instant ramen

[viaChgo]

Ramen was a staple in our house growing up. We always had Sapporo Ichiban brand - Original Flavor and, to this day, is still my favorite. I like to add an egg & chopped green onions if available, with kimchi on the side (of course). We also had various Korean brands as well...Shin Ramen, Neoguri, & the JaJiang versions.

If there is more than one person eating ramen, I like to combine the Sapporo Original Flavor with one of the spicy Korean ramens...makes a good blend.

I have not come across any of the cup or bowl style ramens that I like.

Also, when I was a kid, I use to crumble up the Sapporo noodles into a bowl & sprinkle the seasoning packet & eat as a snack. I guess that was a little unhealthy, now that I think about it.

[chefzadi]

We have a constant supply in our house and we have tried many many brands.

My wife is korean and considers them too be a staple.  We almost exclusively eat the Shin Rahmen brand from the Nong Shim company.  A new brand that we have tried that I like is Satah Rahmen, spicy with a beefy sort of taste.  Here's an ok factoid site.

http://www.instantramen.or.jp/english/base...data/01/01.html

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Yes! Shin Ramen. My wife is Korean too. But she came to the States when she was 5. It's one of those things that always around. It's a staple. Funny thing is I eat more Korean food than my wife, like A LOT more.

I've seen my in laws add sliced scallions, sliced jalapeno or serrano peppers, mandu, kimchi "juice" and sricracha hot sauce to it. Not neccessarily all at once. They even use white beef stock instead of plain water.

[torakris]

For a limited time only you can now create your own instant cup ramen!

At the Ramen Museum in Shin Yokohama there is a new area called My Cup Noodle Factory where you can design both the cup and the ingredients.

Here are some pictures of the process

1. Choose a cup

2. Draw pictures on your cup

3. Put noodles in the cup

4. Choose the soup flavor (soy sauce, seafood, curry, salt)

5. Pick your toppings (can choose up to 4 out of 12)

6. Put on the lid

7. Watch it get sealed

8. Put it in an air package

9. Put it over your shoulder and take it home!

It costs 300yen (about $3) for one cup

[Jason Perlow]

NISSIN or someone has to figure out how to do this over the web, but on a much larger, cheaper scale. Custom Ramen could be the gift of the future.

[OnigiriFB]

I grew up on Mama and Myojo brand from Thailand. Every once in awhile I get a craving for some. I throw just about anything I have on into it, but my favorite would be fish balls, shrimp balls, asian meatballs, sliced napa cabbage or frozen veggies (green beans aren't bad in it). I can't eat too much of it anymore I think I OD'd on it when I first moved to Iowa and hadn't figured out how to cook yet. Now I just make my own ramen with fresh eggs noodles and broth. It takes me about the same amount of time and it taste better.

Snowangel - whats your favorite flavor? I grew up eating minced pork or shrimp tom yum flavor. I saw a new one called creamy tom yum and picked up a box of that. Went crazy over that one for awhile. Ya gotta love those grease packets!

[fenyx66]

The Make Your Own Ramen sounds fun, I will have to try it when I get return from Winter Vacation. That would have been a perfect gift to give my friends. Too bad!

I love the Tan tan men and Wan Tan instant soups that can be bought at 7/11. The tan tan men is the best. It is spicy, and it's so tasty that I drink the broth. It has bok choy (I think it's bok choy but I could be wrong) and 2 different pakcets to add to the hot water for flavoring. The Wantan soup is good but pretty salty, not as exciting as the TTM. The bowls they are served in are pretty nice looking and look like realy ramen bowls except they are styrofoam.

[SobaAddict70]

I was recently surprised to learn that because the ones I buy are fried before packaging that they are pretty high in calories.

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In Japan the non-fried ones seem to gaining in popularity, the 2 kinds I currently have in my house are both ノンフライ麺　(nonfurai men- non fried noodles)

the one on the left is a hot and sour soup base (this particular brand is flavorless )and the one on the right in tonkotsu

the packages indicates the finished bowls contain 360 and 349 calories, I a not sure how many calories are in the fried noodle ones. Of course this only counts if you drink all the soup!

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er, how can a hot and sour soup mix be flavorless?

[torakris]

er, how can a hot and sour soup mix be flavorless? 

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Believe me it was! It had neither hot nor sour flavors......

To make matters worse I bought it in a 10 pack. About 7 packs sat in the very back of my cupboard until they became stale and I tossed them.

[jtnippon1985]

Let me first start off by saying I love ramen, whether is be made-from-scratch, using instant noodles and jazzing it up with an egg/fresh greens/shrimp/chicken, or just taken out of the pack and nuked. I'm also posting this question in the Japanese cuisine section of eGullet because even though ramen is adapted from the Chinese original, it's safe to assume that Japan has literally taken over the entire concept of turning ramen into is world-renowned glorified state people all over the world enjoy today.

To give you a bit of info on myself, and to shed some light on to why I'm asking this question, I shall explain...

