My wife pointed this out to me while we were at Mitsuwa Supermarket today, stocking up on ramen, snacks, and canned coffee (20% off everything this weekend! woohoo!). At $9.99/lb, that’s more expensive than some high quality steaks I’ve seen! I was excited to try this out.
I took my first bite of the chashu right out of the box, without heating it up. The chashu was as lean as it looked. Texture-wise, it’s about typical of what’s served in run-of-the-mill ramenyas, if only a bit thicker. If anyone had a slice of overcooked white turkey meat during Thanksgiving, that should give you an idea of the texture of this chashu. The pork was a bit sweet; the sugar and sweet sake in the marinade overpowered the shoyu by just a bit.
After I prepared some tonkotsu instant ramen, I let the pork soak in the soup for a few minutes to warm up and soak in some of the soup. The contrast between the slightly salt soup and the slightly sweet pork made the chashu taste even more sweet, which didn’t really go well with the ramen.
Mitsuwa’s chashu makes a decent, if unexciting addition to a bowl of instant ramen. If I find anything better, I’ll be sure to report back, but this chashu gets a middling 5 out of 10.
thanx for the info but they do looked kind of dry with no fat marbling at all.
Hi cutie: yeah, for $10/lb, I expected more. But since it’s already marinated and cooked, maybe my expectations were too high 😛
Hi edjusted! Looks like these could’ve actually benefited from being sliced thinner.. Do you remember the beginning of Tampopo? 🙂
(fyi, I’ve been having problems posting comments on my Mac.. hope this one goes through)
radiusedcorner: I know exactly what scene you’re talking about! I’ve always wondered if all the tips given in Tampopo are actually ones that real ramen chefs would agree on. Hmm…
Thanks for the note on the comment problem. I’ve had other people point that out and I think (hope) they’re fixed now!
Great find. Pork adds to the milky soup base. Will I be able to find it here at the Japanese markets in San Francisco?
Thanks Campusfork! I would think so. All the Japanese markets down here have a little prepared foods section. You should be able to find chashu there.