Ryuji's Two Takes on Marutai Sara Udon: Enjoy Two Flavors with Make-Ahead Sauces

According to Ryuji, Marutai's sara udon comes with noodles that are already fried, and it has a long shelf life. The package includes a powdered soup base for making the sauce, which Ryuji described as "basically like instant ramen." Unlike ramen, however, the noodles don't need to be boiled: you just make the toppings and sauce and pour them over the noodles. Each package contains two servings.

When the companion asked whether it was a product like Sapporo Ichiban, Ryuji replied that it is designed to have toppings added, so it isn't meant to be eaten plain. The upside is that you get to eat lots of vegetables, and the two agreed that ramen never has this many vegetables in it.

Out of the bag, the noodles come as a hard, crunchy block, and small bits collect at the bottom of the bag. Ryuji had initially thought the noodles would fall apart and be hard to eat in that state. In practice, though, the sauce holds them together, so it wasn't an issue. The crumbs at the bottom of the bag also get bound together by the sauce, so you can tip them onto the plate as well.

Ryuji also said that someone at Marutai had told them it's fine to break up the noodles from the start, since you end up breaking them apart when you eat anyway. For both dishes, Ryuji began by crumbling the noodles by hand and arranging them on a plate.

The benefit of this product that Ryuji emphasized most was that you can make the sauce ahead of time. Once the sauce is poured over the noodles, they gradually soften. But if you make it before that point, you just reheat it and pour it on when you're ready to eat, and it's as good as freshly made. If you prepare two kinds of sauce, as in this video, two people can enjoy two different flavors at once.

Whereas ramen only gets soggier from the moment it's made, with sara udon the eater gets to choose the texture of the noodles. If you like soft noodles, let the sauce soak in; if you prefer them crunchy, eat them while they're still crisp. Ryuji said, "I think this is pretty great."

For the first dish, the champon-style version, Ryuji explained that it isn't very different from the standard method. Ryuji wanted viewers to first learn the basic, delicious way to eat sara udon, so the variation isn't overly elaborate.

The ingredients are cabbage (about 120 g), pork belly, Japanese leek, carrot, wood ear mushrooms, and kamaboko fish cake. The carrot is for color, and since it was starting to go bad, Ryuji used it without peeling it. Replacing half the cabbage with bean sprouts is also delicious, and napa cabbage works too. Ryuji said any ingredients are fine, and you can even use leftovers. Pork belly goes well with it, Ryuji noted, but since pork belly has gotten expensive lately, pork offcuts are perfectly tasty too. You can also add a seafood mix.

The wood ear mushrooms were rehydrated in hot water. When the companion asked whether they wouldn't rehydrate in water, Ryuji answered that they do, but it takes a while, so they always use hot water; if you have time, water is fine. The rehydrated mushrooms can be used as is, but roughly chopping them helps them blend in with everything else.

Kamaboko was the ingredient Ryuji especially recommended adding. It brings seafood umami and makes the dish taste much more "authentic." About 30 g is enough, and cutting it into long strips makes it easier to pick up with chopsticks. Chikuwa can be used as a substitute.

The included soup base is dissolved in water, and Ryuji said it's easier to do this before stir-frying the ingredients. Ryuji added about 2 tablespoons of soy milk (30 cc according to the video description) to 170 cc of water. The goal this time was a tonkotsu-style flavor, and Ryuji explained that adding soy milk makes the broth cloudy and white and gives it a delicious taste.

The package instructions call for vegetable oil, but Ryuji said lard tastes better if you have it, and used about 1 tablespoon of lard. The pork is stir-fried first, and once it's cooked through, all the vegetables go in. Ryuji said the vegetables are good whether crisp or wilted.

When asked about seasoning with salt and pepper first, Ryuji said it's a matter of taste. Ryuji personally likes to add a little, but Marutai's soup is tasty enough that it's fine without. That said, as a drinker who likes bold flavors, Ryuji added 4 shakes of pepper and 4 shakes of garlic powder. A hint of garlic aroma makes it taste more like tonkotsu broth, Ryuji said. When the companion asked whether fresh garlic would be too strong, Ryuji answered that it's also tasty, but only about one clove, and garlic powder is easier.

Once the prepared broth was added, the soy milk gave it richness, and Ryuji said it came out like a tonkotsu-style Nagasaki champon. At that point it was done, and the companion was surprised at how quick it was. Ryuji recalled being impressed the previous time they ate it, too, at how easy it was and how many vegetables it provided. The sauce was set aside and reheated just before eating.

Ryuji introduced the second dish, the shrimp and egg version, as a "super easy" variation that needs only frozen shrimp, egg, and lettuce. The amounts are 80–90 g of frozen shrimp, 1 egg, and about 100 g of lettuce (120 g according to the video description). Fresh shrimp or squid can be used instead of frozen shrimp; "what matters is using what you have," Ryuji said.

