Maruchan Yakisoba Teriyaki Flavor Noodles (4 oz.)
Item Purchased: Maruchan Yakisoba Teriyaki Flavor Noodles (4 oz.)
Location Purchased: 7-Eleven / 1350 S. Halsted / Chicago, IL
Price: $1.69 + tax
Review: I forgot was to lazy to make a pot of noodles last night at home so I would have lunch for the rest of the work week so when the hunger struck, I opted for the next best thing. Well, maybe not the next best thing, but a thing that comes after home-made food. How far after depends on your upbringing I suppose. Growing up, my Father and I used to spend weekend afternoons together working in the yard, watching sports and the A-Team, and cooking up some Maruchan Ramen Noodles. By the time I was in high school, I had tried enough Maruchan noodle-creations to write a cookbook (tip: make a packet of ramen and mix it with Mac n’ Cheese powder… yum!), yet I don’t think I ever had a teryiaki flavored Maruchan dish.
Yakisoba comes with the iconic brick of Maruchan ramen noodles, a small plastic bag of dehydrated cabbage, corn and carrots and a small foil bag of teriyaki flavor-powder. Add water, add veggies, cook for 4 minutes in a microwave, add teriyaki powder and stir. That’s how easy it is to make your own noodle dish reminiscent of a really bad japanese restaurant run by a senile old Italian man. While these noodles aren’t objectively bad (the vegetables turned out rather tasty in fact), the teriyaki flavoring ended up tasting something like spiced maple syrup. Maruchan has kept me fed this long, I’m not letting one bad experience turn me into a detractor of the brand, but if you are looking for an inexpensive noodle dish, I recommend sticking with the $0.15 packets of ramen noodles.
Rating: 2.75 / 5
March 9th, 2007 at 2:35 am
I saw this, and Chicken flavor at the store last week, so we got one of each. While I was immediately skeptical of the Teriyaki flavor, I had some faith in the Chicken flavor. It’s basically their Chicken flavored Ramen, without the soupy. If you like their Chicken flavor, you’ll like their Chicken Yakisoba. While I’m no authority on real Japanese food, these do seem to be appropriate to the American taste - I’m assuming
March 9th, 2007 at 2:36 am
Blegh, hit too soon. Anyway, to close, I think that if you assume the flavor listed on the package is pretty much the same flavor you’ll get from their Ramen offering, you shouldn’t find yourself too surprised at the outcome.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:21 am
I tried both flavors…and brought them to school for lunch many times. The teriyaki flavor got old FAST, but the chicken was okay. *then*, my mom suggested I drizzle a little sesame oil over the chicken flavored noodles and it made a BIG difference. Simply put, it was a huge flavor booster. But don’t put too much! Just a little goes a long way. Less is more! I guess for the whole yakisoba container, maybe 3/4 - 1 TEAspoon is good.
May 5th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
[...] No choice… Oh serving size HALF a container! so that’s DOUBLE the fat. *sigh* Hmmm This person has a commenter Lain who says to drizzle sesame oil over it. I can do that! We have sesame oil! 1 [...]
June 12th, 2007 at 11:09 am
The chicken flavor tastes a lot like the broth that came with “Oodles of Noodles” cup when I was a kid, and it smells a little like curry when you finish making it. There is really no broth in this. The noodles come out kind of damp and they you sprinkle the powder over them which makes them less messy to eat at work. There are 2 packages with this (A seasoning package and a dehydrated veggie package.) The veggies rehydrate beautifully. There is a lot of cabbage! It’s kind of sweet and has a nice texture. The noodles are pleasantly chewy. I will definitely buy this again. I have tasted and enjoyed the Teriyakin flavor, but it is very sweet.
July 11th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
The teriyaki flavor is “yucky-soba.”
August 14th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I thought the roast chicken flavor was awesome (I just made a late run to Target to get more). It tasted a little like regular Ramen roast chicken noodles, but was richer. The cabbage was what made it for me - and the fact that it wasn’t a soup and could easily be made in the microwave (as opposed to noodles in a cup which require hot water). I bought them for $.99, so that’s an awesome deal. I’d recommend the roast chicken flavor - but probably not the others.
October 29th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Wow, this stuff is great for short term food reserves. It’s a lot less messy than ramen, and the cabbage really adds a lot to the dish. I liked the teriyaki a lot. I could eat this several times a week. Now looking for where i can order in bulk…
November 11th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Pretty good, tastes like food you’d get at a bad Japanese drive-thru.
