Ryuji Upgrades the "Eat It with Bean Sprouts" Back-Fat Tonkotsu Shoyu Cup Noodle, Keeping the Effort Within Nissin's Recommended Range

This product is a Cup Noodle that recommends adding bean sprouts. It has been getting attention, and posts saying "it's better with bean sprouts" often show up on TikTok. Ryuji said this was a similar project to when they covered 7-Eleven's Jiro-style extra-thick noodle cup ramen, and explained that they would first eat the official bean sprout arrangement as-is, then work out their own version.

In the official method, you heat the bean sprouts in the microwave and season them with soy sauce and seasoned salt-and-pepper. At this point Ryuji remarked, "I think boiling them would taste better," and pointed out that microwaved bean sprouts smell unpleasant unless you rinse them with water or hot water. The staff agreed, calling them "earthy-smelling."

The recommended amount is one bag of bean sprouts, but Ryuji questioned this: "Do you really need that much?" and "That's not an amount that fits in a Cup Noodle." The heating time apparently couldn't be found on the package, and Ryuji also joked that people who eat cup ramen every day probably don't know how to microwave bean sprouts.

They poured in hot water, closed the lid, and heated the bean sprouts during the 3-minute wait. At 2 minutes the sprouts felt a little too crunchy, but Ryuji ultimately concluded that "about 2 minutes is good, right at the edge of crunchy." Ryuji speculated that the manufacturer says 2 minutes because they want to avoid complaints that "it didn't heat through" if they wrote a shorter time. When the staff asked, "Are there really people who make complaints like that these days?", Ryuji replied that customer service centers get lots of feedback like that.

The seasoning followed the official method: 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and 5 shakes of seasoned salt-and-pepper. After heating, there looked to be far too many bean sprouts to fit in the cup, but in practice they could be piled on. The finished bowl looked almost the same as the official image.

Taking a bite without the bean sprouts, the verdict was "plainly tasty," and Ryuji described the add-at-the-end pork oil as quite garlicky. Eating it with the bean sprouts on top, Ryuji and the staff reacted with "It really packs a punch" and "It's way better than I expected," saying it also had a Jiro-like feel. Ryuji rated the soup as properly capturing the Jiro character.

As for the noodles, there was an opinion that, given how rich the soup is, they could be a bit thicker. However, since the bean sprouts make up for the firmness in texture, everyone agreed that with these noodles, the bean sprouts are better included. Ryuji said it was pretty good if just microwaving bean sprouts gets you this flavor, and gave the official bean sprout arrangement an A+. They added, though, that since it was presumably made with minimal effort, there was still room for improvement.

Ryuji reasoned that if the product started from the idea of doing Jiro as a Cup Noodle, the key would be coating the bean sprouts in oil and adding raw garlic. While acknowledging that microwaving alone might be fine, they said "that alone isn't interesting," added chili oil on the spot to test it, and found it went well.

Ryuji kept building on ideas: oyster sauce should give a different umami than soy sauce, they wanted to add Ajinomoto, and making the bean sprouts spicy would definitely be delicious, naming doubanjiang as a candidate. The inspiration was Kurumaya Ramen's spicy green onion ramen, and at this point Ryuji said that topping it with bean sprouts dressed in sesame oil, like the spicy green onions, might be ideal, though they wouldn't know until they tried it. They also said this kind of cooking research is a lot of fun, and that with this product, how you season the bean sprouts makes a huge difference.

When the staff asked whether they would add meat, Ryuji was against it. It's hard to imagine people who eat cup ramen going out of their way to prepare meat, and if you add meat, people would just say "of course it's good." Ryuji admitted wanting to do it, but said that going that far means it's no longer cup ramen, and expressed the view that putting in about as much effort as Nissin recommends is the best value. The line they drew was to limit things to seasoning the bean sprouts with condiments you have at home, and if you want chashu, just top it with store-bought.

Egg yolk also came up. From the point that at Jiro-inspired shops people sometimes order a raw egg separately and dip their noodles in it like sukiyaki, they decided to add a raw egg as an option.

Ryuji's arrangement starts with raw garlic. The original pork oil does have garlic in it, but on its own the Jiro character is weak, so the idea is to add a bit more punch. Rather than grating the garlic, Ryuji crushes it and minces it finely, saying tube garlic is fine if that's too much trouble.

The seasonings were also revised from the ideas floated during the tasting. Since Jiro-style ramen doesn't use much sesame oil, the oil is lard, or salad oil if you don't have any. The steps are as follows.

1. Coat the bean sprouts with lard
2. Add half a teaspoon of doubanjiang (kept modest since many people dislike spicy food; use a bit more if you like it)
3. Add 3 shakes of Ajinomoto, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, and half a teaspoon of oyster sauce
4. Microwave without a lid
5. Pour hot water into the Cup Noodle and open it at 2 and a half minutes
6. Add the pork oil, top with the bean sprouts and minced raw garlic, and grind on plenty of black pepper
7. Prepare a raw egg if you like

If you don't have raw garlic, garlic powder will still make it plenty tasty.

For the shoot, two portions were heated at the same time for 3 minutes 30 seconds, but Ryuji explained that heating one at a time is better, because how they're arranged greatly changes how evenly they cook. Ryuji also joked that you'll probably be eating alone anyway, and that it's only this company that's weird for everyone eating together. The bean sprouts are made first because Cup Noodle noodles get soggy quickly.

What Ryuji emphasized most was not seasoning the bean sprouts before microwaving them, and coating them in oil first. The osmotic pressure from the salt draws out extra water, and they don't turn out tasty. Referring to the method of pouring soy sauce on before heating, Ryuji said that this must be why so much water came out, then added that it had become a bit of a criticism.

Coating them in oil first keeps the bean sprouts sealed and crunchy for longer, Ryuji explained. They showed the heated bean sprouts, demonstrating that not much water had come out and that they had more volume than before.

While waiting for the heating to finish, Ryuji revealed a weakness: they don't cook unless it's for someone else, and if they lived alone, they would never cook. Ryuji also said they still eat Cup Noodle every day without getting tired of it, are fine eating the same thing every day, and figure they'd eat their favorite carbonara every day. Some people say the staff shouldn't appear in the videos, but Ryuji explained that performing alone gets boring and they'd end up quitting videos, so they bring the staff in by their own choice.

The finished arrangement was piled high with bean sprouts, presented like a bowl of Jiro, and Ryuji laughed, "Cup ramen is fine like this." Since bean sprouts tumble out as you eat, Ryuji said it's better to transfer it to a bowl.

On flavor, everyone singled out how good the bean sprouts were and agreed that the raw garlic was the deciding factor. The heat and black pepper come through, giving it a pleasant, moderate spiciness. Ryuji rated this arrangement as definitely better than the official one.

Next they tried the raw egg. Saying the egg mellows the flavor, Ryuji strongly recommended it as a must-do. However, pouring the egg over the top tends to dilute the flavor, so it's better to dip into beaten egg like sukiyaki. Ryuji's verdict was that it works extremely well as a flavor change. On the other hand, one staff member said they didn't need the egg, and that their personal pick was the spicy garlic arrangement.

As for the soup, everyone agreed it was the most authentic-tasting among Jiro-style cup noodles. There was also a comment that, compared with iekei-style cup noodles, the soup in this arrangement was far tastier.

Ryuji's conclusion is that the spicy garlic arrangement is supreme. Since the base cup ramen itself is tasty, Ryuji recommended trying the regular version first and then making the arrangement. The raw egg arrangement, they said, is almost a must.