Gyoza-flavored ramen?! Count us in!!

Nissin…you’ve done it again. You’ve gone and made another Cup Noodle product that just blows our minds. This time, it’s the Cup Noodle Gyoza Big, slated for release on November 7.

Yes, you read that right. It’s ramen flavored like gyoza, or Japanese meat dumplings, and sold as a Big Cup Noodle, no less. And while Nissin’s comments about the new flavor were casual and ordinary, like, “It goes great with rice!”, “It comes with Gyoza sauce!”, and “It’s like eating gyoza!”, we see it for what it is: a wildchild.

Now some of you might be familiar with Nissin’s famous Cup Noodle brand; in fact, when it comes to instant cup ramen, Cup Noodle is almost king. If you include the different flavors they’ve released all across the world, they’ve got over 100 different kinds of Cup Noodles out there, and while some of those flavors have made us raise our eyebrows in surprise, no one can deny the power of Nissin as a top-rate instant noodle company, and no one can deny that Cup Noodle is viewed as the traditional flavor and style of instant ramen.

And yet, within such a history, the upcoming Cup Noodle Gyoza Big is a non-conformist, the likes of which belongs more appropriately among instant Yakisoba brand Peyoung’s experimental flavors. Nevertheless, Nissin seems to have put its all into completing the gyoza noodle recipe, and had this to say about it:

“Its juicy gyoza-style soup is flavored with garlic and garlic chives, and with every bite, the umami of meat fills your mouth. If you add the gyoza sauce, made from chili oil with a base of soy sauce and vinegar, you’ll enjoy the flavor of juicy gyoza.”

What’s more, the company recommends you eat it with generous helpings of white rice, which is “exceptionally compatible” with this instant ramen flavor. Our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun supposed he would have to try it when it came out to see how those claims really matched up. At least, that’s what he thought until there was a knock on the office door.

“No way…” P.K. whispered when he answered the door and was handed a bag with the Nissin logo on it.

Delivered into his very hands was the Nissin Cup Noodle Gyoza Big itself, and someone had even gone to the trouble of including an instant rice pack to go with it. “Am I being watched by someone at Nissin?” P.K. wondered as he drew the two items out of the bag. “Whatever,” he concluded. “I get to be (probably) the first person in the world to try it, so who cares?!”

Without even waiting for lunch, he poured some hot water into the cup and waited the grueling three minutes for it to be ready. When he ripped off the lid, a very strong garlic smell hit his nose, but it wasn’t enough for him to call it a “gyoza” aroma. But once he added the gyoza sauce…

It smelled exactly like gyoza!!

Well, that makes sense, given that the gyoza sauce included with this cup ramen is a typical sauce for dipping gyoza, made with vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil. The smell of the vinegar was what really gave it a gyoza feel.

Since it passed the scent test, it was now time to see if it would pass the taste test. The punch of garlic in the scent definitely categorized this as a “wildchild Cup Noodle”, but would it taste like gyoza, as advertised? In P.K.’s modest opinion: “I feel that it does.”

But as recommended, when P.K. paired it with white rice, both by adding noodles to the rice and mixing rice into the broth, it was really delicious. While the flavor itself was pretty wild, the downright preposterousness of pairing cup ramen with white rice is what truly defines Nissin Cup Noodle Gyoza Big.

In short, when asked to describe this new instant ramen in a word, P.K. said, “Wild!”

Cup Noodle Gyoza Big officially releases on November 7; just be prepared for a wild ride if you decided to try it! In the meantime, while you wait there are still the combination flavors waiting for you to try if you haven’t already. With Cup Noodle, the options truly feel endless!

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