Ramen Review Addendum 2: Raoh with added ingredients

In my earlier review, I predicted that the Raoh brand ramen would make a good base for adding other ingredients to, in order to turn it into a full meal which is competitive with restaurant ramen (after all, it's even suggested on the packaging that you do so).  I recently experimented with this, and for the most part, those predictions were correct!  During my experimentation, I used different ingredients on different soup mixes, with the following results: 

Shoyu Ramen with bok choi and roast duck meat: 

I got these ingredients from a nearby Asian grocery store*, and I must say I was quite pleased with the results when I added them to the Shoyu ramen.  They nicely complemented the flavor of the Shoyu ramen, turning a somewhat bare-bones product into a full meal.

Tonkotsu Ramen with roast duck meat and sweet corn:

I must admit, this was not the best combination I came up with.  The Raoh Tonkotsu was already rich and filling, so adding a large amount of corn and several pieces of roast duck meat resulted in me having an overstuffed feeling when I finished this bowl.  In the future, I will probably add fewer ingredients, or just have the soup itself without anything added.

Adding ingredients really does make a difference with this line of instant ramen, most dramatically with the shoyu ramen; what made it my least favorite variant as a standalone product now makes it my favorite when combined with other ingredients.

*Son Atlantic Market, in Danbury, CT

Ramen Review Addendum 1: Non-Ramen Review 1: Vifon Beef-Flavor Vietnamese-Style Instant Rice Noodles

Recently, Mike Kaltschnee of the Danbury Hackerspace has been an enthusiastic reader of my Ramen Reviews, and due to both his enthusiasm for these reviews and his having recently started a low-carb diet, very kindly donated one of his favorite varieties of instant noodles for me to review.

Like the Raoh Tonkotsu Ramen, the contents of this bag consist of the noodles themselves, a soup base packet, and an oil packet.

Unlike the other noodles that I have reviewed so far, these noodles are prepared by emptying all of the contents of the bag into a bowl, pouring boiled water into said bowl, and then covering it for 3 minutes (all of my previous reviews were prepared by boiling or simmering the noodles in water, then pouring either the noodles and water [as was done with Top Ramen] or just the water [as was done with Raoh] into a bowl with the flavoring pouch's contents).

When finished, the soup manages to capture much of the smell and flavor of restaurant pho quite effectively.  The broth is very flavorful, and the noodles taste a lot like their restaurant counterparts (although the noodles' texture seems a bit "off"; perhaps I've just been spoiled by Raoh noodles...). 

All in all, this was quite an enjoyable soup, and I would once again like to thank Mike Kaltschnee for his donation!

Ramen Review Part 2: Nissin Raoh Premium Ramen

While my first ramen review was for Nissin's cheap and basic "Top Ramen" instant ramen, this review is for their premium-brand "RAOH" (meaning "ramen king") brand ramen.  The difference between these 2 product lines is apparent in the price; while Top Ramen averages less than a dollar per packet (and in some places can be bought at 20 cents per packet if you buy in bulk), these were 3 dollars each in the sampler set I bought (which admittedly wasn't the best possible deal).  Even when bought in combinations that were a better individual price, they still ended up costing about $1.20 each.  It's worth noting, however, that this ramen isn't competing so much with the less than 1 dollar each ramen packets as it's competing with restaurant-made ramen in the 8-to-15 dollar price range (although, admittedly, that ramen would also come with things like meat, vegetables, and boiled eggs in addition to the noodles and broth).  Unlike their Top Ramen, Raoh Ramen comes in only 3 flavors: Tonkotsu, Shoyu, and Miso.

Although the Raoh packaging suggests adding ingredients like meat, vegetables, and boiled eggs to their ramen, in my review I am only going to review the ramen itself without anything added to it.

