir, and notice that the noodles seem to resist separating out of their block shape, which is unusual.  I eventually get it all stirred up and photogenic, though.

The noodles are firm and flavorful; they are very similar in color and texture to the ramen-style noodles made by MAMA brand, also from Thailand.  The broth is significantly spicy, and unlike the MAMA products, the chili powder is not packaged separately, so there wouldn't be any good way for someone to 'tone it down' if they didn't want that much heat.  The flavor is nice, though; it seems comparable to the MAMA Shrimp Tom Yum, with the addition of the seafood bits.  One thing that might be a positive about not having the chili powder separately is that the broth does seem a little less grainy once we get down to the bottom of the bowl.

I did enjoy this one, although I can't help thinking the fancy bowl and fork were wasted on me.  Since the purchase price of these is roughly triple that of the MAMA packet-style product, I think that one would get the nod from me over this one.  :|

Nissin Bowl Noodles Hot & Spicy with Shrimp

Made By:  Nissin USA
Tools Required:  Microwave, Water
420 calories per package

Rating:  :D

(available online through Amazon.com)

This week's noodle review is our first sampling of Nissin's Hot & Spicy Bowl Noodles line.  I know I've been reviewing a lot of Nissin products lately, but at least in this part of the country, they are by far the most widely available products in regular grocery stores, and I think it's worthwhile to find out which ones are worth the try.  These are described as "With Shrimp," rather than just shrimp-flavored, so I expect to see some little dried crustaceans in here.  Let's see what we've got!

Sure enough, in among our packets of add-ins is a dried goodie packet that seems to have four or five dried shrimp, along with some red peppers and lots of green onion flakes.  We also have our disc of ramen-style noodles, a packet of powdered soup base, and a Soup Booster that holds an unattractive dark, grainy, oily paste.  We empty the dried ingredients and soup base packets into the bowl, fill with water to the line, and microwave for three minutes.  Then we squeeze the contents of the Soup Booster packet into the hot soup, give it a good stir, and sit down to eat!

I am very pleasantly surprised by the texture of the noodles!  They are firm, not the least bit sticky, and have a light, clean feel and taste.  They remind me of the potato-starch noodles from in the Paldo Yukejang bowl, though that isn't listed as an ingredient.  The broth is definitely spicy and flavorful, too!  I am tasting roasted red pepper, onion, beef, and a cool herb flavor (which the ingredient list reveals to be cilantro).  It is a very hearty, almost stew-like broth; it comes across to me as a cajun-style flavor, reminiscent of a jambalaya or gumbo. 

Products like this are the reason I like to try all the different offerings of a particular manufacturer--sometimes I can find a hidden gem, even in the domestic dry soup section.  I highly recommend this one! :D

Nissin Souper Meal Chicken Flavor with Vegetable Medley

Made By:  Nissin USA
Tools Required:  Microwave, Spoon & Chopsticks
Large Meal Size (580 calories per package)
Rating:  :)

(available online through buyasianfoods.com)

For today's review, I will be sampling one of Nissin USA's "Souper Meal" products.  As near as I can tell, the marketing strategy here seems to be the same as with those Hungry-Man frozen dinners, or the Burger King Triple Whopper with Cheese--that is, that we understand that manly men have manly hunger and so we are going to provide curiously large portions of food designed to satisfy a curiously large appetite.  When I think of it that way, it almost seems like a challenge; I may be a girly girl instead of a manly man, but my chopsticks and I are ready to take this thing on!

The bowl has three included seasoning packets along with the noodles:  there is a powdered soup base and a packet of dehydrated stuff which I presume is the promised "Vegetable Medley," and then there is a pack of liquid seasoning labelled "Finishing Touch" which appears to contain soy sauce and some kind of oil.  We add the first two packets to the bowl, fill with lots of water, and microwave uncovered for four-and-a-half minutes; then, right before serving, we add the Finishing Touch, which may be the corniest name for a flavor packet ever.  The noodles don't appear to have cooked completely evenly, some of them are more glassy-looking than others, but at least none of them seem undercooked.  I also notice a lot of herb flecks throughout, and our Vegetable Medley looks to be corn, cabbage, carrots, and maybe some mushrooms (although those might be the artificial chicken bits instead).

The broth has a nice hearty chicken and herb flavor; as far as ramen products go, it might be one of the better chicken broths I've tried.  The noodles are all right, I guess; they are a little firmer than what one would expect from a Top Ramen, but they don't seem to have a lot of substance either.  Overall, I would rate them as pleasant, though the phrase "quantity over quality" seems to come to mind.

