Cup noodles are the cheapest form of food you can get in Japan, responsible for keeping the nation alive when times are tough.
Okay, you don’t have to be poor and starving to enjoy a nice hot cup of noodles in Japan. Particularly as a foreigner, I found them to be delicious options for lunch, offering flavors and styles of cup noodles that don’t exist back home.
5. Original Cup Noodles
There’s nothing like the original cup noodle brand to kick off our list. Nissin is the home of all things “instant” in Japan, whether it’s instant noodles, instant soup, or instant rice meals, Nissin is everybody’s safe go-to brand of choice!
Using a chicken broth base combined with a variety of vegetable extracts, this cup of noodles offers a mild savory taste that appeals to the masses. It also represents the first flavor of cup noodles which opened the floodgates for the endless plethora of flavors we now have available to us.
4. Curry Noodles
Original is always the safe option, but for me, it rarely represents the best. As far as Nissin cup noodles go, nothing beats the iconic curry flavor which offers a more intense flavor and a thicker soup base.
The curry creates a slightly spicy taste and the ingredients are more exciting, including foods like small roast potatoes and carrots in the mix. Curry noodles have grown so popular in Japan that you’ll find sub-varieties in this category such as cheese curry and extra spicy curry flavor.
3. Kitsune Noodles
If you prefer thicker-cut noodles, then I’d recommend kitsune noodles which incorporate thick udon noodles, a savory soup base, and two very large and generous helpings of sweet fried tofu. The broth is made of “dashi,” that is, a common Japanese cooking stock made with kelp and dried bonito flakes.
I know it’s number 3 on the list, but kitsune noodles are actually the ones that I buy the most often. The large thick cut udon noodles, the size of the cup (which is more like a bowl), and the two gigantic and delicious pieces of fried “kitsune” tofu make it the most filling and “bang for your buck” cup noodles I know of.
2. Tanuki Noodles
For something a little fancier, I’d go for tanuki noodles. These delicious soba noodles with a croquette of tempura not only taste amazing but are also super affordable at just about any convenience store.
The base is a savory miso-style broth while the tempura is made with shrimp and vegetables battered and fried. I recommend eating the tempura croquette first before getting into the noodles as the longer it stays in the hot noodle soup the more it loses that delicious crunchy texture.
1. Rich Miso & Garlic Noodles
Last but certainly not least is this amazing “super cup” of instant noodles that I found at one of the convenience stores in Sapporo. This is for those with a few extra pennies in their pocket and with a big appetite, offering a serving of 1.5 times that of the previous item on this list.
Of all the cup noodles I’ve ever had, this was the closest to resembling the taste of a Michelin-star restaurant dish. A thick saucy broth made of rich miso and garlic engulfs a generous serving of ramen noodles and is complimented by vegetable greens and sweet corn for an absolute banquet of a meal!
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