Last year around this time I weighed about 245 lbs. I stand about 5' 8" so given the weight/height ratio, anyone can easily assume that I was overweight, obese even. Well I went on weight watchers and by July, I had stopped my diet, teetering on the edge of 155 lbs. Many people who I worked with thought I was on crack/taking pills/had become anorexic/bulemic. I had just gone on a very strict diet. Since going off my diet I have only gained roughly 3 pounds, and still do not over indulge in many of the things I used to, so I consider myself a normal, yet fairly healthy eater (I still like to have a candy bar every once in a while, and go to the local buffet with my family every other month or two...but who doesn't?)

Ok, back to my question. From extensive reading I have read that the average Japanese person eats about 44 servings on ramen a year, whether is be from a ramen shop or of the instant variety. That equals to about 1 serving of ramen a week. Its also common knowledge (at least I think it is) that to the average Japanese, ramen is considered an entire meal in itself...not a soup, not to be served with rice, or veggies, or anything else...but cooked, then served, by its lonesome, eaten, by its lonesome. And, despite what many people think, outside of Instant Pho (Vietnamese) and the ramen that comes in those handy dandy plastic/styrofoam cups) VERY few ramen packets are 1 serving. Many are 2 servings per packet, some are even 2.5 or 3. I must confess, before my diet I would many a time eat a WHOLE packet of ramen along with some salmon or tuna onigiri...and I never nor still do consider that half or even one third of a packet of ramen constitutes as a completely sastifying meal by itself, but a whole packet in my mind is pretty satisfying nowadays that my stomach size has shrunk.

In many movies I've watched...take for example...the HK movie starring Jackie Chan ( I know I know.....) New Police Story, during one of the scenes you see two people eating Ramen out of a pot, don't know how many packets were put in, but its safe to assume one, and you also notice that there is no other edible material located anywhere on the table, leading the audience to assume that this is a one-dish dinner.

NOW, my questions are as followed:

1. From someone who lives in Japan or has been there frequently enough to know the eating habits of the people of Japan well, what would you, or other Japanese consider a single serving out of ONE packet of any pack of ramen. To make it easy....any packet of Nissin which states 2 servings on the back nutritional label.

2. Does anyone know of a company that makes Ramen (not pho, not soba, not udon, not yakisoba etc) that is either air dried, freeze dried, or baked...and not fried in palm oil prior to packing)

3. Any companies that make instant or "quick" noodle packets where the noodles are soft and fresh, and not dried, and fairly low in fat.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Jon

jtnippon1985

[bookluvingbabe]

I recently bought a soft noodle package called Myojo Udon.

One serving per package; 250 calories; 1 gram of fat, 5 points?

[jayt90]

Chef Woo uses baked noodles.

[torakris]

NOW, my questions are as followed:

1. From someone who lives in Japan or has been there frequently enough to know the eating habits of the people of Japan well, what would you, or other Japanese consider a single serving out of ONE packet of any pack of ramen. To make it easy....any packet of Nissin which states 2 servings on the back nutritional label.

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Japanese food packages doesn't list the number of servings. IF the nutritional serving are listed it is usually per 100 grams. I was searching my house for something with a nutrional label on it and finally found a jar of jam, the nutrional information is given per 100 grams and that is definitely not one serving!

I can pretty safely say that most Japanese would consider one pack of instant ramen or one cup of cup ramen one adult serving.

2. Does anyone know of a company that makes Ramen (not pho, not soba, not udon, not yakisoba etc) that is either air dried, freeze dried, or baked...and not fried in palm oil prior to packing)

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A lot of the instant ramen sold in Japan is now of the non-fried type, look for nonfurai men (ノンフライ麺) on the package. Here are some pictures:

non-fried noodles

this is from the instant ramen thread

3. Any companies that make instant or "quick" noodle packets where the noodles are soft and fresh, and not dried, and fairly low in fat.

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They do have some ramen noodles that are sold in the refrigerated cases that require a short cooking time. They are also sold with a soup packet and sometimes additional seasonings. These are packaged as nama men (生麺) or fresh ramen, but they ahve a pretty short shelf life.

I have seen and purchased udon noodles that are soft (and have about a three month shelf life without refrigeration). These are cooked like yakisoba rather than in a broth and the flavorings are similar, sauce or salt flavor. I have seen ramen like this as well but have never tried it. These are han nama (半生) or half cooked noodles.

[SuzySushi]

Where do you live? If in the USA, you can buy non-fried instant ramen pretty easily in health food stores (but it's more expensive than the Maruchan or Nissin stuff). One packege has always equalled one serving in my book!

If you're near a market that sells Thai products, you can also try some of the Thai ramen-style products made with rice noodles. They're not fried, and virtually fat-free if you don't add the little packet of oil that comes in the package (along with the powdered seasoned broth and sometimes a package of dried toppings). We like Myojo (Thailand) Duck Noodles.

