Nagoya Taiwan Mazesoba Instant Noodles from Yamadai
“New Touch (ニュータッチ)” is the flagship instant noodle brand of an Ibaraki-based food maker “Yamadai (ヤマダイ)” and its “Sugomen (凄麺: literally Awesome Noodles)” series is popular in Japan for its extensive lineup of local ramen instant noodles.
I sometimes drop in at a Welcia drugstore near my workplace, which carries a large variety of instant noodles including New Touch Sugomen’s local ramen series, and out of the many varieties, I picked up these 2 bowls from Yamadai this time.
Nagoya Taiwan Mazesoba Instant Noodles from New Touch Sugomen Series
Specifically, one is an instant noodle bowl that recreates a specialty of Shizuoka “Yaizu Katsuo Ramen (焼津かつおラーメン)”, while the other is one that recreates Nagoya’s “Taiwan Mazesoba (台湾まぜそば)”, and just now I tried out the latter.
But do you know what kind of noodle dish Taiwan Mazesoba is?
What is Taiwan Mazesoba?
Image: Wikipedia 台湾まぜそば
From its name, you might think of Taiwan Mazesoba as a noodle dish that was transmitted from Taiwan, but it actually originated in Nagoya, Japan, first created by “Menya Hanabi (麺屋はなび)” (Google Map) in 2008.
Taiwan Mazesoba is a variant of Taiwan Ramen, the soupless version of it. Both are considered dishes included in “Nagoya Meshi (なごやめし)”, or the regional cuisine of Nagoya, and are well recognized nationwide compared to other local ramens.
Cooking
How to cook this instant Mazesoba is somewhat complicated but essentially the same as the cooking instructions for the Nissin Nakiryu Shirunashi Tantanmen instant noodle.
As “Maze Soba (まぜそば)” literally means “mixing noodles” in Japanese, as a finishing process of the cooking, you need to give the noodles a good stir to coat them well with the seasoning sauce.
Features
Like an actual, authentic bowl of Taiwan Mazesoba, “Taiwan Mince (台湾ミンチ: soy sauce seasoned meat mince spiced with red chili pepper and garlic)” and Nira leeks are mixed in with these noodles, and aromatic nori shreds and umami-rich fish powder top them.
The wheat noodles are extremely thick with a pleasant chew and well seasoned with slightly spicy soy sauce-based sauce with the savory umami of pork, accompanied by an addictive kick from the Taiwan Mince mixed in.
Yes, needless to say, the overall dish was quite delicious!
Ingredients and Nutrition Facts
Lastly, for people who want to know the specific ingredients and nutrition facts of this Japanese instant ramen, here are the labels.