Speaking of the quantity, I think I would say that the portion is probably a bit larger than it needs to be--out of curiosity, I measured the empty bowl once I was done eating, and learned that I had just eaten over three cups of soup.  On the other hand, I really didn't have any trouble finishing the whole thing, so maybe it isn't that unreasonable after all.  I will probably steer toward more sensible portions most of the time, but I imagine for someone with an extra-hearty appetite, this could be just the thing. :|

No-Soup Review: Nong Shim Savory Bowl Noodle Chicken Flavor

Original Review:  Nong Shim Savory Bowl Noodle Chicken Flavor

No-Soup Rating:  :)

Okay, I think I am starting to wish I hadn't stocked up on quite so many of these--I am still working on the first case of 18 from that buy-one-case-get-one-free deal at Costco.  So to try to mix things up some more, I'm going to be doing an experiment today!  I do like the Mi Goreng/Yakisoba/Chow Mein style 'brothless' noodles, and it seems like they are much the same product as 'normal' ramen except that you drain the noodles first.  Some brands (notably Maruchan's Yakisoba line) even use a powdered flavor base, and it seems to work okay.  Recently I started wondering, what would happen if I tried preparing a "regular" noodle product in similar fashion?  Well, today I am going to find out!

I prepare the noodles with the same hot-water prep method as the printed instructions (stand for three minutes), except I don't add the soup base yet.  Once the noodles are done, I drain them with a strainer and dump them back into the bowl, then stir in the seasoning.  The seasoning seemed to blend in quite easily--more easily than some products I've tried that are designed to be prepared this way.  Now for the moment of truth!

Oh, I kind of like these this way!  They are much more flavorful than the normal 'soup' version, which is probably to be expected since the flavoring is more concentrated.  On the negative side of that, they do seem a little overly salty, but not to the point of being totally off-putting.  I'd say it's about the same saltiness level of a Campbell's condensed chicken noodle soup or so.  What I really like, though, is that the lack of broth seems to bring out the flavor of the included vegetables--the peas and corn give little bursts of sweetness here and there that make a nice contrast to the salty chicken flavor of the noodles.  I think I preferred this to the 'normal' preparation--I really enjoyed these!  I do wonder if they could be improved further by adding an egg, or even some extra veggies, that could help balance the salt a little more, but I would say the experiment was a success.  :)

Paldo Yukejang Hot & Spicy Noodle

Made By:  Paldo (Korea)
Tools Required:  Hot Water, Spoon & Chopsticks
Light Meal Size (390 calories per package)
Rating:  ^_^

(Available online through Amazon.com)

I am finally back and reviewing some new noodles today!  These are a Korean import, but I was able to find them at the local Top Foods here in Woodinville--yay for convenient shopping!  (I do so need to get back to an Asian grocery soon.)  Anyway, let's get right to the review, shall we?

Inside the bowl is a disk of fairly thin ramen-style noodles, as well as two seasoning packets, labelled "Vegetable Soup" and "Powder Soup".  {Note:  Later purchases of this have had the contents of the "Vegetable Soup" packet loose in the bowl instead, so don't think there is something wrong if you only get one packet.}  The dried veggie packet includes the usual suspects--green onion, dehydrated carrots, peppers--but also some little square sheets that remind me of tamago.  The powder soup is the deep red chili-powder color that is to be expected in a Hot & Spicy soup.  Preparation is simple; we just empty the packets into the bowl, fill with boiling water, and wait three minutes.  Upon removing the lid, we are greeted by a pleasant spicy soy aroma.  Time to eat!

The noodles have a very unique flavor and texture!  They are soft but not mushy; I thought the mouthfeel of these was very enjoyable.  It was enough to make me go look at the ingredient list, where I found that the noodles are made with potato starch as well as flour.  I approve!  I would say the broth is moderately spicy; the heat is present but it doesn't overpower the other flavors, which make for a nice, clean-tasting shoyu broth.  Unfortunately the little egg squares (or whatever they are supposed to be) didn't end up contributing that much, but I don't suppose that's a real disappointment if the overall product is good.

I was actually very impressed with this product!  I might even keep an eye on the ingredient lists for other products that include a potato-starch noodle like this one, they were that good.  They were not that expensive, for a bowl noodle, either.  I will definitely be buying more of these!  ^_^

Souped-Up Ramen Review: Nong Shim Savory Chicken Bowl Noodle

Ingredients:
Nong Shim Savory Chicken Bowl Noodle
an egg
a green onion
Sriracha sauce

Meal Size (~500 calories)
Rating:  Major Upgrade!

