Most likely, Maruchan Ramen is the most popular ramen brand in the United S. —Top Ramen notwithstanding—but you’re missing out on some seriously delicious options if you’ve only been purchasing chicken, soy sauce, and beef. We purchased all ten varieties of Maruchan ramen noodles (yes, including the classic chicken and other flavors), and we cooked them as directed on the package (i.e. e. with two bowls of water each), and we tasted them side by side. If you’re anything like me, you usually cook your ramen with less water than what the package suggests, and I have to admit, that’s a smart move. While some of these were blatantly watery, others were fantastic with all that broth. Rules, however, rules. The Maruchan ramen flavors are listed here, going from worst to best.
How we ramen’d the ramen
To be completely honest, we had already grown to love ramen noodles and all of their different broths and toppings. However, you should be aware that none of that ever involved us cooking ourselves in a bowl from a tiny plastic package. Not even in college. (We survived on cold pizza, the other college staple, in order to stretch our meager resources. ).
Perhaps we had unintentionally turned into ramen connoisseurs, devouring bowls of tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen at Fukurou Ramen or indulging in Soul ramen at Tatsu that was garnished with kikurage mushrooms and gochujang miso paste. Nevertheless, we made a self-promise to not allow any of that to interfere with our Maruchan mission.
So we set to work, cooking each package as directed, boiling the noodles in two cups of water, and then adding the entire seasoning packet. And nothing else. Not even a tiny pinch of salt, nor meat, nor fancy sprinkled seaweed, nor soft-boiled eggs. We wanted that pure, unadulterated experience. And lo and behold . we got it. Here’s how our ranking comes out: which was the worst? which was our favorite?
Well, the gray flavor powder sure isnt selling it. I apologize, but those who enjoy traditional tonkotsu (pork broth) will find this to be quite upsetting. (Hi, same. We’re not sure what this is, but it’s not pork. It might actually be chicken. Jurys still out.
We swirled this around in our mouths, wishing for a miracle, and spent an excessive amount of time trying to mentally will it to become more pork-y. We took a sip of the broth, closed our eyes, and imagined Porky Pig contentedly simmering in a pot, splashing hot water over his rosy little body like a vegetable-filled jacuzzi. (Then he got out, and headed to the sauna. ) But still nothing. Still chicken.
When the seasoning and water combined, a slightly rubbery scent was the first to emerge. This was not the best rubber smell, if there is such a thing. If the broth’s grayish-brown hue had been labeled as, say, mushroom, we would have accepted it completely. However, at the moment, this rubbery chicken-like taste is at the bottom of the list. #NeverAgain.
Even before we cooked it, to be honest, the flavor of the shrimp wasn’t exactly standing out as a potential winner. Hello, shrimp is just a vehicle for all the delicious stuff surrounding the shrimp. Does anyone like just shrimp? The cocktail sauce, the Cajun seasoning, the garlic butter. Ugh, the garlic butter. Similar to the Red Lobster ads featuring shrimp cannonballing into a heated butter pool during an unlimited shrimp feast (A buttery tear rolls down our cheeks. ).
We actually forgot what shrimp is supposed to taste like after eating this bowl of ramen. We’re awarding it a few points for the tiny bits of seasoning that sank to the bottom of the broth, appearing to be remnants of actual human food. It was all perfectly edible, but it didn’t taste like the shrimp it was supposed to. Naturally, if this is the only package you have in the cupboard, it will still be satisfying.
We brainstormed ideas that were obviously awful for how the company could make this one even more delicious. Like, sea monkeys. To be honest, we would be scared to see little sea monkeys that resemble shrimp fall out of the seasoning packet. But we might also be like . yes, maybe it works? Okay, never mind. Looks like its back to the drawing board. Sayonara, shrimpy.
Just so you know, creamy, chicken-flavored ramen that stays fresh for a full year is already a little suss. Not to mention, we were disappointed not to find a little packet of Kraft macaroni and cheese powder nestled inside the packaging. Sadly, it doesn’t seem like this is a Maruchan yakisoba tasting where we can try their take on boxed mac n cheese, which has the cheddar cheesiness of our dreams. ).
We smelled tea-like scents after we carefully added the contents of the seasoning packet to the pot with the noodles and water. It was pleasant, if also confusing. Is there a creamy portion somewhere in the recipe, or did we overlook adding heavy cream at some point?
Nope! It appears that the title “creamy chicken” might be a little deceptive. Its got a chicken-like broth, but zero cream factor. If the creamiest thing you’ve ever tasted is tap water, then maybe it tastes kind of creamy. Ugh, now the word creamy looks weird. Everything is ruined. We can never eat anything creamy again.
We seem to be on a bit of a chicken kick lately, if you don’t count the pork flavor that came in last and is incredibly close to being chicken. The Maruchan chicken ramen lineup is four flavors deep. And while theyre all . just fine . theyre also nothing to write home about. Please indulge us as we dissect the most fundamental of all chicken flavors: chicken (Surprise!).
This is a perfectly good, everyday broth that could serve as the foundation for almost anything. The flavor is light, well-seasoned, and comforting, akin to classic chicken noodle soup. Furthermore, the seasoning has a yellow hue, in case you had forgotten that the dish was supposed to be chicken. It’s also fortunate for us that this tastes more like chicken than it does pork. Phew.
