Favorite Instant Ramen?

I eat a lot of instant ramen at work. We have a coffee maker that has a hot water tap on it. I keep a bowl here at work so I am just bringing in the package of ramen and some toppings (usually Narutomaki, homemade Chashu and some fresh veg). My co-works are familiar with instant ramen, but not with adding toppings.


Bowl of ramen I fixed up at work for lunch.

So I did a story on dressing up instant ramen with toppings.
http://www.dfw.com/2015/02/24/972489/weekend-chef-chashu-pork-for-ramen.html

But I also realized that most of my co-worker where not familiar with some of the better quality instant ramen's out there, or that you could buy instant ramen kits with fresh ramen noodles. So I pulled out some of my ramen packages from my pantry and refrigerator and took some pictures of them.

I thought if anyone had a favorite instant ramen, they could post a picture/description so I (we) might give it a try.

Here is a picture of some of my favorites.




Myojo Chukazanmai has the best quality noodles of any of the dry brick instant ramen’s out there. The noodle brick is not fried like other instant ramens and takes a little longer to cook than the standard 3-minutes. This ramen also cost 3 to 4 times more than your normal package of ramen, but is well worth it.


Nissin Demae Black Garlic Oil Instant Ramen has one of the best tasting soup bases. I normally buy this one by the case.


Fresh instant ramen kits can be found in bigger Asian markets like H-Mart. The ramen out of these kits taste is pretty close to the ramen you get at a Japanese restaurant.

So does anyone have a favorite instant ramen?

I just bought some last weekend and have had a couple so far. I don't have a favorite yet, but I'll be watching this thread.

The ones we bought were Koyo.

shin ramen

Very nice Steve! This has been on my mind lately.

Not exactly the classic brick of dried noodles and powder but still instant ramen & Sun Noodles is quality. We had custom noodles made from them when I used to cook at a Ramen Spot & they supply a lot of top places around the city - http://www.eater.com/2014/10/22/7041731/sun-noodle-to-change-dorm-room-ramen-forever-with-make-at-home-kit

My favorite an instant fried sauce noodle. I haven't found the one I had as a kid and the Korean variety that I find isn't close to what I remember.

TheDispossessed said:

shin ramen

Click to expand...

+1 lightly chewy noodles. Mmmm.

I was just in Waikiki beach and went to ramen nakamura. Absolutely fab. I had kimchi ramen.

"Serious Eats" recently did a similar article on office ramen. I'm borrowing stuff from both for my house stuff.

For me, the ramen transcends the packaging when leftover pork belly (smoked pork will work in a pinch) is added to it - and of course the obligatory egg.

i'll eat any ramen really, just add egg and scallions.
for a very different type that you eat without broth check out chapaghetti.

gavination said:

+1 lightly chewy noodles. Mmmm.

Click to expand...

Just found Shin because it was at Costco - 8 for 8 bucks. If I had known how good it was I would of bought the entire pallett

I always add scallions and if I have it mushrooms, or a thinly sliced protein. I try to always keep a steak air drying/aging in the fridge. Once aged it's much easier to add to a wok for stir fry because it's moisture content is lower. It's also my favorite adder for ramen. It goes on top - raw, like when getting good Pho.

Dried shrimp can be good too.

My grocer didn't have the Myojo ramen packs, but they did have the udon packs, so I grabbed a handful of those.

One site I tend to consult from time to time when shopping -- H Mart is my preferred venue -- is: http://www.theramenrater.com/top-ten-lists/ There's also an interesting ramen blog: http://www.ramenramenramen.net/about-this-site/
I frequently just reach for Nongshim brand.

try thinly sliced kielbasa

Sapporo Ichiban Original flavor, Koka Laksa Singapura flavor, and Indomie. Those are my go to instant ramen. The Sapporo Ichiban has the best tasting soup of regular ramen I've tasted. The KOKA is the only instant ramen that tastes like the amazingly flavorful laksas of Malaysia and Singapore. If you've ever had laksa and enjoyed it, you have to try KOKA Laksa Singapura out. Indomie is such a delicious dry style instant ramen it has it own youtube fan videos.

any instant ramen from japan or korea is the shiznitz.

+2 on the Shin ramen. In Korea, an egg, diced ham, or cheese make great toppings.

b2kk258 said:

+2 on the Shin ramen. In Korea, an egg, diced ham, or cheese make great toppings.

Click to expand...

Cheese, eh? what kind? IME, the use of cheese in Asian cultures (well, non-Western cultures more generally) is pretty sparse.

Zwiefel said:

Cheese, eh? what kind? IME, the use of cheese in Asian cultures (well, non-Western cultures more generally) is pretty sparse.

Click to expand...

You might want to try at least once some American cheese (even though it presumably is not traditionally used for such purposes in Asia). http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016583-perfect-instant-ramen

I eat ramen with some frequency, though am hardly an expert. (For all I know, here in Philly they put cheez wiz on it. Probably just as disgusting as on cheese steaks.)

+3 on shin. About to make me one right now. With an egg brisket and American cheese n Kim chi on side.

Zwiefel said:

Cheese, eh? what kind? IME, the use of cheese in Asian cultures (well, non-Western cultures more generally) is pretty sparse.

Click to expand...

Danny, you ought to experience a Japanese pizza. It's mostly cheese with bits of dough and sauce thrown in. If you're not careful, it will have corn and mayo on it.

My emergency ramen is Nissin. Add some slow cooked local pork (available everywhere), negi, egg, togarashi and you're good to go.

I love the Nongshim Shin Cup, especially the black gourmet one. You only really get them over here at Asian supermarkets so it can be a little bewildering choosing them. I've found a couple on the Ramen Rater and been disappointed with them, but the Shin Cup is great

Shin +10000000 favorite especially with an egg, green onion and togarashi soo good. :doublethumbsup:

I usually go for ramyeon (Ottogi or Nongshim) these days as they are the only variants of instant ramen I can find that have noodles that I like. And I like 'em thick-ish and chewy. Depending on the mood I'll either use as is or make my own broth.

+4 on Shin Ramen. However, I would highly recommend trying Shin Ramen Black. Cost about x2 as much but supposedly it's all natural with NO MSG. The broth is very different and very good.

As always an egg and scallions is a must, plus I add some extra wakame seaweed too, leftover lunch meat...pretty much anything leftover.

Of an instant ramen that's good straight out of the box? If I could get my hands on it, that would be the 7-11 branded ramen bowls from Japan. It even has a thick slab of dehydrated chashu that, when rehydrated, is quite good.


Otherwise, if I want to make my own egg/chashu/gyoza, then I would go with frozen Shoyu Myojo that's readily available at my local asian grocer.
http://chowtimes.com/2010/07/12/frozen-ramen-even-more-closer-than-kintaros/