Eating 7-Eleven's 158-Yen "Okra and Mekabu" Cup Udon, Then Trying Umeboshi and Natto Twists and a Homemade Version

According to Ryuji, the product had just been released around the day before, and he believes, prefacing it with "probably," that the manufacturer is Myojo. The noodles are non-fried udon, and the price is 158 yen. He says he'd heard it comes packed with dried okra and mekabu (wakame seaweed root).

What caught Ryuji's attention was the nutrition information. Per serving, it has 222 kcal, 2.7 g of fat, 5.1 g of dietary fiber, and 4.0 g of salt equivalent, which he says is considerably healthier than ordinary cup noodles. Glass noodle soups are even lower in calories, but he thought it was impressive that this stays at 222 kcal while still offering the satisfaction of udon, so he rushed to shoot a video. The researcher apparently buys nothing but this product, and their social media post had received tens of thousands of likes.

Eiko mentions that a "kombu water-style mazesoba" video they previously shot with Ryuji got around 300,000 views in a single day. The product in that video was obscure, and even though they said in the video that it wasn't tasty eaten as is, the response was so strong that viewers commented they were going to buy it. Eiko, on the other hand, has hardly ever eaten cup udon. When it came to tasty cup udon, all either of them could think of was Donbei and Akai Kitsune.

Opening the lid reveals a good amount of freeze-dried okra and finely chopped mekabu. The listed cooking time is four minutes, but Ryuji opened it at three and a half. The noodles are thin udon, unlike Donbei's thin, flat noodles. The soup is slightly thickened.

The first thing both of them said after eating was how good the dashi smelled. Ryuji says it's "gentle, yet delicious," and that he would buy it even at 200 yen. Eiko says the okra gives it a sense of real ingredients and that "it feels like you're actually eating something," surprised that it was this tasty when they hadn't expected anything at all.

Ryuji says he might choose this over a glass noodle soup and that it's the first cup noodle hit in a while. Eiko says it's guilt-free when you want something to eat after drinking and that from now on they want to eat this after a night out. As for the noodles, the two agreed that because they're non-fried, unlike the fried Akai Kitsune, they're chewy. Ryuji speculates that the thickness comes from the mekabu and okra.

The product apparently was sold before, discontinued, and then brought back. Both of them said in unison that they want it to stay on shelves for good.

Ryuji had predicted from the start that ume would go well with it and had brought umeboshi. His thinking is that because the soup's saltiness is gentle, adding a bit more salt is no problem. He removes the pits from store-bought umeboshi, tears and breaks them up into a paste, and adds as much as he likes. Ryuji says you can also buy umeboshi at 7-Eleven, and that crunchy kari-kari ume should also taste good in it.

When they ate it, both reacted with "it really does go well," and Eiko said, "This seems like something an udon shop would serve." Ryuji even says he'd like them to release an ume version as a product.

Next, they add natto mixed with its sauce and mustard. Ryuji figured that since the dish contains mekabu, natto should go well with it. Eiko, meanwhile, says that although it would probably be tasty, they couldn't imagine the flavor. When mixed well, the thickness doubles. After eating it, Eiko said, "It's turned into natto soba," and both rated it "natto is totally doable."

Finally, when they added both ume and natto, Ryuji called it "the ultimate form," and Eiko replied, "I'd be fine with this every day." Their impression was that none of the ingredients clash, everything is in harmony, and the natto's thickness pairs well with the dashi. Ryuji recommends buying at least two if you find it at 7-Eleven. He explained that just squeezing in a little tube ume paste changes the flavor considerably, and that natto, simply mixed in, doesn't get in the way of the flavor.

When Eiko says, "It looks like you could make this," Ryuji makes a homemade version. The ingredients and steps are as follows, and he says you just put everything in a pot and simmer it.

• 300 cc water, 1 tsp Hondashi, 1 tsp kombu dashi, a pinch of salt (to make a combined kombu and bonito dashi)
• 1 pack of mekabu, about 30–35 g of chopped frozen okra
• 220 g of frozen thin udon (two portions of just over 100 g each; Ryuji explains that a single serving of udon is basically 200 g)
• Natto and umeboshi to taste

He says mekabu is also sold at 7-Eleven. This time he used frozen thin udon because he thought thin noodles would suit it, but Ryuji says that thin noodles such as so-called Inaniwa udon would also work, and that dried udon noodles would likewise give a thin-udon feel. Frozen thin udon cooks through in about a minute once the pot comes to a boil.

Along the way, Eiko points out that the cup noodles seem to contain soy sauce, and Ryuji explains that the soy sauce is in the noodles and that the soup doesn't contain any. Looking back on the cup noodles, Eiko notes that there was no off kombu smell or chemical taste at all.

The finished homemade version looks almost identical to the cup noodles. The two judge the dashi flavor to be "exactly the same." Because it's packed with mekabu, the homemade version has more thickness and is more filling. Partly because frozen udon is so good, their impression was that "it tastes like an udon shop." Adding ume and natto layers on even more thickness. Eiko says they want to make the version with both ume and natto "a set."

Ryuji says he had thought the cup noodles alone were plenty, but making it by hand turns it into a proper meal. You get vegetables and dietary fiber, and natto adds protein. He estimates that mekabu costs a little over 200 yen for three packs, and since they're individually portioned, buying them isn't much of a burden. Ryuji sums it up: the cup noodles win on cost, but the homemade version is better nutritionally, and you can boost the nutrition further by adding more mekabu and okra. After all, people buy cup noodles precisely because this kind of effort is a hassle, so he positions it this way: cup noodles for those who find it a hassle, and the frozen udon version for those who want to work it into their everyday meals.

Ryuji says he never would have made okra and mekabu udon if he hadn't eaten these cup noodles, and he thanked the manufacturer. Eiko agrees that mekabu isn't an ingredient they normally use. The video closes with a call to try the cup noodles, to make the frozen udon version for everyday meals by simply putting everything in and simmering it, and to try the umeboshi and natto twists as well.