Finally a review of instant noodles where I can suspend my pretentious rhetoric about rāmen and get back to basics. Maruchan is what most Americans think of when they think of “ramen”: meals for college kids and those below the poverty line, like 1 out of every 5 people in Mississippi.1 One cup is $0.60 here and, in keeping with the spirit of these noodles, I bought my cup at a Dollar General.

I have had many packets and cups from Maruchan on the trail while hiking with the boy scouts in my youth. They are very simple, warm food you can eat outdoors and make with only boiling water. They are also very light to carry and the only equipment required is a backpacking stove which you probably have already if you are hiking. When warm food is a luxury, cup noodles are the quickest and easiest path there.

“Instant Lunch” is what Maruchan calls its instant cup noodles. Open the cup, pour hot water into the cup, cover and wait 3 minutes. Very standard stuff. The cup noodles I bought are beef-flavored.

The noodles are chewy even after cooking fully for 3 minutes, which can be fine but these are rather thin; the chewiness is unbecoming to such thin noodles. They absorb little of the broth too; this makes them taste bland. There are little dehydrated vegetables in the broth; the only redeemable of these vegetables are the corn; the carrots are especially mediocore and I doubt the small amount of chives actually do anything other than disrupt the visual monotony of the noodles in the cup.

The broth surprised me, maybe it's gotten better since I last tried it years ago but it's rather beef-like and somewhat oily. Per unit price I think it is a great imitation of beef broth. It's quite salty but still enjoyable.