Ryuji said frozen shrimp is ideally thawed in salt water, and soaked it in water with a generous amount of salt. The shrimp this time were large, too big to use as a topping as they were. So Ryuji cut them in half by slicing in from the back, making them bite-sized. If there's a vein, remove it; these shrimp had hardly any. When the companion asked whether shrimp usually have a vein, Ryuji said some don't, and if you use peeled, deveined shrimp, there's no need to remove it. The egg should be well beaten.

For this one, the soup base is dissolved in water only, without soy milk. The package says 180 cc, but Ryuji used 200 cc. Ryuji cooks everything over high heat, so liquid evaporates, which is why they use a bit more.

For a Chinese-style finish, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil is used. The shrimp and lettuce are stir-fried briefly, and once they're cooked, the broth is added. When the companion asked whether the lettuce needed to be drained, Ryuji said it's fine since the water will evaporate and more liquid goes in afterward anyway.

Once the broth has thickened, the beaten egg is drizzled in. The thickness helps the egg turn out fluffy, Ryuji said. Acknowledging that people might think egg doesn't go well with a thick sauce, Ryuji still recommended the combination. When the egg begins to set, season lightly with salt and pepper and it's done; this one also came together in no time. After spooning it over the noodles, Ryuji drizzled on chili oil, explaining that chili oil suits it because it's Chinese-style.

The champon-style sauce was gently reheated, and since some liquid had evaporated, Ryuji added a little water before pouring it over the noodles. This one has a "punchy flavor," and Ryuji topped it with red pickled ginger, which goes well with tonkotsu.

After plating, Ryuji recommended "the best way to eat it": serving the champon-style version with plenty of hot mustard. You can also add Worcestershire sauce to taste. Ryuji would have preferred a Nagasaki sauce (which sounds like "Kincho" in the subtitles) but couldn't get any that day. Ryuji explained that putting sauce on sara udon is a Nagasaki way of eating it that they had learned from people at Marutai, and that people in Nagasaki apparently use Worcestershire sauce.

Tasting the champon-style version, the two reacted with "Delicious" and "The pickled ginger really works." The companion said it was amazing that something so easy could taste this good, and also mentioned how many vegetables it provided. Ryuji said wood ear mushrooms should definitely be included, and praised the texture of the mushrooms and kamaboko.

With a bit of mustard and Worcestershire sauce, the heat and sweetness combined deliciously, Ryuji said. The companion was also surprised: "This combination is amazing." According to Ryuji, many households apparently keep sara udon on hand. The two agreed that since the noodles aren't heavy, it works as a meal but also as a snack with drinks.

As for the lard and soy milk, Ryuji said adding them gives the flavor more depth and makes it taste more like a restaurant dish. As another idea, they mentioned it would definitely be delicious over rice too. They also touched on the idea, which Ryuji had previously learned at Marutai, that the crispy noodles are tasty mixed into a salad.

Ryuji described the shrimp and egg version as "a really simple variation" of fluffy egg and crisp lettuce. The companion reacted with "So good," calling it surprisingly punchy and "like upscale Chinese food." Ryuji said the contrast between the fluffy topping and the hard noodles underneath was great. The companion said the egg was cooked perfectly and that egg really should go in last.

They agreed this one would go well with a highball. As a flavor twist, which is also included in the recipe in the video description, they tried it with a little vinegar, and that went over well too.

Comparing the two dishes, Ryuji said the base flavor is the same, yet they taste completely different. Ryuji speculated that this might be because the shrimp and egg version was made with a sesame oil base, giving it an entirely different aroma. Ryuji also said that you probably couldn't tell they used the same soup base just by eating them.

Ryuji summed up the appeal of sara udon as the way the snack-like noodles, combined with a thick sauce, become a proper dish in their own right. Ryuji said it's definitely useful to keep at home, and explained that this was less a promotion than something they personally wanted to make a video about because they found it genuinely useful.

The companion said they would also like to know what variations people who regularly use this product come up with. Ryuji agreed, noting that people in Kyushu might use it often, and asked viewers to share tips in the comments, like "it's great if you add such-and-such."

Having tried many Marutai products, Ryuji praised the soup as delicious. Because the original flavor is so well crafted, Ryuji said, it will probably taste good no matter how you adapt it. The companion, who cooks at home, said it seemed like a great option for lunch and decided to take home the remaining package. They commented that making the same flavor all at once is fine, but since it can be adapted with little effort, it would also be fun to make a variety.

Finally, Ryuji said the product seems to be available in supermarkets as well, and hoped that people who hadn't known about it would become interested. Ryuji closed the video by saying that even with these variations, you could toss in most of your leftover ingredients and it would probably turn out delicious.