Nearly all the ramen I've reviewed so far has been pretty simple fare - instant noodles, seasoning packet, boiling water. This one is different. It's possible, of course, to just add boiling water and enjoy the noodles, but to be at it's best, a little more effort is required.The "serving suggestion" on the front of the label shows the ramen served with a sunny-side up egg on top. The package instructions show how to prepare the noodles both with and without an egg.
Ease of Preparation: 4/10There's a bit more to this than just adding boiling water. The ramen is round to fit a bowl and has a round indentation on the top to hold a raw egg. The egg is cracked into the depression and boiling water is added to just come up to the top of the noodles. Then the bowl is covered with plastic wrap, supposedly to steam for three minutes and poach the egg. That doesn't actually work, though - there just isn't enough residual heat once the water is in the bowl to cook the egg. Using a sharp knife, we made a small hole in the membrane covering the egg yolk, replace the plastic film over the bowl, and microwaved the bowl for about a minute and a half. The result was a perfectly cooked egg atop perfectly cooked chicken-flavored ramen noodles.
Vegetable Packet: N/A - No vegetable packet is provided.
Seasoning: 10/10
Nissin ramen has always had one of the best chicken flavors anywhere. In this case, it's not in the form of a packet, but already incorporated into the ramen. For added flavor, the ramen is also toasted.
Taste: 10/10To serve, we stirred the cooked egg into the ramen and enjoyed the noodles. They were excellent. The egg added an additional flavor layer to the bowl and added textural interest. The toasted noodles cooked up al dente and delicious, and provided a chickeny broth at the bottom of the bowl. Overall an excellent bowl of noodles for lunch.
Overall: 9/10 - Recommended
These will be a great change from my normal Lucky Me brand citrus ramen. I hope that I can find them at the Asian market today. Can't wait to try them!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was out in Arizona, I found a Korean market that sold a brand of intricate Udon/Ramen bowls. Each one came with 3-5 envelopes of different goodies. My favorite was the bean curd one that came with a foil wrapped small square of soft, fried bean curd. I wish I could find the brand again they were awesome.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I would like the egg ramen, I love runny yolk on pretty much anything.
Hello, I'm half Japanese, spent a lot of time in Japan, and love Chikin Ramen. I can't find it here in Kansas though!! Do you know of an online retailer that sells it in the US? The shipping cost from Japan is too much for me. Thanks!
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