Myojo Seasoned Bamboo Shoot Yakisoba Review

This is a bit of an unusual instant yakisoba noodle bowl. Yakisoba is a fried noodle dish which instant noodles simulate well after rehydrating and draining away all of the water for the deep fried variety. This Myojo instant yakisoba falls into this category, like most instant yakisoba noodles. Bamboo shoots and chili oil make this particular noodle dish stand out from the crowd. There is no meat or cabbage, common items in most yakisoba. Instead, there is menma or pickled bamboo shoots of two different varieties.

A view of the Myojo bamboo shoot yakisoba packaging.

Closeup of the side.

Top graphic on the package.  I like the brown and red 50/50 split indicate 2 kinds of menma. The bamboo shots are literally piled on top of the yakisoba at the bottom of the design. The characters pretty much yell out 2 kinds of menma gourmet noodles. It is coated in a chili oil, soy sauce. For menma lovers! 

Ingredients, and even a blurb to say you can purchase the types of menma in this package from the menma pro, Mr. Yoshino. Preparation directions too.

English nutritional and ingredients label.

Allergens.

Full directions for preparing these soupless noodles. Follow the numbers and directions - DO NOT PEEL THIS OFF more than half-way.

Inside the packate are two kinds of menma, a soy/chili sauce pouch, and furukake sprinkles to top things off.

Add in the dried menma for rehydration and add in boiling water up to the fill line. Let it rehydrate for 3 minutes before pouring out the boiling water through the prepared spout. Then peel the lid off.

Add in the soy / chili sauce and mix well.

Finally add the sesame and  sprinkles on top.

These noodles were pretty delicious. There was a nice chili / soy aroma from the sauce and the noodles were coated well. The noodles were a thicker type of yakisoba with a great chew. You could definitely smell both the chili oil and the menma. Extra umami in the sauce also comes from sardines which I didn't really notice in the flavour profile.

The bamboo shoots have a plant smell that is unique and a little musty, but they're good with a nice texture and crunchy chew. I have to say I really couldn't tell the difference between the two kinds of menma myself - but I suspect my palate isn't refined enough for this. The dish wasn't overly spicy and I easily finished it.  This is a very nice change from the regular yakisoba and worth picking up if you've never tried it before.

Closeup of the noodles and menma.

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