Almost every locality in Japan has its own variation of ramen. And Nissin have come up with series of instant noodles that celebrate three of these variations. This here is Nissin Foods Japanese Ramen Tōkyō Shōyu. It uses a strong, aromatic shōyu (Japanese soy sauce) and seaweed with Nissin’s ‘secret recipe’.

The instant noodles are cooked in 550 mL of uncovered boiling water for 4 minutes. After removing from the heat, the seasoning powder and seasoning oil are stirred through before topping with shredded seaweed.

The packaging recommends adding sliced roast meats, leeks, soft boiled eggs and Japanese seaweed for an indulgent bowl of ramen. D and I find soft-boiled eggs the simplest.

This instant ramen has a fragrant soy sauce smell, which came through pleasantly as a sweet shōyu flavour in the broth. When cooked with the lid off, the amount of water reduces to create a richer broth that infuses the noodles, otherwise, the noodles do not take on the flavour of the broth and taste rather bland. As expected, the flavour was less complex and rich than the ones you have at ramen restaurants, but it’s nonetheless enjoyable with the dried seaweed adding that extra hit of umami and texture to the noodles.

Of the three flavours in the Japanese Ramen series, the rather ordinary flavour of this one saw it come in last.

This Nissin Foods Japanese Ramen Tōkyō Shōyu contained 116 g with instant noodles and soup base. It was produced in Singapore and purchased in Sydney, Australia in 2017.