Tonkotsu Ramen:

Not to be confused with tonkatsu, tonkotsu ramen uses pork bones to make a thick, cloudy sauce.  It is originally from Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu.  Right off the bat you can tell Raoh ramen is different because instead of the usual brick of noodles with a powder packet, Raoh noodles come in a round form with 2 packets, 1 of flavoring and 1 of soup base.  Because they're not flash-fried the way regular instant ramen is, the noodles are prepared by simmering rather than boiling.

The flavor of the broth is excellent, if not quite as rich or creamy as tonkotsu broth usually is (when I've had tonkotsu ramen at restaurants, the broth had a level of thickness somewhere between gravy and crab or lobster bisque, but I guess you can only go so far with powder mixtures).  The noodles have a very different texture/consistency to them compared to the instant variety; if I didn't know otherwise, I could have sworn that these were new handmade noodles!  All in all, a delicious start to this review!

Shoyu Ramen: 

A fairly basic recipe consisting of a light brown soy-based broth, this is the oldest and most common flavor for ramen.  Unlike the Tonkotsu ramen, the flavoring for this came in a single packet.

The broth had a nice, light flavor without being too weak or watery.  Of all the flavors, this is probably the one that would benefit the most from adding other ingredients; as it is, it it's quite good but a bit plain, the ramen equivalent of a hamburger that only consists of a bun and a meat patty.

Miso Ramen:

A relative newcomer among flavors, miso ramen didn't achieve national prominence in Japan until 1965.  It is originally from Sapporo in Hokkaido.  I don't think I ever actually had miso ramen in a restaurant, so I can't vouch for how similar or different Raoh miso ramen is to the restaurant variety.  To me, the Raoh miso ramen tasted and smelled almost like a diluted, less sweet, version of hoisin sauce, with a nice tangy flavor to the broth.

All in all, I'd say Raoh ramen is an excellent product line; as it is it gives restaurant ramen a run for its money, and when ingredients are added chances are it will be even better!  I'll probably do a supplement to this review with various ingredients added, but for this review I wanted to just review the soups themselves.

Of the 3 flavors, I'd say tonkotsu was my favorite, followed by miso, followed by shoyu.

Finland Plays the Soviet Union

When western filmmakers were unable or unwilling to film in the Soviet Union, they often filmed in Finland for a variety of reasons (this is somewhat ironic, considering that Finland fought a civil war/war of independence and then 2 more wars against the Soviet Union).  Reasons for filming in Finland included:

• Finland was a free society in which obtaining permission to film was much easier than in the Soviet Union, especially in cases where the Soviet Union was portrayed in a negative light or was the source of the film's villains.
• Finland's landscape and climate was similar to much of the Soviet Union (the northern Russian part at least), making a good stand-in for many parts of northern Russia.
• Similarly, due to Finland being a part of the Russian Empire for over a century before independence, the architecture in many of the cities (especially public buildings) bore a strong resemblance to the architecture of many Russian cities, making it relatively easy for cities like Helsinki to stand in for cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg.

Here are the films I have seen that have used Finland to stand in for the Soviet Union.  Keep in mind that this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of every film that did this, just a list of the ones I've seen.

Reds (1981):
A biopic of John Reed (Warren Beatty), Helsinki was used as a stand-in for St.Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad (yes, they're all the same city...), and Moscow as well.  One of the most well-known sequences is a montage of John rekindling his relationship with Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton) while they're reporting about the Russian Revolution, all scored to The Internationale.  During this sequence, Helsinki's Senate Square is featured prominently:

Later on in the film, Finland is, surprisingly enough, used to actually depict Finland!

 
Finland was not the only country used to substitute countries, however; Spain was used as a stand-in for Central Asia, and the scenes taking place in France were in fact filmed in Britain (as were several interior shots, including those taking place in the Winter Palace).   In total, Reds was filmed in 5 different countries.

