Nissin RAOH Ramen Noodle Soup, Umami Tonkotsu, 3.53 Ounce (Pack of 10)

Authentic Japanese taste. Easy to prepare.

The product is great and will always be our favorite packaged ramen. So I purchased 10, but they expire early next month! I’m sure they will last a little longer. If only there was a way to know expiration dates before purchasing!!!

I originally received a complimentary sample of this product from Nissin, and out of the three flavors they sent, this Tonkotsu flavor is the best.For those not in the know, "umami" is considered the "fifth flavor" along with salty, bitter, sweet, and sour. Umami translates to "pleasant savory flavor" from Japanese, indicating that this is a savory, meaty sort of flavor. Tonkotsu ramen is ramen made with a very rich pork bone broth that is an opaque-ish milky white color from all the slowly simmered fat and marrow in it, and is the signature ramen of the Hakata district in Fukuoka, Japan.The cooking of this ramen is different from any other ramen I have tried. Upon opening the packet, you are greeted with a circle of noodles and two packets. Starting up a pot with 2 cups of water to boil, you dump the packets into the bowl you're going to eat out of. I was wary at this point, as the packet of dried seasonings had a very peculiar odor, and the other packet seemed to be filled with what was a mixture of oil and concentrated pork stock, which smelled overwhelmingly porky.The noodles boil for about four minutes, and the difference in the noodles was obvious right from the start. Most ramen noodles have a very oily fried smell to them and a very smooth texture. These noodles had a good texture like a noodle made with rice flour as an ingredient, and were definitely not deep fried. I feel it was incredibly necessary, since this soup is so very rich on its own.After the noodles are done, you first drain all of the water INTO the bowl with the two soup packets. All of a sudden, the bowl is filled with a rich and fragrant pork broth that only gets milkier as you stir it. The rest of the seasonings definitely come into play, and you get very strong whiffs of ginger and scallion. You then add the noodles to the broth in the bowl and stir them around a bit to coat them in the flavor. Personally I like to let it sit for at least two minutes, stirring every once in a while, because the noodles really get time to soak up the broth.All in all, this ramen is perfection and about the best tonkotsu ramen I've found outside of a proper restaurant. I was very pleasantly surprised at how tasty and easily prepared this soup was. I'll probably be a life-long customer because of it, it's seriously that darn good.

So...This was an interesting purchase. 2 bucks a bag for ramen, 2 bucks for 12 at walmart for cheap stuff. I live in an area with 2 ramen shops nearby and read online this stuff was a dollar a bag in japan at places like 7-11... Wasnt expecting a lot, maybe a tiny bit better, but nothing major.100% blown away, to the point im exploring what I can do with it. I'm learning recipes for things to add, learning more ways of cooking it, researching if better options exist. I've been to the ramen shops in my area and this tasted just like them. Which may say bad things about both the area, and the ramen shop, but is nothing but praise for this ramen, as I actually genuinely used to like those places.The noodles are much more like spaghetti in thickness, and the broth doesnt just taste like salt with some garlic (ala-walmart chicken flavor, not to ruin that for you if I did) and needs no additions to be awesome, only to make it even more-so.How my ramen eating has changed:1. With cheap brand ramen, id never make it soup. Id strain and pour the powder onto the lightly wet noodles, maybe leaving a tiny bit of water to keep them warm. With this ramen, i make the soup just so it lasts longer.2. I am experimenting with things to add to it, its insanely delicious.3. I'm running out of bowls, please help me.My only cons:1.I will say though that the noodles dont hold flavor as well (slurping the ramen helps dramatically)2.The smell from the oil packet is hyper-intense, but definitely adds to the flavor, and the smell turns into something else wants its soup thats enjoyable.3. The smell (good smell not the bad smell) lingers for about an hour after consumption. making you want more ramen quickly, and then you end up possibly exploding within a couple days.I might have made things a little melodramatic, but its really good ramen, its making me experiment, and even at its weird price, ill be ordering more before I run out, so I never run out. better than any soup I've had home made in a can or package by far.

Today I received this 10 pack of Nissan Raoh Miso Flavor, and was excited to try them. I've tried Instant Noodles from Indonesia (Indomie), Korea (Paldo, Samyang, Ottogi Jin Ramen Mild ((so far this is my absolute favorite!))), Malaysia (Prima Taste), of course, the cheap offerings from Maruchan and Top Ramen here in the US, and now this one from Nissan, a Japanese Ramen soup.After preparing the soup per the instructions (2 cups of water, boil, add the soup base PASTE to the bowl, drain the water into it, stir, add the noodles), I find this to be just okay: not great, not bad, just bland. The noodles are good and chewy, but the broth, while it smells great, it just tastes watery to me, which is surprising with the Sodium at 2290 mg. I tried adding sweet soy sauce but it didn't help much. Therefore, I wouldn't buy these again nor recommend them.PS: I paid an outrageous $23.40 for this 10 pack BECAUSE the pack in the picture said "Umami Miso" on it, which I thought made it better than other sellers' products that did NOT say Umami on the pack. These do NOT have the word Umami on the pack, so if you're going to try these, opt for the cheaper offerings. According to the Nissan Raoh website, the word Umami on the pack isn't used anymore.Last thing: one final noteworthy thing is that, on a positive note, this ramen has significantly fewer calories than any of the others I've tried at 340 calories per pack.