This is a complete blank canvas, just waiting to have pieces of juicy, tender chicken or vibrant vegetables added to the bowl. However, we made a self-promise to ourselves not to add anything more to the mix. You receive an eight out of eleven for that, my dear chicken.
We have finally discovered a chicken that we kind of like as we dig deeper into Maruchan HQ’s purported “No Chicken Left Behind” strategy. Cancel all previous chickens. Roast chicken forever! (Please. Someone please spare us the agony of choosing between roast chicken and plain chicken that has green onion shreds floating around in it. ).
The primary inquiry is this: Why provide a standard chicken flavor at all when there’s a roasted variant with a flavor-enhancing seasoning packet? They could even blend multiple chickens into a single, massive Creamy Roast Chicken scenario. (Three in one!) It would cure my flavor blahs and add just the right amount of eerie creaminess! Win-win! At least for that Doug guy in accounting and finance.
One last thing before you order a case of roast chicken ramen for the family on Amazon Prime. Keep in mind the last time you had a perfectly roasted chicken because this isn’t it. This flavor is the best in the core chicken series, but it’s not even close to the plain chicken variety. It also has less of that artificial chicken yellow coloring, which gives the impression that it is more sophisticated than it actually is. No. Put your pinky down. Its just regular chicken disguised as fancy chicken. (Yes, obviously with a mustache and a monocle. Is there another kind of fancy chicken?).
We were hoping for a delicious beefiness that wouldn’t look out of place at Muscle Beach, but instead we’re turning into that old lady from the Wendy’s commercial from the 1980s. Save us, unnatural beef flavoring! “Where’s the beef?” (For the younger audience: How we used to laugh at that kind of thing back then!) She couldn’t find the rival’s beef patty because it was so tiny inside the bun! ).
Returning to the ramen, the broth has a distinct brown color and is flavorful, akin to a rich beef stock. However, the texture is far more watery than what is typically associated with beef. There isnt any richness, or standout flavor. No, it doesnt taste like chicken. But it doesnt taste much like beef, either.
We acknowledge that, in our opinion, beef has a deeper flavor than chicken by nature. This meat, whatever it is, is more flavorful than even the most well-roasted chicken. However, we’re still left to question whether we really think that this flavor is beef just because the label claims it to be. Or perhaps because the package depicts a large piece of meat? Perhaps we ought to have tried this one without any prior knowledge. However, since we were conducting this rigorous scientific investigation alone, it’s likely that we were blindly tasting it and that it spilled all over our laps.
Hold onto your chicken butts. We no longer recognize any of the previous chicken flavors, but one has managed to break into the top five. Picante literally means “bite” in Spanish. So what the heck is picante, you ask? Spice. Picante chicken for president! As in a zippy pepper biting your mouth. There’s even a small jalapeño with the word “hot” on the flavor packet. ” (You were warned. Adorably, but still. You were warned. ).
The initial scent reaches the back of your throat like an astringent shot. It nearly distracted us from all the (joy!) visible spicy bits and kind of took our breath away. We nearly burst into tears because it looked just like the picture! Or perhaps we were suffering from terminal picante. Are these red peppers the same ones from the packaging? (Just kidding, this isn’t a competition to see who can eat the most hot peppers; it’s just a fun spicy heat.) ).
Without a doubt, the greatest Maruchan chicken ramen option is picante chicken. (And it beats our fictitious Creamy Roasted Chicken, which was most likely composed of three different flavor packets.) Would we be brave enough to combine four packets to make a gigantic ramen chicken dish? This is too delicious to be overshadowed by a subpar chicken.
Mkay, you know we love our spicy ramen. And our first choice during the tasting was the chili flavor. Consequently, to cut a long tale short, during the flurry of activity surrounding this noodly experiment, our first gulp went straight up the nose, with a tiny bit of noodle entering the lungs. Hot tip: Perhaps avoid breathing in while eating hot noodles.
First impressions: Tostitos Hint of Lime. It’s strange and incomprehensible, yet the flavor profile is exactly the same. We couldn’t stop thinking about it, even though we have no idea where the corn tortilla vibes came from and you are right that there isn’t any lime involved. Totally Tostitos. But chips as soup? Bring it on. We appear to be residing close to the territory of tortilla soup, and we are enjoying every second of it.
Hey yeah to the spicy and flavorful kick (so we can officially say we made it through the first punch). Furthermore, the festive chili-ness is further enhanced by the broth’s reddish hue. This is another spicy flavor that would be excellent as a foundation for more flair. Maybe some cheddar cheese sprinkled on top? Go ahead, you know you want to
Here, we pick things up quickly, so we can tell that anything with the word “roast” in the title is going to be better than the original. And roast beef, which comes in hot at number three, is even better than regular beef!
If you’re a meat lover, there’s no comparison to the complexity of a superb beef stock. Furthermore, despite the fact that this flavoring for beef is made of water and a small packet of seasoning, its flavor far outweighs its thin packaging.
Think of this as Maruchan ramen for Sunday dinner, with a much more complex and savory flavor than that other This time, the broth has a much richer brown color (ugh, regular beef—are you still here?) and has a hint of oiliness (is this even real right now? Is there actual meat in this?) that almost makes it feel like a stew that has been simmered all day on the stovetop. Making this delicious snack only takes a few minutes.
