Nissin Cup Noodles Tom Yum Shrimp Paste Creamy Sauce Flavour

I recently got my hands on some goodies from Thailand, which included a couple of Nissin Cup Noodles cups. Although I believe that the best instant ramen can be found in Japan, I have often found that some varieties from South East Asia can play on the same level as their Japanese instant equivalents.

Today I am checking out a staple of Thai cuisine and something that has made the rounds all over the world in Thai restaurants: Tom Yum with Shrimp. Although it might be better known in a soupy version, the Cup Noodles I got were the dry “yakisoba” style kind. So let’s give this “Tom Yum Shrimp Paste Creamy Sauce” Cup Noodles from Thailand a try.

Look into the inside of the Nissin Thai Tom Yum Cup Noodles

Content

The instant cup comes with the dried noodles and some freeze dried bits of egg and green onion at the bottom. On top you will find a sachet filled with the soup powder and one filled with the Tom Yum paste. You also get a small plastic fork that will later end up in the ocean and swim around for a thousand years or so.

Preparation

Fill in water and wait for the designated time. Then drain the water from the small opening. Last step is to add the powder and the Tom Yum paste to your cup noodles and stir vigorously.

A first look at the noodles of the Tom Yum Shrimp Cup Noodles from Thailand

Review

After mixing in the powder and paste into the hot noodles, you get immediately hit by the strong aroma you would expect from a Tom Yum dish. The whole thing is pretty fragrant and does not disappoint in that department. The first bites almost transport you to Thailand, strong and bold flavors with good punches of lemongrass and a good level of spiciness. The level of spice is probably above what you would expect from “spicy” instant ramen in the Western world, but still below what the Korean instant noodles bring to the table. I am sure some Thai people will add their own chilis or hot sauce to kick this up a notch. For me personally it is still within the enjoyable levels of hotness, but definitely on the upper end. Keep some water ready.

The disappointing part are the noodles themselves, which have a bit of a “cheap” bite to them. These noodles in the Thai Cup Noodles definitely differ in quality from the noodles in the Nissin Cup Noodles in Japan. Additionally, the amount of noodles you get is very small. After 5 or 6 good mouthfuls, the fun is over.

With better noodles and a bigger portion, this probably would play in the higher leagues of instant ramen for me. But as it is, it’s probably not something I will specifically search for here in Japan. However I might get it again when traveling through Thailand in the future. It did give me the idea to add Tom Yum paste or other curry pastes to some other Cup Noodles though. Let’s see if that’s a good “instant ramen hack”.