GoGo noodles

In celebration of the summer solstice I made myself a cold noodle lunch. The directions on the back of the bag suggested to top the noodles with cucumber, tomato and ham – I didn’t care for any tomato or ham but I did have a cucumber in the fridge, eggs and scallions. Using the picture of the package as inspiration I julienned the the cucumber, the scallions and and the egg that I fried. After I was done assembling the dish I was surprised by how generous the portion was and had to finish it in 2 sessions to avoid falling into a coma after lunch. I was happy to find that the consistency of the noodles are the same as the other Myojo Chukazanmai flavor I had before – which is a firmer and chewier noodle. The noodles also came with a small packet of spicy mustard which had a big kick for such a small amount. The light sesame and vinegar sauce was so tasty! It’s nutty and and sweet and light – perfect for the first day of summer!

Straight from the magical land of ramen aka… Japon! I can’t even put into words how excited I was to consume this rare treat! There wasn’t any English on the packaging which was fabulous because it meant it was authentico. Peeling back the lid revealed 4 seasoning packets! It was like finding gold.

As you can see, there’s a packet of oil, 1 packet of seasoning powder, a packet included dehydrated corn, tako with meat bits and finally the last packet was of dehyrdated cabbage and wood ear. So many ingredients! As soon as I saw the noodles I knew I was in for a treat. These noodles claim to be fresher and healthier because they are dried not fried. And these are special noodle master quality which is the best! (so the bowl claims)

The best thing to use to keep the lid down is a plate. But I’ve also used my small cutting board, books and even a calculator! Grab whatever’s flat and heavy!

Finally! The finished product. I really didn’t know what to expect but when I saw creamy white soup I was ecstatic! The noodles were round, thick, spongy and chewy. The soup was creamy and salty with a sweet finish. MMMM. It was really nice to chow down on big pieces of cabbage and corn. SOOO good. Mental note to self: buy as many instant noodles from Japan while in Japan (whenever that happens).

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.

Since the Myojo ramen soy sauce flavor was sooo good, I had to try the soybean flavor. This had a nice mild miso flavor and the broth was smooth and rich. Again, the noodles tasted as close to fresh as instant ramen can get. The texture was perfectly al dente and chewy. I came pretty close to having all the toppings in the picture and added a little extra….a pat of butta! I’ve seen butter on the ramen menus and decided to try it at home and it’s so sinfully good. I would highly recommend it.

If you are a fan of Nissin UFO Yakisoba, you’ll definitely like these noodles. As you can see, the instructions are printed in English and even better, there are pictures! I had so much fun making these noodles because I felt like I was making Yakisoba noodles from scratch.


After I carefully peeled back the cover exactly to the dotted line, I found 4 seasoning packets, one of which I had never seen before: mustard mayonnaise! Who would have thought that the secret ingredient to Yakisoba is mustard mayonnaise?? Yum. Another nice surprise was when I poured out the contents from the dry vegetable package to find such huge pieces.


So after the noodles and dry vegetables cook, there’s a nifty built in spout where you pour the water out without sacrificing a single noodle. Sooo cooool!!

BEFORE

AFTER – Not only were these noodles really fun to make, they tasted so good! The noodles were perfectly al dente and the mustard and mayo added an extra creaminess that I didn’t find with the Nissin UFO Yakisoba.

*Product of Japan

Buy a 12 pack right now:

Don’t be fooled by the word soba, these are not buckwheat noodles. Okinawa soba is just the style of ramen from Okinawa! That’s all I know. The soup has a strong bonito & seaweed flavor and the noodles are different in that they are flatter, thicker and a bit chewier. I’m not sure why but I really like the wavy shape, it makes it extra slurpy and fun.

*Product of Japan

This was my first time having nama (fresh) ramen and it was absolutely brilliant. It really tasted like fresh ramen and the shoyu broth was rich and smooth with a touch of sweet. All it was missing was cha siu. The cooking directions were different in that you make the noodles and broth separately. Instructions are to 1. Re-heat the noodles in boiling water and strain. 2. Add hot water to the seasoning packets in bowl. 3. Add ramen noodles to the broth. I did not follow these instructions as I didn’t see the need to waste the water. Instead of making the soup separately I poured the seasoning packet and the oil along with the noodles. I opened up a can of corn and added some to the noodles. I can’t wait to try more nama ramen.
*Product of U.S.A.