At least it keeps me fed.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
I love the Teriyaki flavor. I could eat it everyday and still not get enough. Apparently it is an acquired taste, since most people don’t like it. It is kind of tangy, so if you don’t like tangy don’t bother getting it. It also has a sweet flavor towards the end. The smell is kind of strange though.
I didn’t like the Chicken, and I couldn’t even finish the first few bites of it.
December 13th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Close to the Real Thing! Not as good as Cherry Cake but a good second. I like the standard flavor better, same in Japan.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:08 am
I have not tried this product before: but will try it soon… would love someone to share a piece of ole cherry cake with me…ASAP… Will try the Teriyaki first since I am told from someone that eats this several times a week is great:-) Looking forward to sharing that POC…..
April 4th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I happen to be eating the noodles now, and I find them to be quite good. They are a little sweet, but I don’t find them to be too sweet. One thing, make sure you *thoroughly* stir the noodles and veggies after you add the flavoring powder. That way you won’t bite in to overly-sweet noodles.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:36 am
I tried both the Teriyaki and Roast Chicken flavors of Yakisoba, and I think I like Roast Chicken better. I like the cabbage that comes with the Yakisoba too. If I had any vegetables I’d add them to the noodles to make it taste better. When I was at Walgreens I also saw there is a new Cheddar Cheese flavor of Yakisoba, so you might like that. It looks like ramen with mac-n-cheese powder. I haven’t been brave enough to try it though.
May 17th, 2008 at 6:59 am
I just ate some and it was really good, much better than I thought it would be.
Unfortunately, I’ve never had homemade yakisoba to compare it to….still though, I now have something new to add to my list of brand name foods that I like. I think I’ve tried maruchan ramen before but wasn’t all that happy with it or excited about it - except, perhaps, for the beef flavor and even that sometimes ends up tasting just “ok” or “edible” but not “good” or “great”. Hahaha. Apparently, their yakisoba is a whole different story. I’m a big fan of teriyaki anyway so I’m guessing those that think it tastes bad either don’t eat/enjoy teriyaki flavor as much as me, prepared it wrong, or maybe just had bad luck and got a bad batch. Maybe even some sort of combination of the above. I should try the sesame oil thing sometime. I also am pretty sure I’ve never had spiced maple syrup, maybe maple syrup, but spiced? Maybe I did but it was just too long ago and I was too young to remember. *shrugs* Anyway, that doesn’t sound bad either. I didn’t see/pick up a chicken flavor yakisoba but I did get a cheese kind that I haven’t tried yet.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
First of all, I totally love the Yakisoba products, especially the Teriyaki, which was my favorite…until now. PEOPLE. TRY THE CHEDDAR CHEESE ONE, HOLY CRAP, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. I was very skeptical at first because who wants Japanese-inspired-by-American-inspired “cheese” flavoring? Gross, right? But for a buck, I didn’t mind giving it a whirl…
Well, it was RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. Somehow buttery, even. I swear on the soul of Cheesasaurus Rex it was just as good as Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese, and you can take that to the bank.
October 21st, 2008 at 11:09 am
I am eating the Teriyaki right now. It’s not amazing but it’s not bad. My stepdad bought these for me, I have 1 Chicken and 1 Roast Chicken still in my pantry. When you’re hungry and broke this is a decent option. The veggies make it interesting. Not bad.
Also, @Donnelle, Kraft Mac and Cheese is yucky!
November 6th, 2008 at 2:17 am
Bleh, the teriyaki sucks! The chicken was good, but the teriyaki…I just do not understand why anyone likes them.
The concept of a microwavable bowl, however, is something all purveyors of ramen need to include.
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:31 am
I just finished the Roasted Chicken yakisoba. The consistency and flavor of the noodles is pretty on par with what you get in similar box-noodle products in Japan. It’s far less spicy than the Japanese counterpart, and so it ends up being a lot sweeter. I think this was a “tweak” for the American taste palate.
Also absent is the usual little packet of Sesame Oil. These yakisoba dishes definitely require a tiny bit, so if you have it, don’t hesitate to sprinkle a few drops on after cooking.
I agree with Adam Bishop. STIR like you’ve never stirred before. Because the flavoring is powdered rather than paste ( again, a small difference for the US market ), you really need to work at it to make sure you get the flavoring evenly distributed.
For quick microwave box food? I’d give it a 7 out of 10. It’s convenient, tasty, if not particularly balanced food. And of course, a bit expensive for what it is (basically a dry double-cup of noodle.)