There is a lot of great East Asian food on offer and we came home laden with kimchi, banchan items, frozen Korean fried chicken and more. And as well as those, don’t even get me started on the frozen pulled pork burritos – heavenly.
I’m going to include this frozen chicken ramen in my instant noodle guide because although it’s not dried, I still consider it still pretty instant. Just 8 minutes in the microwave and you’ve got a steaming bowl of ramen in front of you. Amazing.
What’s in the box?
Firstly, you need a good amount of freezer space for this. It’s a large box with four portions, each in their own bowl with a lid. Not great from an environmental pov although it’s all recyclable.
Opening the bowl, I was pleasantly surprised. Neatly packed noodles and toppings (spring onion, sweetcorn, bok choi, red pepper, carrot, shitake mushrooms and chicken) plus two sachets – soy sauce and chilli oil. I don’t think you’d usually find carrot and peppers in a chicken ramen but it was tasty.
Cooking it up
So easy. Add 300 ml of water, pop the lid loosely back on and microwave for 8 minutes. Then add the soy sauce and chilli oil and you’re done.
The taste test
While I’d always prefer to tuck into a fresh bowl in the heart of Tokyo (wouldn’t we all?), sometimes life calls for a quick fix much (much) closer to home.
The noodles were proper ramen noodles, complete with that springy chew they should have. The broth wasn’t as rich as I’d want but i mean, let’s give credit where it’s due – this is a microwave bowl, not restaurant quality. And whilst the chicken looked nothing like the big juicy slices on the box, it was plentiful and pretty tasty. The other toppings added a bit of texture and all held up well from freezer to table.
Word of warning – the chilli oil is a kicker so if you’re not keen on spice, go steady or skip it entirely.
Scores on the doors:
- Flavour – 7/10
- Texture – 9/10
- Ease of making – 9/10
Total: 25/30
Buy again? YES definitely!
This is my first time trying frozen ramen. In fact, I don’t think I’ve come across it before. Tokyo Kitchen I’ve discovered is just a PR brand created for the suppliers of Costco so I have no ability to vouch for its authenticity but I can say that it really delivers. Sure, it’s not quite the same as slurping noodles at a counter in real Tokyo, but for a lazy weekday or late-night craving, it’s a fantastic option.
If you’ve tried it, I’d love to hear your thoughts. My friend Lia from Korean Kitchen Cardiff mentioned that they do a wonton soup so I’ll be grabbing a box of that next time.
