Tag: noodles

Asian American Frozen Foods: Ajinomoto’s Shoyu Chicken Ramen Bowls

I was at Costco the other day, and noticed this new frozen meal – Ajinomoto’s Tokyo Style Shoyu Chicken Ramen Bowls. I’m always looking for something I can bring to work, since I had mentioned, the company cafeteria kind of sucks. So the fact that this packing has six dishes for $12.99, that definitely caught my eye.

Although, as usual, the dish alone probably wouldn’t be that filling for lunch. I’ll probably have to bring something else, like a salad. In any case, you really can’t too much about how the dish is going to taste after taking it out of the box:

But once you remove the plastic, fill the plastic container with water until a certain line, and microwave for about four minutes, this is what you get:

I was pleasantly surprised – the dish tasted pretty decent. On the packaging, the instructions suggest:

“Add some soy sauce, black pepper, or a soft boiled egg to customize your ramen!”

And I am sure that will make the ramen dish taste better, but I’m not going to bring soy sauce, etc. to work with me. Again, the meal size was okay – but I’d definitely still be hungry in a few hours if I only had this for lunch.

Please Leave Our Noodles Alone!

Even though Southern California is a melting pot of different cultures and deliciously diverse dining, the ways of the yummy Asian noodles might be lost on lawmakers. Kim Tar noodle factory has been in business for 25 years, supplying restaurants and markets with fresh rice noodles. But, a state law requiring refrigeration of noodles is threatening the life of these Asian noodles. Thankfully, some wise Asians are gathering their forces to fight the man who is trying to keep our noodles down. What I love even more than the fact that they are going to rally for the noodles is that they are planning a press conference at a restaurant in Monterey Park! (I grew up a stone-skip away from Monterey Park and still enjoy delectable Asian cuisine in MP.)

Health officials are standing their ground saying this is a matter of public safety and that “ethnic foods are not treated differently than other foods.” Newsflash health officials — Not all foods are created equal! If it’s customary for rice noodles to be stored at room temperature — and they have been for thousands of years — then storing them in the fridge doesn’t suddenly make them safer to eat! In fact, putting rice noodles in the fridge can ruin them! Asians noodles are not like other pastas. Leave our noodles alone!