[mizducky]

While we're on this subject, I would dearly love to find a brand of instant ramen whose seasoning packet is not so jam-packed with sodium. I realize I could just discard the packet and make a broth of my own. But I kinda miss the flavor of those packets. It's just that nowadays I can't consume them without my feet turning into little dirigibles. I've looked at a few brands of "healthy" ramen, but they had huge amounts of sodium too. Maybe I just didn't find the right stuff.

[WolfChef]

mizducky, do what my youngest does...just use part of the packet. He uses between 1/3 and 1/2 of the packet.

[jtnippon1985]

NOW, my questions are as followed:

1. From someone who lives in Japan or has been there frequently enough to know the eating habits of the people of Japan well, what would you, or other Japanese consider a single serving out of ONE packet of any pack of ramen. To make it easy....any packet of Nissin which states 2 servings on the back nutritional label.

←

Japanese food packages doesn't list the number of servings. IF the nutritional serving are listed it is usually per 100 grams. I was searching my house for something with a nutrional label on it and finally found a jar of jam, the nutrional information is given per 100 grams and that is definitely not one serving!

I can pretty safely say that most Japanese would consider one pack of instant ramen or one cup of cup ramen one adult serving.

2. Does anyone know of a company that makes Ramen (not pho, not soba, not udon, not yakisoba etc) that is either air dried, freeze dried, or baked...and not fried in palm oil prior to packing)

←

A lot of the instant ramen sold in Japan is now of the non-fried type, look for nonfurai men (ノンフライ麺) on the package. Here are some pictures:

non-fried noodles

this is from the instant ramen thread

3. Any companies that make instant or "quick" noodle packets where the noodles are soft and fresh, and not dried, and fairly low in fat.

←

They do have some ramen noodles that are sold in the refrigerated cases that require a short cooking time. They are also sold with a soup packet and sometimes additional seasonings. These are packaged as nama men (生麺) or fresh ramen, but they ahve a pretty short shelf life.

I have seen and purchased udon noodles that are soft (and have about a three month shelf life without refrigeration). These are cooked like yakisoba rather than in a broth and the flavorings are similar, sauce or salt flavor. I have seen ramen like this as well but have never tried it. These are han nama (半生) or half cooked noodles.

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Well, I've tried the instant pho by VIFON and while I like it, pho just doesnt have the same texture, taste, and look of the familiar instant ramen i'm so used to...which is why I prefer instant ramen to all other forms of instant noodles...And at 180 calories, 0 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber, constituting at 3 points on WW...it still has an over abundant amount of sodium...and MSG (about 67% DV), both of which cause no noticable immediate side effects after consuming for me, but still leaves room for improvement. I mean, if I really wanted to have a sodium free fat free pho...I could just open up a pre-bundled back of thick or vermicelli rice noodles, nuke them in hot water for 10 minutes, dash in some sodium free, fat free chicken granules, sprinkle in freeze dried chives, some garlic and onion powder, and a dash of low sodium soy sauce and sambal....BUT, what I want is some good INSTANT pho....not sub-par, half-arsed thrown together pho/ramen(if done with dried lo-mein noodles...which are about 200 calories a brick, 0 fat, and 1-2 grams dietary fiber depending on brand...) because no matter how much stuff I can throw together to make a "healthy, quick ramen/pho/soba" it will never taste as good unless im following an extensive, lengthly recipe, or making it from a tested and true variety of any cheap instant noodle packet.

[Blair P. Houghton]

Last year around this time I weighed about 245 lbs. I stand about 5' 8" so given the weight/height ratio, anyone can easily assume that I was overweight, obese even. Well I went on weight watchers and by July, I had stopped my diet, teetering on the edge of 155 lbs.

90 lbs in 8 months...34 weeks...about 2.5 to 3 lbs per week?

Mighty close to starvation mode. You probably clipped off a lot of muscle in the process. Which may or may not be a bad thing, depending on how you were proportioned as a fat person.

For your nutritional knowledge needs, go to www.burnthefat.com and buy the e-book. Ignore the tacky hype. The book is an excellent tutorial on how food works. You can look at the back of a package and know exactly how that food will fit into your daily diet.

An 85-gram (dry) package of ramen, has 56 grams of carbs, 8 grams of proten, and 15(!!) of fat. For me, that's too much fat for one meal, too little protein, but just about the right amount of carbs. Say you can find a brand that doesn't come with a half an ounce of fat in it. Then you add something with low fat and a lot of protein, like a couple of ounces of modern ham (about 6 grams fat total) or turkey (2g fat). You'll have a meal with 50 grams of carbs, almost 30 grams of protein, and 4-6 grams of fat, totalling 350-400 calories.

With a nominal amount of exercise, you can eat that 5 times a day and still lose weight. (Eating 5 times a day is part of the idea; it levels-out your blood sugar, keeping your adipose tissue in a constant state of depletion).

[GlorifiedRice]

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia...fic/6237013.stm

[weinoo]

There is a nice editorial in today's NY Times...click.

It's kind of interesting and I had no idea that the gentleman's name was Momofuku!