Today marks the second annual The Ramen Rater’s Momofuku Ando Day! Who was Momofuku Ando? Well, if it weren’t for him, myself, tens of thousands of college students and millions and millions of people around the world would be hungry today. Momofuku Ando invented not only the instant noodle in 1958, but also the Cup Noodle which was introduced in 1971. The company he founded, Nissin Foods, still exists today and produces flavors of instant noodles for many countries in the world. Here in the US, Top Ramen and Cup Noodles are prevalent while in Japan more local flavors like Shoyu (soy sauce) or Shio (salt) can be found. In the Philippines, there are flavors like Bulalo and Sotanghon, and in India Curry and Masala are available. Here’s a short piece about Mr. Ando and the invention of instant noodles from Nissin’s website. I should also mention there will be a special Show Your Noodles to see today as well!
The folks at Nissin Foods USa sent me a big box of samples a couple weeks ago and inside was this little gem from Japan. I have seen this before online but never anywhere in the USA. This is called Raoh and it is one of Nissin’s more premium Japanese products. In honor of Momofuku Ando day, I have done up a video review that you can see below.
Here’s the special Momofuku Ando Day celebratory video! Check it out then look below for more!
Here are the details from the side panels.
The veggie packet.
Looks like some nice stuff – green onion I recognize but not sure about the other things.
Dry powder packet.
Looks like soup base powder.
Liquid soup pack.
Has a nice scent.
Check this out – a slice of pork! This is awesome – definitely something you won’t find here in the US.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added sweet onion, green onions and hard boiled egg. The noodles were very nice – perfect chewiness and consistency. Reminds me of fresh ramen noodle varieties. The broth is strong and has a nice thickness. The broth is definitely rich. Has a deep soy flavor and nicely thicker than normal instant noodle broths. The slice of pork? It re-hydrates exceptionally well with a nice consistency and some fat – very decadent for an instant bowl of ramen I’d say. The veggies did well too – a decent amount. All in all, this is amazing stuff. I’d love to try all of the varieties of Raoh, that’s for sure. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars easy. Thanks to Scott A. over at Nissin Foods USA for sending this along with the other samples – awesome! UPC bar code 4902105214077
A tour around the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama, Japan. I would love to go here someday. Here’s the official website and hours/price:
Name: CUPNOODLES MUSEUM (formal name: Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum) Address: 2-3-4 Shinko, Naka-ku, Yokohama 231-0001 Japan Telephone: General information: 045-345-0918 / Chicken Ramen Factory reservations: 045-345-0825 (Reception hours: 10:00-18:00, holidays excluded) Museum hours: 10:00-18:00 (last admission 17:00) Holidays: Tuesdays (when Tuesday is a holiday, closed the following day), year end / new year holidays Admission: Adults: 500 yen (tax included) / high school age children and younger admitted free *Some facilities within the museum require separate admission. *Museum admission fee and facility usage fees are subject to change.
Last year’s Momofuku Ando Day video – Top Ramen Chicken Flavor!
I have very fond memories of what my mom used to make for me to eat during my childhood. She used to make me Totino’s Party Pizzas for breakfast, (I had one a couple days ago and noticed that either they’ve gotten a lot smaller or I’ve gotten a whole lot bigger). She used to make the wonder of wonders, turkey spread as well, which consisted of mayonnaise, sweet pickles, leftover Thanksgiving and a Cusinart – I would have that and some more mayo on crackers and it was divine. One thing that I must say really stood out was a breakfast dish she would make for me. She called it ‘Spaetzle,’ but it was a little different than this:
While I’m sure spaetzle is quite good, this is something that transcend multiple cultures. Let me explain…
The noodles my mom originally used were Nissin’s Roasted Ramen. This was available for a short period in the 80’s and then ceased to exist. What we found out was that Nissin Roasted Ramen is the exact same thing as Nissin Chikin Ramen, the instant that came out in 1958 and was the first instant noodle to be sold commercially. For quite a while, we were able to get the Chikin Ramen at Uwajimaya in Seattle’s International District. Uwajimaya is a big Japanese supermarket which my parents would take me to often. I remember going there and to the family’s favorite Chinese restaurant Sun Ya when we were down there. I remember we went to see Chinese New Year festivities down there one year and saw a demonstration during the Tienamen Square protests in 1989.
Things have changed since then. I don’t usually have turkey spread or the Party Pizzas anymore. Nissin Chikin Ramen is not at all readily available. I do have instant noodles often and thought today ‘it’s been years – I oughtta make some Spaetzle…’ So I did. Here’s the recipe, probably a little different from the way my mom made it but comes out almost identical.
The Ramen Rater’s Mom’s Spaetzle
1 pack Top Ramen
3 eggs
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper
First thing you need is to start cooking the noodles – cook them as directed on the package. Use the seasoning packet too. If you want your noodles to be more flavorful, use less water. To get them ‘al dente,’ I would cook them about one and a half minutes in the boiling water, stirring and separating with a fork.
Drain the noodles. See, if you use less water and the flavoring is more concentrated, the more flavor gets into the noodles, got it?
Take a frying pan and spray it good with the cooking spray. Get it up to a good heat and drop in your noodles. Stir ’em and mess with them quite a bit – they have a tendency to stick unless you do. Mess with them in this was for a couple minutes or so.
Crack three eggs over the noodles and then stir, stir, stir. It’s a kind of bizarre and nasty, sloppy mess for a bit here but don’t give up! Stir everything around a lot for a couple minutes.
Finally, make sure everything in the pan is flat and covering the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and turn the heat off. Let it sit there for a couple few minutes.
It’s done! The bottom should be crisp but not burnt. Fold it over like an omelet and salt and pepper to taste.
There’s a little bit of my childhood for you to try out. It’s a really basic recipe and very few ingredients, but hey – same amount as a PB&J, right? Kinda? I’m sure my mom wasn’t the only one who made eggs and Top Ramen like this. Also, I’m sure she used butter instead of cooking spray. Anyways, enjoy and thank my mom in the comments below if you like it.
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