Ryuji Tries Nagatanien's "Mabo Harusame" Six Ways: Rating the Official Arrangements and His Own

According to the employees, the previous ochazuke video got a lot of attention: the product sold well and searches rose sharply. This time, they say, they asked for another appearance with the aim of letting people know that "Nagatanien is not just about ochazuke." Ryuji responds that he, too, associates Nagatanien almost entirely with ochazuke. The employees explain, on the other hand, that Mabo Harusame is familiar to many from TV commercials and is one of the company's flagship products among its non-ochazuke brands.

While demonstrating the basic preparation, the employees talked about the origins of the dish. According to their explanation, mabo harusame is an original dish developed by Nagatanien, dating back to 1979. At the time, the company had introduced a system called "wandering employees." For two years, the employee could travel anywhere they liked, in Japan or overseas, and everything they ate could be expensed. In exchange, they were asked to develop one product.

Mabo Harusame is said to be what an employee appointed as one of these "wandering employees" developed over those two years. According to the employees, the idea came from a soup the person had at a Chinese restaurant, and the thought that it might go well combined with a Chinese glass-noodle dish led to the product. When Ryuji asked, "Is there no mabo harusame in China?", an employee replied, "Actually, there isn't," and Ryuji was surprised, saying, "I had no idea."

The product contains the glass noodles, sauce and other ingredients, so all you need is water. You put water in a frying pan and add the noodles before even turning on the heat. Then you cook it over high heat and it's done in five minutes. Along the way, it came up that the noodles are clumped together and are better loosened, and someone suggested folding them in half through the bag and kneading them apart beforehand.

The employees also explained the care taken with the ingredients. The wood ear mushrooms and other ingredients in the bag are not retort-sterilized, and the manufacturing process is designed to preserve the flavor of the sauce and the crunch of the ingredients. Ryuji reacted, "Knowing that, I feel like it'll taste different when I eat it."

As for when it's done, the employees said it's fine to turn off the heat while the liquid is still quite soupy. Ryuji reflected on how he usually makes it: "I might have been cooking off quite a lot (of the liquid)."

The first tasting was the medium hot version. Ryuji said it has a punchy richness and solid saltiness. The medium hot has a bit of a kick but also some sweetness, and there is an even milder version for children. Ryuji had eaten the medium hot before but had never tried the hot version.

After trying the hot version, Ryuji said, "I might like the hot one better," praising it as an authentic taste with a strong Sichuan pepper aroma. The product is originally meant to be eaten over rice, and when he actually paired it with rice, he said, "It goes great with spicy rice too." As for the heat, his take was that any hotter and some people might not buy it because it would be too spicy, but the hot version is about "a step above mildly spicy."

The employees' recommended add-on is sesame paste. They say many of the employees use this arrangement. Drizzling it on at the end and mixing it in gives it a dandan-style flavor, and Ryuji said the sesame aroma goes very well with it. His impression was that it would definitely be good for people who like rich flavors.

Here Ryuji rated the basic versions. Medium hot got an A. For Ryuji, A is the benchmark for "delicious," and he prefaced this by saying that as a culinary researcher, he's the type to tinker a lot, adding ingredients and so on. The hot version got an S. His reason was that he likes restaurant-style flavors, so the hot version, with its strong aroma and heat, really hit the spot, and it's perfectly good eaten as is.

Next, the paitan extract that forms the base of the sauce was introduced, on the premise that details such as its ingredients could not be disclosed. Ryuji tasted it and described it as "an umami bomb." He said you wouldn't get this flavor by simply making chicken soup, and that this soup is probably the source of Mabo Harusame's flavor, adding, "I want this. You could do so much with it."

The first official arrangement is hot and sour soup made in the microwave. According to the employees, Mabo Harusame can be cooked not only in a frying pan but also in the microwave. However, while those instructions appear on the hot version's package, they are not on the medium hot package. Ryuji pointed out, "Shouldn't you put that on there?"

To make it, put 400 ml of water, the noodles, the sauce and an egg all into a microwave-safe container. The egg can be beaten separately, but this time it was cracked directly into the container and lightly stirred to beat it. An employee said this saves one item of washing up, and Ryuji jokingly called this labor-saving approach "Buzz Recipe-ism." He also said it's nice not to have to take out a frying pan in summer. The standard microwave time is five minutes; here it was heated for five and a half minutes. To finish, about 1 tablespoon of vinegar was added, along with chili oil for Ryuji, who loves spicy food.

According to the employees, many of the official recipes use Mabo Harusame as an ingredient to make various dishes, rather than eating it deliciously as is. One bag contains 70 g of noodles, enough to fill you up as a single serving. Ryuji pointed out that everyone has the image that it's too much unless you're a family, and that since it's for families, you can't buy it if you live alone. He said that if it can be used as a filling recipe for one person, he wished they'd said so sooner.