Gorky Park (1983):
When 3 dead bodies are found in Moscow's Gorky Park with their faces and fingertips sliced off, it's up to Moscow Militia Chief Investigator Arkady Renko (William Hurt) to find out who they were, who killed them, and why, in a work that's part mystery, part glimpse into everyday Soviet life. An adaptation of the novel by Martin Cruz Smith, Gorky Park used Helsinki as a stand-in for Moscow.  For example, Helsinki Technical School played the role of Moscow Militia Headquarters:

...while Kaisaniemi Park stood in for the titular park:

Elsewhere in the film, efforts to make Helsinki look more like Moscow included:

• Painting a giant mural of Lenin on the side of a building:
  
• Placing Russian-language signage everywhere:
  
• And having lots of extras dressed in Soviet military uniforms during street/crowd scenes:
  

The Fourth Protocol (1987):
Based on the book by Frederick Forsyth, the KGB is launching a plan to destabilize Britain in the hopes of both severing the Anglo-American alliance and driving Britain out of NATO.  They plan to do this by smuggling in an atom bomb piece by piece, then having it detonate next to a US Air Force base where American aircraft with nuclear warheads are stationed.  Because this operation was so top-secret, there are only a handful of very senior government officials involved.  The operation is handled almost entirely from the various dachas in the countryside belonging to those same officials.  In film terms, this means that there is no need to dress up Helsinki or any other Finnish city to look like Moscow; instead, the forests in Finland substitute for the forests outside of Moscow.

 

That said, I do have a film that was filmed in Helsinki and which actually takes place in Helsinki: Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth (1991).  A series of vignettes depicting five different taxi drivers in five different cities (going west to east), the Helsinki segment follows the earlier Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Rome segments.  It's interesting to see this after having watched the other works, so now you can see Senate Square without crowds of revolutionaries:

It's also interesting to see a residential neighborhood and realize that the same style of buildings had earlier stood in for a Moscow neighborhood:
From Gorky Park:

 

From Night on Earth:

Ramen Review Part 1: Nissin Top Ramen

Growing up, instant ramen soup was a staple food for whenever school was out, as it was quick and easy to make, cheap, and readily available just about everywhere we went.  In addition, for a family with 3 children who were fairly picky eaters*, it had the rare distinction of being a food that everybody liked (although I did get tired of making it every day for lunch for weeks on end because it was the only thing my sister wanted to eat back when she was too young to use the stove herself**).

That said, we tended to get whatever was available at the nearest store, so I never sat down and did a taste test of the different flavors of ramen out there.  It's been a long time since I've had instant ramen, so I thought I'd do a taste test of the most commonly available flavors from the top brands.  The first taste test I do will be of the Nissin Top Ramen brand ramen, which is the company that originally invented instant ramen in 1958!

When tasting these, I have not modified them in any way; no flavoring or other ingredients have been added, and I've prepared the soups in the manner described on the packaging.

• First Flavor: Beef
  

 I don't recall ever having had this flavor before; the most common flavors I had were usually "Oriental", Chicken, and Shrimp.  That said, this beef ramen has a nice flavor, but not necessarily a "beefy" one; it doesn't taste much like beef or even like a soup made from beef bouillon cubes to me, but I still like how it tastes. The broth is richer than I remember it being (in my memory it always seemed like the broth was somewhat watery), and the noodles have a more "waxy" texture than I remember them having; I wonder if it's just me not accurately remembering the ramen I grew up with, or if they've changed the noodles and sauce mix, or I'm cooking it differently from how I cooked it when I used to make it.  It could also be a difference in brands; I don't think we had this brand as often as we had Maruchan brand ramen. 

• Second Flavor: Chicken
  

This was always my favorite flavor growing up, and the bowl I just had was remarkably similar to how I remembered it.  Unlike the beef ramen, this ramen tastes a lot like chicken soup.  Just like when I had it before, the broth left a yellow rim of "fat" on the edge of the bowl while it was cooling down; also like the chicken ramen of my youth, there were some solid brown flecks of powder, presumably some kind of spices or flavoring that didn't dissolve into the broth (although this bowl seemed to have much less of this powder than it did when I was growing up).

