Turning 60th-Anniversary Sapporo Ichiban Shoyu Flavor into "Mashimashi Pork Ramen": A One-Pot, Extra-Vegetable Twist

Ryuji has many recipes using Sapporo Ichiban, and says the largest share of them use the shoyu flavor. The reason given is that its soy sauce base makes it easy to adapt.

Ryuji also remarks that many people probably associate Sapporo Ichiban mainly with the miso flavor and Shio Ramen. As a child, Ryuji's grandmother loved the shoyu flavor, so there was always some in the house. Even so, people sometimes ask, "There's a soy sauce one?" Ryuji's stated motivation this time is to prove that "the soy sauce one is delicious." Eaten as is, it has a plain, simple flavor, which is tasty in its own way. But Ryuji's assessment is that it really shines when you adapt it.

This time the theme is pork-ramen-style with piles of vegetables. Ryuji made something like pork ramen with Sapporo Ichiban five or six years ago. But years have passed and Ryuji's cooking skills have improved, so the aim is to present a fresh take on what Ryuji now considers the ideal Sapporo Ichiban pork ramen.

The ingredients are the pork ramen staples of cabbage (100–120 g) and bean sprouts, plus pork belly. The sweetness of pork belly fat goes well with Sapporo Ichiban, so Ryuji strongly encourages including it. Pork offcuts are tasty too, but belly is preferable if possible.

The cabbage is roughly chopped. Fresh garlic works well, Ryuji says; it is minced and placed on top at the end. The amount is about 15 g, and those who want more can go up to around 20 g. When a staff member asks whether chopping is better than grating, Ryuji answers that chopped is more like pork ramen. The pork belly was cut with scissors this time, but a knife works just as well. For details on the seasonings, viewers are directed to the video description.

In planning the cooking process, Ryuji is very conscious of keeping things simple. When customizing instant ramen with toppings, one approach is to stir-fry them in a separate pan. But since this is pork ramen, the vegetables are boiled. You bring a set amount of water to a boil, quickly blanch the pork and vegetables in it, lift them out, and toss them with seasoning. This way you only need one pot. That said, Ryuji recommends having a bowl for tossing everything in the seasoning.

The water is 550 cc, slightly more than the package directions. The reason is that when you lift out the boiled vegetables, water clings to them and gets carried away, reducing the amount of liquid in the soup. This explanation didn't quite get through to the staff, and Ryuji rephrased it after some back-and-forth.

The staff member is surprised at how easy it is: "You just prep the vegetables, blanch them quickly, and then all you do is make the Sapporo Ichiban." Ryuji responds that the simpler an instant ramen hack is, the more people will actually make and eat it. The two also agree that when you want instant ramen, you can't be bothered doing a lot of steps. Ryuji mentions having also thought up and tried a microwave method, but boiling turned out tastier.

Once the water is boiling, the vegetables are boiled one type at a time, in order. According to Ryuji, this leads to fewer mistakes. The first thing in is the pork belly, which releases the pork's umami into the water. When the staff member asks whether this isn't boiling things separately, Ryuji answers that in a sense it is, but since it all cooks in the same pot, there's no need to prepare two pots. Because the meat is thinly sliced, it can be lifted out once there's no pink left.

To avoid scrambling later, the seasoning mixture is made right after the pork is lifted out. It takes 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of soy sauce—quite a lot. Add 8 shakes of Ajinomoto and a pinch of sugar, then massage it into the pork. This gives it a chashu-like flavor, Ryuji says. Then add about 1½ tablespoons of lard, a fairly generous amount. If you don't have lard, salad oil or similar is fine.

Next, the cabbage is boiled in the same water. When the staff member asks whether it should be cooked until limp, Ryuji replies that the vegetables in pork ramen shouldn't be limp; they're better with some bite left, nice and crisp. The reason for boiling them here is to avoid losing the vegetables' flavor as well. Since this is spring cabbage, it is lifted out as soon as it wilts slightly—about 1 minute. Those who like it softer can boil it longer, and Ryuji adds that it's fine if some cabbage stays in the water. The sweetness of the pork and vegetables transfers into the soup.

The bean sprouts need even less time—truly just a few seconds. At most, keep it to about 1 minute. They'll soften a bit from the heat of the ramen soup afterward, so Ryuji's view is that they taste better lifted out while still crisp.