The finished dish is more soup-like than when made in a frying pan. The employees explained that even with the same amount of water, more liquid remains when using the microwave. Ryuji said it's nice to have ingredients like the egg and that adding your favorite vegetables would probably work too, and he said the vinegar and the paitan soup go very well together. The employees added that hot and sour soup is also popular at restaurants and, since it's light, they'd like young women to eat it too. Ryuji estimated that this could probably be kept under 500 kcal per meal, making it quite good value as a single meal.

The rating was an A. His reason was that being able to make it in the microwave and in single servings broadens the uses of Mabo Harusame. It also tastes good, but whether the sourness of hot and sour soup suits you depends on the person, so he said you can just adjust the amount of vinegar.

The second dish is spring rolls using Mabo Harusame as the filling. An employee explained that the most tedious part of spring rolls is making the filling, so the idea is to make that easy by using Mabo Harusame. Ryuji strongly agreed about how tedious making the filling is, saying his own spring roll recipe is delicious but such a hassle that he'll "never make it again."

It is usually made in a frying pan, but this time it was made in the microwave. Put the soup, the sauce and 200 ml of water in a microwave-safe container, mix, and add the noodles. The water was cut in half from the 400 ml used for the hot and sour soup because, as a filling, it would be a problem if it were too soupy. The noodles were soaked in the soup, covered loosely with plastic wrap and heated at 600 W (5 minutes 30 seconds here). The employees said they deliberately left out ground meat this time, so viewers could see whether the noodles alone would work as a spring roll filling. They said they sometimes add bean sprouts or meat to bulk it up.

After heating, the filling is still quite wet, so a slurry of potato starch (2 teaspoons each of water and potato starch) is added. According to the employees, ideally you should cook it after adding the starch, but if you add it while it's still warm and mix until it gets sticky, it will set. This step is there because a soupy filling can cause the wrappers to tear during frying. A separate starch slurry was also prepared to act as "glue" to seal the wrappers.

The employees explained that one bag is just the right amount for five spring rolls. Place the filling below the halfway line of the wrapper, roll from the bottom, fold in both ends, and seal the edge with the starch slurry. Ryuji praised the fact that since the filling is already cooked, the frying time is short, calling it "super good." Spring rolls are scary because the moisture inside can splatter, so the shorter the better, he said. As soon as the wrappers brown and turn crisp, take them out.

After tasting, Ryuji said they're totally delicious even with only noodles, and that the crisp outer texture combined with the filling is excellent. His impression was that they don't need any dipping sauce and are almost too polished. One of the employees said they've been eating spring rolls more often since learning this recipe. One bag makes enough for two to three people.

Ryuji's rating was "the best." He said the balance of effort and deliciousness is ideal, and praised the recipe as extremely well developed for letting you make spring rolls, which normally require real determination, in a short time and very deliciously. He also said he hadn't expected a filling of just noodles to be that tasty.

For the third dish, a salad was introduced as an official summer arrangement. Put the noodles in a bowl, pour hot water over them and let them sit for five minutes to rehydrate. Water from a hot water dispenser is fine. The other ingredients are a store-bought packaged salad and salad chicken, and the chicken is shredded while waiting. The employees explained that salad chicken adds protein and makes the salad more substantial. They also said wood ear mushrooms are key to a glass-noodle salad, so Mabo Harusame, which already contains wood ear mushrooms, may be well suited to salad.

Ryuji checked whether canned tuna would work instead of salad chicken, and whether the salad didn't need to be a carrot-heavy one but could be lettuce or cabbage. The employees replied that cabbage is fine and that chopped cucumber could be added too.

The rehydrated noodles are drained in a colander, rinsed in water to firm them up, and finally drained thoroughly. Ryuji said he does the same with noodle dishes, and an employee added that wateriness is the enemy. The sauce is then added as is, without heating, and mixed in as the base for the seasoning. Finally, the packaged salad (120 g this time) and the chicken are added and tossed roughly, and it's done.

Ryuji said, "It becomes like a dressing," speculating that it might be because the sauce also contains oil. He said the small pack of vegetables used this time wasn't quite enough, and that it could easily handle about 200 g of salad. It's enough for about three people, and an opinion was voiced that the medium hot version is just right for salad. One of the employees said this is a favorite recipe and that they like adding cucumber to make it bang bang chicken-style. It was also revealed that the company had released a new product made in exactly this way. When chilled, the noodles take on a springy texture, and Ryuji said a squeeze of lemon would probably be delicious too.

Ryuji praised this as "an incredibly smart recipe." You can prepare the salad ingredients while the noodles sit in hot water, and it's delicious even using a salad pack you can quickly buy at a convenience store, as was done this time. He especially valued the fact that this lets you eat as many vegetables as you want. He also said that while people probably don't eat Mabo Harusame much in summer, in this form you can eat it year-round, wrapping up with "a triumph of ideas" and "it's the best."

After learning the official recipes, Ryuji made two of his own arrangements, saying, "If I don't cook, people will say I'm slacking off." The first is egg mabo harusame, using the medium hot version, whose flavor he says he knows best. He prefaced it by calling it "a really unremarkable recipe."

