GoGo noodles

Oooo….this was a weird one. I’ve never seen this particular noodle in stores personally. This was part of a noodle bundle that a friend gave me for my birthday. As I started removing the outer packaging, I noticed the words “real beef inside” printed on the corner. A real meat packet inside? Is this an import? If so, how did it get pass customs? Strange. A while back a friend introduced me to Taiwanese instant noodles with real meat which was sooo good. The Taiwanese noodles are hard to come by because customs will confiscate them because of the “real” meat factor. There’s a “seal” printed on the package that says it’s been inspected and passed by U.S. customs that I am not sure about. To continue…I peeled back the lid to find 4 goodie packets (which I have decided were too many in this case). There was the usual seasoning powder & dehyrdrated vegetables, in addition there was a packet of brown paste and a large packet of fully cooked seasoned beef. Oh…and a plastic fork. I dumped all the ingredients into the bowl, added the water and waited. After 5-7 minutes, I peeled off the lid and a surge of steam engulfed my face and the scent of Chinese beef stew filled my nose. Smelled good! Didn’t taste so good though. The soup was WAY too salty and oily. The meat looked like pet food. I took a nibble on a small piece and that was it for me. These were so bad that I could not continue.

This Myojo Chukazanmai ended up being very yummy. When I unwrapped the package, the first thing I noticed was the dried noodles. It looked like they were handmade because of their inconsistent shape. Preparation was a little different than usual: boil noodles in water, take off heat, pour noodles into bowl and add seasoning powder, oil/soy mixture and combine thoroughly. You’ll notice that the seasoning powder dissolves immediately, which is a nice attention to detail. I wish Mi Goreng seasoning powder dissolved so quickly and consistently. The soy was strong but went well with the toasty chili oil. A very nice balance flavor-wise. My soup was a little too salty….i should have added a bit more water. However, despite that minor adjustment…these noodles were great. The noodles were soft and chewy because of their unusual shape. And the simple flavors of the soup are rich and comforting. Good thing I have another pack on hand.

The texture of these noodles are like rubber bands. Reminded me of the canned ramen from the Japanese vending machines, but not as rubbery because the noodles were thinner. Not sure if i like these. Not great…but not bad. Unusual to say the least. For the soup, I used chicken broth, added fried onions and brought to a boil. In went the frozen wontons and tofu shirataki noodles. Then, finished with scallions. Total meal without the home made wontons was only 275 calories which i shared. The entire pack of noodles are only 40 calories! Maybe wonton soup noodles were not the way to go. If I do ever try these again, I’ll stick to the recipe for cheesy noodles on the back. (Thanks Nat for introducing me to these noodles!)

Mmmm. This was quite a treat. To date, this is only the second instant soba that I’ve tried and yet again, it was mighty tasty. The broth was savory with a sweet finish. I think it’s bonito based? The soba noodles tasted like…well soba noodles? Hearty, earthy and a bit grainier in texture. The tempura puffs and tempura disc of green peas and carrots (I think?) soaked up the broth so every bite bursted with flavor. Maruchan noodles bowls have not let me down to date.