I got some new samples from Nissin USA a few weeks ago (thank you!) of some varieties of Nissin’s Raoh from Japan that are now available in the USA. Raoh (meaning King( is a premium line. At this point, you can only get them on Amazon. Not sure if that will change though. So Umami. This is something interesting – first, let’s have a look at what wikipedia has to say about umami –

Umami basically means savory, but it is more than that. Glutamates naturally occur in many foods like meats – things high in protein. The concept of being satiated and ‘umami receptors’ in the body exists now. Umami led to the invention of monosodium glutamate as well! Now for tonkotsu – again to wikipedia:

Tonkotsu (豚骨, “pork bone”; not to be confused with tonkatsu) ramen usually has a cloudy white colored broth. It is similar to the Chinese baitang (白湯) and has a thick broth made from boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours, which suffuses the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency that rivals milk, melted butter or gravy (depending on the shop). Most shops, but not all, blend this pork broth with a small amount of chicken and vegetable stock and/or soy sauce. The noodles are thin and straight, and it is often served with beni shoga (pickled ginger). In recent years the latest trend in tonkotsu toppings ismāyu (sesame oil), a blackish, aromatic oil made from either charred crushed garlic or Sesame seeds. It is a specialty of Kyushu, particularly Hakata-ku, Fukuoka (hence sometimes called “Hakata ramen”).

Got it? Alright – on with the show! Let’s check out Nissin Raoh!

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, boil 2 cups of water and add noodles. Cook for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, put contents of sachet into a bowl. Add the water the noodles cooked in into the bowl and combine with the paste. Add in noodles. Enjoy!

The noodle block.

A dry soup base sachet.

Has a sweet scent.

A liquid sachet.

A translucent oil.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added hard boiled egg, ito togarashi, spring onion and pork. The noodles are very nice in these – good chew and gauge – very premium. The broth was a luscious mess of wonderful – creamy and very hearty. A very tasty treat – and even though it doesn’t contain pork, it’s a really decent tonkotsu. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 070662500033.

Nissin RAOH Ramen Noodle Soup, Umami Tonkotsu, 100 Gram (Pack of 10)

A video I did about 3 years ago to celebrate the second Momofuku Ando Day on The Ramen Rater. This video shows preparation of a bowl of Nissin Raoh instant noodles.