Move over Maruchan, here comes Ichiran
Fall is upon us in New York City. Many might associate fall with the leaves changing colors, but for us foodies, it means that soup season is here. There is truly no better way to warm up from the cool winds of fall and winter than with a cup of hot soup. There is obviously the classics such as tomato soup or chicken noodle soup. But, one of our favorite soups to eat, especially during the fall, is a bowl of warm ramen. And Ichiran Ramen, known for their delicious ramen, now offers a “Take-Home Ramen Kit.” This kit lets anyone in the United States make their famous Tonkotsu Ramen at home. This kit comes with the Tonkotsu essentials: the Hakata Style Noodles, the Tonkotsu soup concentrate, and the original spicy seasoning that Ichiran is known for. Each kit includes 3 servings and only takes 3 minutes to make.
We got a chance to try out the ramen for ourselves. The packaging comes with 3 sets of the noodles, soup concentrate, and the spicy seasoning. And the directions to make the ramen could not be simpler. You basically throw the noodles in some boiling water until tender. Then take the water off the heat and pour in the soup concentrate into the water. This concentrate completely immerses the water in a luscious pork broth. Once stirred, pour the contents into a bowl and add the original spicy seasoning (or not!). Beware that the spicy seasoning is no joke and will add an intense heat to the dish. And if you are feeling even more adventurous, you can add as many toppings as you want. Upon trying the ramen alone without the seasoning, there is a burst of umami and savoriness from the broth that warms your entire body. The noodles are a perfect thickness for slurping and is able to absorb some of the broth too. The texture of the noodles is great, providing a nice springy mouth feel as your take each bite (or slurp). We added a little bit of the spicy seasoning and this is no joke. The heat slowly, but steadily, builds up leading to a burst of spice with each bite. After we tried it on its own, we through in some more ingredients to customize our ramen. I added a hard boiled egg to the dish to get the creamy and custardy yolk into the dish. Along with that, any good ramen should have some green onion to it, not only brightening up the dish visually but also added some texture to the dish as well. And we also added some corn to the dish to add more texture and balance the spiciness with a bit of sweetness which made for a great bite each time.
We highly recommend this take home ramen kit over anything else on the market. The flavor packed into the soup concentrate is unmatched and truly feels like you are making restaurant quality ramen in your own home. To check out the ramen kit, you can click the link here: https://shop.ichiranusa.com/take-home-ramen-kit/
