Noodle Review: Sapporo Ichiban "Beef"

It's been quite a while since I last did an instant ramen review.

Today we're looking at a Sapporo Ichiban. I first need to admit that I've been so stubbornly loyal to Nissin's "Take-Out" brand that that the only reason I bought a case of "Sapporo Best" was because the local market didn't have any of the Nissin "beef" flavour stuff. You know, it turns out to be not-so bad.
The immediate thing to let go of is the plainly English lettering on the front. I've seen Sapporo Ichiban in western grocery stores as well as the local Asian market. So I developed a habit of turning up my nose at it thinking it was some kind of inferior westernized product cheaply made to cater to western taste.

Actually, the packaging is kind of ugly, if you ask me.

Opening the package reveals something very interesting however: really authentic looking dried ramen. A note about cooking instructions on the back... It says to boil it for 3 minutes as opposed to the Nissin recommendation of 5 minutes. Not sure if that is why, but the noodle ends up a big more chewy than the Nissin stuff.
So this is what it looks like. I am all turned around on this Sapporo Ichiban stuff. It costs about the same as the Nissin brand stuff but the noodle is way better. While the soup is nothing to write home about, the ramen noodle has great texture (feels a bit like chewing on an al-dente spaghetti). I doubt I'll be going back to Nissin for my beef-flavoured instant ramen. I am giving it my Thumbs-Up!

noodle review: tonkotsu

The package this time was a rather plain deal but it did feature a somewhat creative demo image on the front. That is, it sort of resembles what one might do at home with a package of instant noodle - you would make the instant noodles and then just throw some meats or veggies on top.

My research revealed that Tonkotsu is actually ...wait for it... a type of ramen. That's right, tonkotsu is actually just a style of ramen. So labelling a package as "tonkotsu flavour" is a little silly. It's like having a potato-flavoured chip or maybe a beef-flavoured steak.

On the other hand, I'll hand it Nissin for making an effort to make their version of tonkotsu taste at the very least, interesting. And it starts with the intriguing soup base that comes with it:

Not sure if you can make it out in the photo, but there's actually sesame seeds in the powder mix. And the smaller "seasoning packet" this time contained something resembling actual seasoning oils (as opposed to that white gooey substance that comes with the roast-beef style packages). Indeed, for such a generic "flavour" the final result looks pretty good with those onion bits and sesame seeds floating around in there.

That white powder mix at first tasted very much like the generic "chicken" flavour. It's kinda salty but not biting. According to my research, real tonkotsu soup is supposed to be "thick" and is made by boiling crushed pork bone to obtain the broth. Since you can't well make "instant pork bones" Nissin did the next best thing: the soup has an almost creamy consistency. I hesistate to call it "thick" but this'll do. And on reflecting over what pork should taste like, I have to say, ok, it sort of did taste a bit like pork. I'm even going to guess that perhaps if I actually went to the trouble of buying some roast pork in Chinatown on the way home, this might have been excellent together.

Would I buy this again? Maybe.

noodle review: "beef"

If only because I have a packet just about to expire, I've decided my next review should be the classic "beef" flavour ramen by Nissin.

As you can see here it looks like any other regular Nissin branded instant ramen. It comes with a "beef" soup base and a disgusting-looking foil-pack of "seasoning" which when still cold looks like a cross between Brylcream hair product and refried bean. I don't know what it is, and I usually just discard it. But for the purposes of this review, I decided to use it anyway since I wanted to be as close to the intended mode of consumption as possible.

Looks alright - the slimey "seasoning" desolves nicely and doesn't appear to make the soup particularly oily as I might have expected.

It tasted okay but I was still able to detect the subtle effects added by that "seasoning"; it did two things. First, it actually did add some sort of authentic beef taste into it (maybe the fatty substance probably has some real beef-fat extract in it). Secondly, because of it's pure fattiness, it left a sort of waxy feeling on my teeth and was somewhat uncomfortable - like if you were to have a plate of pasta with a pesto sauce ...but there wasn't enough of anything in the pesto so it was too oily. Surpisingly enough, it other than the strange sensation on my teeth, it didn't feel oily otherwise.