The boiled vegetables are tossed together with the pork in the bowl of sauce. Here the lard melts and coats everything in fat, which Ryuji explains makes it "ridiculously tasty." There was some scum left in the water, but since scum is a kind of umami too, it was used as is.

The noodles go into the remaining water. Cooking time is about 2½ minutes; Ryuji likes them on the firm side. To make it spicy, 2 shakes of pepper and 4 shakes of garlic powder are added at this point, pushing it in a "garlic mashi" direction.

According to Ryuji, the noodles of Sapporo Ichiban Shoyu Flavor have soy sauce kneaded into them. This is a feature of the shoyu flavor, distinguishing the noodles themselves from those of the miso flavor and others.

Once the noodles loosen, the heat is turned off, and then the included soup packet is added. Ryuji stresses that this is important and notes that it's written on the package too. The reason is that adding it over the heat makes the aroma dissipate. The included special spice also has a pepper aroma, so it goes in at this point as well.

The noodles and soup are transferred to a bowl, and the pork and vegetables are piled on top along with all the sauce. Finally, a big heap of chopped garlic goes on top, and the "Mashimashi Pork Sapporo Ichiban Shoyu" is done.

Tasting it, Ryuji says this boiling method is the best and praises the crispness of the vegetables. Sapporo Ichiban's smooth, slippery noodles also go well with it. The added soy sauce, garlic, and lard give it punch, and there are so many vegetables to eat that Ryuji declares, "This is basically a salad!" Ryuji also says the soy sauce soup combined with the lard, oil, and spices becomes really delicious.

Ryuji considers the ability to add vegetables to be one of Sapporo Ichiban's charms, and so urges viewers to add about this much. Ryuji often goes to ramen shops too, but there's something special about eating Sapporo Ichiban at home, and there are quite a few days when this is actually what Ryuji wants to eat.

The staff member honestly admits to initially thinking Shio Ramen would suit these toppings better. But after tasting it, they concede, "It's gotta be shoyu," and say it makes them want to buy the shoyu flavor. Someone remarks they hadn't had the shoyu flavor in years and was surprised it was this good. Ryuji says this hack makes miso and shio quite delicious too, but this particular deliciousness only comes with shoyu. Ryuji adds that with 60 years of history it may come across as plain, but precisely because it's plain, adaptations bring it to life. The shoyu-flavor noodles soak up all the umami of the pork and vegetables, so you can drink every last drop of the soup. Ryuji also recommends it to people who feel they aren't getting enough vegetables.

Finally, Ryuji wraps up the main part by urging viewers to make it at least once, since it should change their impression of the shoyu flavor quite a bit.

In the second half, they try the "Sapporo Ichiban Shoyu Fried Rice Seasoning," which you can get at some supermarkets by buying three eligible Sapporo Ichiban products. According to Ryuji, it's being given out starting in May, and each packet contains two servings.

To make it, you just heat oil in a frying pan, add egg, stir-fry while breaking it up with the rice, and add the seasoning. The staff member suggests that since it's a powder, it might be better to sprinkle it so it spreads out a bit. The package says you can add chashu, green onions, and so on to taste, but it seems fine with just the basics. This time no extra ingredients were added; it was plated to look the part and served with pickled red ginger. Cooking took about 3 minutes.

Tasting it, Ryuji praises its toasty soy sauce aroma and says it's very much to Ryuji's liking. Ryuji mentions having heard from Sapporo Ichiban that black pepper goes well with it, sprinkles some on, and finds that it does indeed. Ryuji also describes it as so tasty you'd wonder whether it was really just a seasoning packet. The staff member is surprised that it tastes complete even without green onions or anything, and that it has quite a bit of punch when they had expected it to be a little bland. They also note that pairing it with the Mashimashi Pork Sapporo Ichiban would make something like a ramen-and-fried-rice set at a neighborhood Chinese restaurant.

Ryuji says it was meant to be just a bonus but is really delicious, and that Ryuji would genuinely want some. Since simply adding it sets the whole flavor, it's also perfect for people living alone. The video ends with Ryuji rating it so highly as to say that a seasoning able to reproduce this fried rice flavor might sell well.