Fish flavor

Japan is a ramen-crazy country so much so that it has not one but two noodle museums. Cup noodle pioneer Nissin Foods (NF) has a CupNoodles Museum in Osaka and Yokohama showcasing the legacy of the instant meal’s inventor and NF founder, Momofuku Ando.

Aside from exhibits tracing the history of cup noodles and NF in 1958 Japan, the museums also feature a noodle factory where visitors can make their own ramen from a selection of broths and garnishes. The museums also have noodle bazaars where visitors can sample cup noodles from other countries.

Meanwhile, NF introduced the latest flavor in its massive lineup of cup noodles on 1 July. Selling at 298 yen, the new product was inspired by one of the most expensive Japanese seafood delicacies.

“Each cup comes with dried chicken meatballs, spring onions and Japanese-style shredded egg in a soup base enriched by a dash of yuzu,” said an NF statement cited by CNN.

A CNN journalist who tried the new noodles tasted the yuzu, a citrus fruit commonly used in Japanese cooking, but not its fugu flavor which was unnoticeable.

Fugu or pufferfish is the poisonous fish with spikes that commands as much as 20,000 yen when ordered in a high-end restaurant. Some ramen shops in Japan also serve pufferfish as sashimi or cooked.

Pufferfish has high concentrations of deadly tetrodotoxin in its blood, bones, skin and organs. If not properly prepared, eating it may cause dizziness, convulsions, respiratory paralysis and death, medical experts say, according to CNN.

In Japan, fugu dishes are prepared only by licensed cooks with at least two years’ specialized training.

The cup noodle flavor of the poisonous fish is contained in its small packet of oil to be added to the soup base. NF is not divulging how the flavoring is prepared.