Ahh, ramen. The classic meal that is so often associated with college students. Cheap, quick, and terribly delicious. Unfortunately, hardly a balanced meal and terrible for your health. But what if it WASN’T terrible for you?
Ever heard of Mike’s Mighty Good craft ramen? If you attended Brainfood 2017, or have visited Whole Foods recently, you may have spotted or sampled their ramen. The California-based brand started in 2014 when namesake founder Mike asked, “why doesn’t the ramen sold in grocery stores taste like ramen bar ramen?”
The noodles made by Mike’s Mighty Good are organic, from scratch, and are steamed, rather than fried. The broth and oil are also made with organic, non-GMO ingredients.
Mike’s promises “insanely rich broths” and “the perfect chewy noodles every time.” So, some members of Spoon Stevens and I decided to put the ramen to the test!
Shout out to Mike’s Mighty Good for sending me all these samples after I made a post about wishing I had more! 💖
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The Contestants — Bowls
Vegetable, spicy beef, chicken and pork tonkotsu! Note: each bowl contained an oil and flavor pack!
Vegetable (Vegetarian)
Comments: Noodles were clumped, very different texture. Kind of bland. “No meat” – Joseph Insalaco
Rating: 2/5
Spicy Beef
Comments: Nice spicy surprise, has a kick, more flavorful broth!
Rating: 3/5
Chicken
Comments: Very flavorful and thick broth! Surprisingly better than the beef!
Rating: 4/5
Pork Tonkotsu
Comments: Not as good as the chicken, but not bad. A bit bland.
Rating: 3/5
Overall:
The same concern that kept coming up over and over again was the noodle texture. It definitely did not scream “ramen”, though that is compared to the instant ramen we are used to. Blandness ratings were probably accurate because there is a fill line for water, but noodle texture may have varied due to the fact that we didn’t stir the noodles very well after adding water.
The Contestants — Packs
Pork tonkotsu, vegetarian kimchi, chicken, beef pho, and miso! Note: packs contained an oil and flavor pack. Also, we forgot to do ratings 😢
Pork Tonkotsu
Comments: “It tastes like chicken” – Joseph Insalaco. Overall better than the cup!
Vegetarian Kimchi
Comments: Emily Raque, who had never had kimchi before, thought it was really good! Others who have had kimchi before did not think it tasted like kimchi because the flavor “was not strong enough.” But, they liked it better than the pork!
Chicken
Comments: Broth is flavorful and nice spice taste! The broth has a really nice flavor but the noodles are bland.
Beef Pho
Comments: “Tastes like pho, but not good pho,” … “I like these noodles better,” … “This was my favorite of all of them!”
Miso
Comments: “Tastes like beer … warm PBR” and “Not so miso.” Personally, I thought it tasted like miso soup you would have at an Asian restaurant though.
Overall:
The texture of the noodles in the packs were much better than the cups. However, blandness was a big variable factor since there was no fill line and some tasters preferred more flavors and others preferred blander.
Conclusion
1) The packs are superior to the cups 2) Chicken flavor ranked the best 3) Don’t expect your typical ramen noodle texture from craft noodles 4) Add the water based on how concentrated you like your soup 5) At least this ramen is healthy 😊
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For a chance to win 2 cases of Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen, check out @spoon_stevens and @brokefoodiesclub on Instagram for more details. 🍜🍜🍜
Follow our Instagram, @spoon_stevens! And special thanks to our members: Jennie, Angelica, Joe, Lauren, Laura, Emily, Caitlin, Audrey, and Misha for taste testing.