Here we go – this is the originasl instant noodle. This is what Momofuku Ando first sold in Japan! This is the real deal. Here’s a link to my post on Momofuku Ando Day!
My wife got me this five pack of Chikin Ramen for my birthday from Japan on eBay – unfortunately, the shipper wrapped it in newspaper and a plastic bag – the packs were all damaged in the extreme and only one had enough of the form to use for review.
See, this little dimple in the middle is what it;s all about. You’ll see what I mean.
Here’s the front of the individual pack.
This is the back of the big 5-pack bag. So what you do is put everything in a bowl, drop an uncooked egg on top, add 450cc water and cover for 3 minutes.
Here’s the back of the individual packs.
Here’s our poor specimen (this was the nicest one out of all five packs – all the others were mostly like the pulverized bits on the underneath of this one) there’s no seasoning packets – it’s all infused into the noodles.
I decided in honor of this ‘Meet The Manufacturer’ week and being review #700, I thought I’d make a video showing how I made this stuff.
The finished product. It seems like this would be about as hum-drum and normal as you can get, but quite honestly, there’s really nothing else that I’ve tried that’s like it. I’ve had some noodles that are pre-seasoned and tasted somewhat similar, but they don’t come out like this. The noodles have a very light, almost ‘springy’ texture to them. They bulk up when steeping and you end up with a pretty decent portion. The broth is thin; like I said, all the seasoning is in the noodles themselves. The flavor is kind of like a chicken sesame. I think calling them ‘Roasted Ramen’ when they were available in the US for a short time was an apt title. These are a work of art and a testament to Momofuku Ando‘s ingenuity. With the egg, it’s a good, filling meal. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars!!! UPC barcode 4902105001103 .
Chikin Ramn commercial.
Making of a Chikin Ramen commercial.
One bizarre music video!