Peyang Yakisoba Real Tonkotsu Max Instant Noodle
When I shopped at a supermarket the other day, I came across an interesting instant Yakisoba noodle with an appealing name.
For the unfamiliar, Yakisoba is one of the noodle dishes that represent Japan.
Unlike ramen, the noodles are first stir-fried with meat (pork) and vegetables and then seasoned with Japanese Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.
The Worcester sauce-based Yakisoba is generally called Sauce Yakisoba (ソース焼きそば) and is often made in homes.
Also, the dish is sometimes salted and flavored with chicken broth mix and soy sauce, and the variety is called Shio Yakisoba (塩焼きそば). But I have hardly heard of Tonkotsu Yakisoba.
Accordingly, Sauce Yakisoba and Shio Yakisoba have long been available in instant noodle form in Japan, but I had never seen instant Tonkotsu Yakisoba before.
Tonkotsu Yakisoba from Peyang
But I finally did the other day! I was attracted to the name Yakisoba Monohon (Real) Tonkotsu Max (やきそば モノホン トンコツ MAX) and thought I wanted to try, and I grabbed it after all.
This Tonkotsu Yakisoba is from Maruka Foods’ Peyang (ペヤング) line, one of Japan’s best and most-loved instant Yakisoba series.
As you can see in the photo above, unlike regular Peyang Yakisoba, the packaging design and word fonts are unique and look like the real deal.
Taste
For those interested in instant Yakisoba, the preparation is like this.
Once I finished cooking the noodles, a distinctive (not-so-good) smell associated with Tonkotsu or pork bones wafted out. It kind of smelled artificial, but the taste was unexpectedly pretty good.
Yes, the Yakisoba packed a lot of umami from Tonkotsu. But its smell was somewhat unpleasant, which made my overall rating of this product lower.
How to Make Tonkotsu Yakisoba
Lastly, for those who somehow want to try Tonkotsu Yakisoba, I searched for the recipe online and found this.
According to that, by using a Tonkotsu soup base (that can be bought online) in place of Worcester sauce, Tonkotsu Yakisoba can be easily prepared.
