I noticed this Ippudo Ramen box from my rare S&R grocery runs. I love Ippudo Ramen (it’s actually one of my top 3 ramen actually) so I got curious and bought this. Even though it’s a bit pricey (Php 1500 or around USD 30), I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try.
Starting off
The packaging once opened, contained 2 servings of 2 sets included: the akamaru (赤丸) ramen and the shiromaru (白丸) ramen. The akamaru has the miso paste and garlic oil while the shiromaru has the basic tonkotsu taste.
Once opened, the ingredients were neatly separated per serving. You can see the instructions included. At first glance, the instructions were a bit vague.
There may be a bit of confusion as Step 3 is divided between the akamaru (赤丸) and shiromaru (白丸) steps. Just compare the characters I’ve noted with the one in the instructions and you won’t get confused on which is which.
Cooking the Ramen
The actual cooking is really simple, and you can finish it within 5 minutes. Basically, you need to bring 450mL of water to a boil, then put the noodles to cook within 1 minute and put the soup concentrate and the add-ons depending on the ramen that you want.
Take note though that the ramen is quite basic unless you’ve planned to put in some extra ingredients after you cook. Actual Ippudo Ramen has black fungus, spring onions, and the star of the show, the chashu pork.
What I did in this case, was I ordered some chashu and ajitama (ramen eggs) from a Japanese restaurant nearby and saved it for this day. In your case, you can improvise and for example, add some minced pork, onion leeks, and mushrooms if you want.
Taste Testing
The taste was understandably not the same as the restaurant version. I’m not expecting instant ramen to beat actual ramen. However, it’s definitely tastier than some of the instant noodles I’m accustomed to. In spite of the chashu and ajitama giving it more oomph. It did not blow my mind, it was just okay.
Conclusion
The price for this kit is around Php 1500. Given four servings, that’s around Php 375 per meal. For me, it’s worth a try, but I won’t be buying more in the future. I feel that for the price, I can get a number of better instant noodles.