I’ve had this package of Kumamoto Red Hot Spicy Ramen on my review queue for a while now and have been looking forward to eating them. I love a good bowl of authentic Japanese ramen and as these were a little higher on the cost scale I thought perhaps they might be a slice of Japanese authentic ramen. They are of the long noodle variety which is more common in Japan, so the hope was building.
I guess I do this to myself very often. The expectations and hope I pour into these packages of ramen splendor is very often rewarded with disappointment. The picture on the front of these spaghetti-length rods of fast food innovation suggests that the contents will provide a spicy miso laden bowl of ramen succulence that will have me wearing geta and a yukata while drinking matcha.
Contents
The contents of this package really looked exciting as it seemed that there might be a concentrated soup stock contained within one of these artificial package of abundant flavor. Two packets inside this thing as well as a small bunch of straight noodles.
Directions
• Add the noodles to 500ml boiling water on the stove. Loosen until noodles are completely submerged and allow to cook for approx. 3 minutes.
• When noodles are done, remove from the heat, add the liquid soup sachet, and stir well.
• Serve in a large noodle bowl, add as much of the spicy seasoning oil to your taste
Noodles
The noddles inside we whole grain looking and square instead of being round.
Seasoning
Very strong smelling seasoning that seemed a bit damp. The smell made me even more excited to taste this Japanese treat.
Paste
The paste was very oily but if the oil mixes well with the broth is makes for a really good soup. Again, everything about this screamed that this was great ramen. The smell was absolutely great!
Ruling
In the end it really was a good bowl of ramen but the single thing that keeps this from truly being a great ramen is the chemical aftertaste. I loved the texture of the noodles. They really did have a more natural feel when chewing them. The soup base was so aromatic I couldn’t keep from salivating. The consistency of the soup was creamy and felt like real miso and natural ingredients. They’re not spicy by the way. Warm, eh, not really. They are good though and if not for the after taste, dare I even say great. Perhaps they’ll work on the aftertaste and I’ll give these another go but….until then the search continues.