Okay, I had sort of been planning to do some "Souped-Up" reviews like this from the beginning--I'm actually sort of surprised it took me this long to get to one.  I think I mentioned in the original review that I ended up getting 36 of these in a buy-one-case-get-one-free deal from Costco, right?  Well, I've had nine of them so far.  I think I also mentioned that they were a bit bland and unexciting.  With 27 bowls left to go, I think it's high time I tried to make them more interesting!

So, while the water for the noodles (and tea) was heating on the stove, I chopped the green onion and added it to the bowl along with the seasoning packet, and got a small skillet ready by melting about 1/2 tbsp. butter over low heat.  While the noodles were standing in the hot water, I fried the egg sunny-side up (covered skillet method) and slid it onto the top when the noodles were done, then topped everything with a drizzle of Sriracha hot sauce.

Before eating, I like to cut the egg up with my chopsticks and stir it in a bit, so that the yolk (and hot sauce) blends in with the broth.  The finished result is a broth that is very rich and creamy, nicely savory, and not nearly as spicy as one would imagine by looking at the hot sauce in the picture.  Eggs have an interesting property of countering a lot of spice heat, so the Sriracha just ends up keeping things from being too bland, especially since I didn't season the egg with anything else.

This has got to be the best bowl of noodles I have had in months.  And the add-in ingredients are very economical, too!  This will make it a lot easier to finish the case-and-a-half of these bowls that I have left.  I call this a Major Upgrade!  Om nom nom. :D

Nissin Bowl Noodles Rich & Savory Beef Flavor

Made By:  Nissin USA
Tools Required:  Microwave, Spoon
Meal Size (440 calories per package)
Rating:  :)

(available online through Amazon.com)

Today's noodle is another domestic product--what can I say, I haven't been to Uwajimaya in a while.  I'm trying out one of Nissin's "Bowl Noodles" products, which look to be a heartier offshoot of their Cup Noodles.  The package mentions that these are "Spoonable Noodles," so presumably that means we won't need chopsticks or a fork to eat these, just our spoon.  Something about the packaging makes me expect a western-style flavor, so we'll see what we have.

The bowl contains the noodles and one green foil packet which contains both the powdered soup base and all the dried veggies.  There is also a small white plastic packet of liquid "Soup Booster," but strangely it is packaged underneath the bowl inside the plastic outer wrap.  It seems like it would be easy to lose that, and I plan to check to make sure it is there when I buy this style in the future.  The noodles are not in a brick form, but are short pieces of loose pasta.  (Oh, maybe they were worried about the little packet getting buried in the noodles?)  They don't seem to be the same type of pasta as typical ramen at all, they look more like an egg noodle.  Anyway, we are to open the foil seasoning packet and add it to the bowl, fill to the line with water, and microwave for three minutes, then add the Soup Booster (which looked like vegetable oil with some meat grease floating in it) last.

The aroma is reminiscent of a typical Midwestern-style beef stew; the noodles softened up to about the consistency you might find in a Campbell's Chunky soup and the veggies turned out to be corn, cabbage, carrots, and green beans.  The noodles are definitely egg noodles rather than ramen, and the broth tastes much like it smells--it is a beef and onion stock, with maybe a hint of tomato sweetness along with the other vegetables. 

There is definitely nothing Asian about this product, so it's not really ramen at all; if you were expecting a heartier version of their beef Cup Noodles, I imagine it would be a disappointment, or at least a surprise.  If you go into it with the right expectations, though, it really is a pretty good bowl of beef & noodle soup.  I approve. :)

Katsuobushi Udon Japanese-Style Noodle Soup

Made By:  ChoripDong (Korea)
Tools Required:  Hot Water, Microwave, Spoon & Chopsticks
Meal Size (365 calories per package)
Rating:  ^_^
Today I am sampling another not-really-ramen asian soup, and having some udon!  This is a bowl product made by a Korean company I hadn't heard of before grabbing this, so we'll see how they stack up to the likes of the mighty Nong Shim.

Inside the bowl, there are three packets; we have the pack of fresh udon noodles, a clear packet of liquid soup base, and a foil packet of "Flake Soup" with various dehydrated goodies.  The instructions are an unusual combination of hot water and microwave preparation; we are supposed to put the noodles and liquid soup into the bowl and add boiling water to the fill line, then we put it in the microwave for three minutes.  (For those without access to both a teakettle and a microwave, there are alternate instructions which say to use cold water and then microwave for six minutes.)  Once it comes out, the instructions say to "add the enclosed flake soup to the number 3 and mix it well."  I am not sure exactly what this means, so I just dump them into the bowl and stir.

