#809: Nongshim Neoguri Mild (Korea)

Here’s another one that Moo Hee-Wi from Korea sent me. she was the one who wrote the JoongAng Ilbo article about The Ramen Rater last month! Thanks again! So this is what you would find in the Korean superkarket if you wanted to get some Mild Neoguri. A while back I reviewed the US version. Let’s give this one a try!

Something I found interesting is the little raccoon character. As we have seen before in Maruchan’s Midori no Tanuki and the Yamamoto Ponpoko bowls, raccoons have a ‘lucky’ thematic reference. Neoguri translates to raccoon in Korean.

The nice round noodle block.

Seasoning powder.

Lots of it.

The veggie packet.

I found this interesting – compare the contents in the US version to these. Looks like kamaboko here but none in the other one.

Finished. Added some vegetables, an egg, a slice of processed cheese, some fish cakes, kimchi, pepper and gochujang. Good stuff – noodles are nice and thick but not super chewy. Easily broken with pursed lips. The broth is nice too – like it purports to be, the broth is mild and has a rich seafood taste. The veggie packet was mostly seaweed and some kamaboko – I liked the prevalence of the seaweed. The kamaboko was alright but usually I find these to be more for show. A nice bowl of noodles. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 8801043014946 .

Can someone over in Korea email me the link or an *.apk for this? Would love to have this app!

This guy’s got it made – would love to be able to go for a walk and get some of this stuff on the street!

#619: Yamamoto Ponpoko Tempura Udon Fried Noodles Bowl

What an awesome bowl of noodles. First, it’s a new brand to me – Yamamoto. Second, it’s got tempura in there as well as udon. Third, there’s a couple tanuki on the label.

What is a tanuki Here’s the Wikipedia link – they’re common in Japanese folklore and often little statues of them can be seen outside restaurants and temples. The word tanuki translates to raccoon-dog. What’s strange about the statues is that, like the animals themselves which do exist – they have disturbingly large testicles. Now tanuki doesn’t appear in the title of this bowl, but ponpoko does. All I could find about ponpoko was that there was a video game released along time ago – here’s a link with info on that. Then there was Pom Poko, a Studio Ghibli movie about a war involving tanuki!

Here’s a sticker that was on the underside of the bowl.

A single packet of seasoning powder.

The seasoning powder is atop the udon awaiting a boiling water bath for a few minutes.

A nice disc of tempura is a wonderful finishing touch.

Added one fried egg and its done. Oh man – the noodles are awesome – thick and slightly chewy. The broth had a salty and soy taste. The Tempura lent a satisfying crunch and I also let some intermingle with the broth and it made it a bit richer. This was worth the $3+. 4.75 out of 5.0 stars. delish!

If you really were wondering about the prowess of the tanuki, look no further than this commercial.

Here’s a real one

Another real one…

Studio Ghibli movie trailer