• Third Flavor: Chili 
  

Another flavor that I don't remember ever having before, this ramen definitely had a kick to it.  Interestingly enough, I didn't find the ramen all that spicy while eating it, but there was a strong delayed reaction/lingering spiciness to the broth that really kicked in after eating it.  This ramen had solid flecks of red pepper in the broth, and its taste reminded me a lot of the spicy kimchi ramen I used to get sometimes (the kind that comes in a styrofoam bowl).  This soup and the soy sauce flavored soup are the only vegetarian ramen flavors made by Nissin; all of the other ramen mixes have animal products in them.

• Fourth Flavor: Soy Sauce (formerly called "Oriental")
  

Despite its name, this variety tastes like it has more than just soy sauce as flavoring.  It tastes quite good, if a bit plain compared to flavors like chicken or chili.  In taste, it reminds me of shoyu ramen.  I really don't have more to say about this flavor; while it tastes quite good, nothing about it really stands out compared to the other flavors out there.  Like I mentioned before, along with chili ramen, this is a vegetarian flavor.

• Fifth Flavor: Spicy Beef

Like beef and chili ramen, this was another new flavor for me.  Of all the ramen mixes I've made so far, this mix has by far the most numerous solid flecks in its flavoring mix.  It's spicy, but not as spicy as the chili ramen; like the chili ramen, however, its spiciness has a "delayed reaction" effect.  Spiciness aside, its flavor is quite nice too.

• Sixth Flavor: Shrimp
  

This was my least favorite flavor growing up, but I think it was more because of the smell than the taste.  Of the all of the ramen flavors that I've had for this review so far, the shrimp ramen wins the category of "Most Improved".  It also has the lightest flavor of all of the kinds I've tried for this review, with the broth being much more watery than the other flavors.

Of the Nissin Top Ramen flavors that I've tried, my 3 favorites are chicken, spicy beef, and chili (in that order).  I didn't find any flavors that I actively disliked; even the shrimp flavor was surprisingly good.

And now, here are some interesting facts about Ramen noodles, instant and otherwise:

• Ramen noodles are a Japanese adaptation of Chinese wheat noodles, and as such were for a long time considered a type of foreign food in Japan, even though it wasn't found outside of Japan (it's kind of the Japanese equivalent of General Tso's Chicken, which is thought of as a foreign or Chinese food in America despite being virtually nonexistent in China).
• Ramen consumption increased dramatically in postwar Japan, as one of the poorest rice harvests in Japan's history happened immediately following the end of the war.  This led the Japanese people to eat more American wheat (bread consumption also increased at the same time as ramen consumption).
• Although instant ramen is today one of the cheapest foods available (and its consumption is often used as a shorthand depiction of poverty in fiction), at the time it was invented it was considered a luxury food, costing several times the price of a bowl of ramen from a stall.
• In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, instant ramen is one of the best rations available, giving the player a high stamina recovery, having a delicious taste, and not spoiling over time (most Snake Eater rations have only 2 of those properties, and some [including the Bigeye Trevally] have none of them). 
• Although instant ramen is often criticized for its poor nutritional value and high sodium content, it is worth noting that creator Momofuku Ando ate a bowl of instant ramen every day from 1958 (when he invented it) until the day before his death in 2007 at the age of 96...

*Foods I refused to eat: onions, peppers, mustard, eggplant.  Foods my sister refused to eat: cheese, other than on pizza.  Foods my brother refused to eat: an ever-expanding list of foods; at random intervals, whatever we were having or going out for that night was suddenly a food he hated (and claimed to have always hated, even if he had eaten that food quite enthusiastically the week before). 

**Typical dialogue:
My sister: "You have to make me lunch!"
Me: "What do you want?"
My sister: "Ramen Soup!"
Me: "I made you that every day for the last week!  Don't you want something else?"
My sister: "I WANT RAMEN SOUP!!!"
Me: "I'll make you anything else that we have!  Don't you want anything other than ramen soup?"
My sister: <long pause> "I want ramen soup!"