These turn out to be extremely similar to the Nong Shim Japanese-style Udon that I love so much.  The udon is a nice thick hearty texture, possibly a bit softer than the Nong Shim but very appealing.  The broth is the same seafood-and-soy savory fish stock, and even the dried add-ins are almost the same; there are green onion flakes, a few imitation seafood slices (which are smaller and less generous than in the Nong Shim product) and lots of those fish-flavored rice cereal bits.  This product also includes a few little rings of chili pepper; unfortunately, they never do rehydrate into anything and so those don't add much of anything except a textural distraction.  I actually crunched one on purpose to see if I could get any heat out of it, without any success.  Overall, though, I would say this is a worthy competitor to the Nong Shim product, and in fact the easier preparation might give this one the edge over Nong Shim's bowl Udon (but not the packet style).  I loved them!  ^_^

{Because I am an airhead, I totally forgot to take a picture of the prepared noodles before I ate them all.  I plan to grab another one of these the next time I see them at Uwajimaya, though, so I will add one the next time I have the opportunity.}

Snapdragon Hong Kong Seafood Rice Noodle Soup Bowl

Made By:  Tabetai Inc. (Thailand)
Tools Required:  Hot Water, Spoon & Chopsticks
Snack Size (220 calories per package)
Price:  $2.79 (at World Market in Woodinville)
Rating:  :\

Today for an afternoon snack, I'm going to treat myself to another of the Snapdragon Rice Noodle bowls that my sweetie bought for me, this time in the Hong Kong Seafood flavor.  I don't really know what sort of seafood flavor I am in for, but the other Snapdragon bowls I have reviewed so far have been excellent, so I am excited to try this!

The package includes the lidded plastic bowl and the bundle of rice noodles, a double-pack of soup base with oil in one side and powdered seasoning in the other, and a transparent green packet of dried garnish that obviously includes real dehydrated tiny shrimp.  We empty everything into the bowl, fill with boiling water, and let it stand covered for three to five minutes; after a quick stir it is ready to serve.

Upon lifting the lid, I am greeted with a sesame aroma, with a hint of shellfish.  The broth has a very savory, very salty seafood flavor; normally I don't stress on sodium content, but 1940mg for only a 220 calorie serving does feel a bit excessive.  The noodles have a firmer texture than I remembered from the other Snapdragon products, but once I got used to them they were pleasant.  They were a little too slippery for lacquered chopsticks, though, so I switched to some disposable bamboo ones pretty early on.  The little shrimp are probably the high point; they rehydrated nicely and gave the occasional burst of sweetness to contrast the salty broth.

I would have to say that these are clearly my least favorite of the Snapdragon bowls that I have tried so far.  They aren't bad, exactly, but hardly worth the gourmet price.  I doubt I will be getting this one again. :\

Quick Review--Nong Shim Japanese-Style Udon Noodle Soup (Bowl version)

Made by:  Nong Shim (Korea)

Tools Required:  Hot Water, Spoon & Chopsticks

Meal Size (460 calories per package)

Rating:  :)

 

(available online through Amazon.com)

Today's lunch is a bowl version of the previously-reviewed Nong Shim Japanese-Style Udon Noodle Soup.  The soup itself is identical to the packet version (even the portion size), the only difference is the packaging and preparation method, so most of what I wrote in the original review also applies to this product.

To prepare the bowl version, we are supposed to open the packet of fresh noodles into the bowl, add boiling water to the fill line for two minutes, then drain the noodles using the "convenient" drain spouts on the lid.  Then, we re-fill the bowl with more boiling water, add the soup base and veggie packet, and wait one minute before eating.  In practice, the drain spouts don't work that well, and the lid is flimsy enough that the weight of the noodles tries to push it off of the bowl.  So we have to hold the lid on with our fingers, with the nearly-boiling-hot noodles on the other side. (I managed, but I would feel sorry for someone who tried it without long fingernails.)  Also, because we have to fill the bowl twice, it actually takes quite a bit of hot water to prepare, which can be problematic if you were planning to use a microwave to heat the water.

So, this packaging style actually ends up being significantly less convenient to prepare than the "standard" packet version, and tends to cost around 50¢ more.  On the other hand, in my experience the bowls seem slightly easier to find, and if you enjoy these as much as I do, it is nice to have an option for when a saucepan and range isn't available.  I'm happy. :)