As a final note: the "beef" flavour is the old stand-by and in general, when I hear "instant ramen," this is the version that comes to mind. As mentioned earlier, I usually forget the additional "seasoning" and instead will usually simply add a teaspoon or so of Thai "sriracha" chili sauce. Of course, at that point, I don't really notice the difference between the "beef" flavour or the "original" flavour anyway.

noodle review: "miso"

As promised here's what I have to say about the "miso" flavoured instant ramen by Nissin...



Well ...there you have it - argueably the most uninspiring variation of the famous "Take-Out" brand instant ramen by Nissin. I mean, look at it, it's pretty much identical to the plain ones but with a big white text balloon pasted over the image!! And below is the actual content ...which besides the "seasoning powder" looks remarkably like the plain version.

Perhaps the reason the outside is so boring is because the finished product after the usual 5-minute boil and the powder mixing also appears just as boring... It has ZERO-texture! Even the plain version comes with a packet of sesame oil to give it a little zing. But let's wait for the taste...

First of all, I should mention that I have very little real life experience with Japanese food to begin with. I mean, I've sampled some stuff here and there - even had several sushi meals. My aunt (who is Japanese, by the way) has even prepared some authentic dishes for me over the years... But I think I've only had miso soup once. All the rest has been instant miso (just add hot water!).
Well, if you don't know - miso is kinda like a Japanese bean soup. It has a slightly salty taste and is typically garnished with bits of tofu and seaweed. And well, actually, that's the only thing this variant of instant noodle has going for it: it actually does taste like miso soup (or at least, tastes like the miso I'm accostumed to). In fact, I liked it so much that after gobbling down the ramen noodle, I actually lifted the bowl to my face and drank the rest of the soup! And surprisingly, it didn't leave me with that MSG-filled after-taste usually associated with instant ramen soup mix.

Would I get this again? Seriously? No. I mean, the noodle itself was pretty boring and tasted like any other instant ramen Nissin produces. And if I really wanted some miso soup, I wouldn't be making instant ramen, would I? I'd probably make instant miso instead. ^_^;

Noodle Review: "sukiyaki"

As a token Asian growing up in the heart of French Canada, I've been subject to plenty of import convenience foods over the years. The old stand-by has always been "Doll" brand instant ramen - so ubiquitous is the brand that it's become a noun all its own to describe instant noodles. However, in more recent years, another brand produced by the famous Nissin company has taken the market by storm and my family has developed a taste for both their "regular flavour" and the "beef" flavour (both of which are actually powered by a tiny packet of who-knows-what chemical compound).

Feeling adventurous, I decided to sample some of their other flavours. Up tonight is the sukiyaki udon flavour. For those of you who don't know, sukiyaki is sort of like a Japanese equivalent to stew ...if stew were served in a soup noodle. Click this link for specifics.


...well, the packaging looks appetizing enough.

But when the hell will I learn that all instant noodle packs contain the same damn thing?

Okay, granted, this was actually a little surprising to me because this isn't ramen at all. Instead of the stringy vermicelli-like thin noodle, this is Nissin's version of "udon," a thicker noodle you're more likely to see in authentic Japanese cooking.

And this is what it looks like after the usual prep (ie: boiled for 5 minutes then mixing with the included flavour packets):


All told it was actually pretty good. Having grown up on ramen, udon is satisfyingly heavy by comparisson. The taste is... well, I couldn't really taste the soup-base. Instead, the package came with a "seasoning sauce" that totally overpowered whatever the soup was supposed to taste like. On the other hand, having read the article on sukiyaki, I realize that although I haven't ever had authentic sukiyaki, given the discription of the preperation, it did taste a bit like what I would imagine a mixture of soy-sauce, sugar, and cooking-wine might taste like. It had a bit of a tinny seafood-quality flavour as almost all Japanese foods do... I can't really describe it otherwise. I wouldn't eat this every night, but I'll probably buy a few more packages when I get the chance.

Tune in next time when I review the "miso" flavour instant noodle.