Why are American Cup Noodles so bad when Japanese Cup Noodle is so good?
Ando was intrigued by those cups, and he spent the next several years developing what would eventually be unveiled in 1971 as Cup Noodle, an instant-noodle product that was sold in a waterproof, insulated expanded polystyrene cup, which served as both packaging and serving container. So far, so clear.
About a year ago, in the spirit of embracing the vast variability of human experience, and with the understanding that my taste preferences are mine and mine alone, dictated by my early exposure to a specific range of Cup Noodle products, I contacted Nissin Foods USA and asked whether they’d be willing to send a Serious Eats representative samples of their.
In this first photo you can see the American seafood-flavored Cup Noodle noodle on top, and the Japanese seafood-flavored Cup Noodle noodle on the bottom. The American noodle was softer, with less bite, and was noticeably shorter. The broths, even though they are ostensibly the same product, were noticeably different; the most overt difference being the stronger flavor and aroma of ginger in the American one.
Finally, in this photo, you can see the results of cooking an American chicken-flavored Cup Noodles product in a cup for the “original” Japanese Cup Noodle flavor on top, and vice versa, on the bottom. The Japanese noodle seemed to benefit by the swap, although the noodles seemed more prone to break, and thus lost their lovely length, whereas the American noodle seemed to be mostly the same—flaccid and mushy, not fun to eat at all.
To my surprise, the American Chicken Cup Noodles cup was the best insulated. In every test, after three minutes had elapsed, the water temperature held steady at 199°F. By contrast, the boiling water poured into each of the Japanese cups typically ended up at around 194°F, give or take a degree. The Japanese Seafood Cup Noodle cup, which looks and feels like it is of better quality than all the others, wound up with water at 192°F at the end of three minutes in two rounds.