The added ingredient is bamboo shoots. Julienned ones are best, but the staff mistakenly bought sliced ones, so he cut them into thin strips. He said viewers can find julienned ones in stores and should buy those. He explained that the white stuff on bamboo shoots is a component of the shoots that has solidified, and it's not bitter, so it's fine to use as is. If you don't have bamboo shoots, you can add half a bag of bean sprouts, which adds more vegetables and bulk. You can also add ground meat or any other ingredients you like, but Ryuji himself says bamboo shoots alone are enough. The product already contains bamboo shoots, but he likes adding the texture of the julienned ones.

To make it, put 400 cc of water and the noodles in a frying pan and bring to a boil, then add the bamboo shoots and sauce while loosening the noodles. Ryuji says Mabo Harusame has such a strong flavor that it holds together even with lots of vegetables, and if it tastes too mild, you can adjust it with just salt and pepper. Since the original flavor is already well made, with the paitan soup included, he said he didn't make major changes and instead made an arrangement that makes the most of the product's flavor.

The key is to reduce it a bit before adding the eggs. Ryuji said that while the official instructions say to turn off the heat while it's still soupy, he reduces it a little more. Once you can lift the noodles out, drop two eggs into the center and eat it by coating the noodles in egg, like sukiyaki. While it reduces, the noodles absorb the liquid, which makes them go well with the egg. He covered it with a lid and let it steam briefly, then finished it with green onions and chili oil. Ryuji said green peppers, julienned zucchini and eggplant also go well with it, and that it has a broad capacity to accept anything. He also said the best part is not having to gather lots of seasonings.

At the tasting, the bamboo shoots were praised as very good. Ryuji said adding bamboo shoots gives it the taste of a single dish that took real effort. When asked if he'd tried various things, he answered that he'd tried ramen-style and other versions, but when it came to making the most of Mabo Harusame's deliciousness, he settled on this form.

The last dish is mala tang. Ryuji prefaced it by saying there was a mala tang recipe on the official website too, but his is probably made differently. He said he's been making mala tang in various ways recently, and this arrangement is the first to use the hot version. It can also be made with medium hot, but he felt the hot version makes it taste more like mala tang.

Put 500 cc of water (about 550 cc if you like a lot of soup) in a pot over heat, and add ingredients one after another without waiting for it to boil. These are bean sprouts, 60–70 g of pork belly torn by hand, shimeji mushrooms with the base trimmed, and komatsuna with the base washed; the shimeji and komatsuna are also torn by hand, with no knife used. He said you can use a knife if that's too much trouble. For mushrooms, oyster or maitake are fine; for greens, spinach; for meat, chicken instead of pork; and bamboo shoots can be added too. Ryuji explained that mala tang is a dish without very fixed ingredients. The amount is a light two servings, or one large serving.

Once the ingredients have softened and it comes to a boil, add the noodles and sauce. Ryuji said this sauce is the culmination of Nagatanien's efforts and makes things taste good in general, so you can't really go wrong however you arrange it. Then 100 cc of soy milk is added. Milk is also fine, but soy milk adds more body and makes it more satisfying, he said. Finally, half a teaspoon of ground Sichuan pepper. The hot sauce already contains Sichuan pepper, but Ryuji's view is that anything called "mala" tastes better with about this much added. Put the noodles at the bottom of the bowl, top them with the vegetables and finish with chili oil, and it looks like something from a "mala tang shop."

The employees tasted it and reacted, "It's delicious" and "It really tastes like mala tang." One employee said the company had also been working on a mala tang recipe but hadn't thought of adding soy milk. Ryuji explained that soy milk enhances the paitan-like quality and makes it taste more like a restaurant version. It goes better with the hot version, but there was also an opinion that it's delicious with medium hot too. Ryuji said that since you just put everything in a pot and simmer it to get an authentic-tasting result, your craving for mala tang can be satisfied at home, because the shops in Tokyo are all crowded and fairly expensive. He added that you can also put in kamaboko or chikuwa.

For Ryuji's two arrangements, this time the employees wrote down and announced the rating, and the result was SS. At one point Ryuji joked, "You're just being nice to me," but the employees gave specific reasons: adding soy milk, adding a little Sichuan pepper, and the simplicity of putting in ingredients before the water boils without using a knife at all. The employees said the flavor is mellow and easy for women to eat as well. Ryuji added that while it does have salt, it also has plenty of vegetables, so if two people share it, the calories aren't that high either.

Finally, Ryuji announced that the Mabo Harusame packaging is set to change, with the hot version in particular getting a significantly different look. Since the archive of this video will remain, he showed the new packaging so that people watching later wouldn't have trouble finding it in stores. The way he recommended eating it was to first try it as is, then arrange it. He urged viewers to buy two or three packs, and closed the video by saying there has probably never been a sponsored video so focused on Mabo Harusame.