Itsuki Vegetarian Kyoto Miso Tonkotsu Ramen Packet 182g

A two-serving packet of Japanese ramen with a mild miso (fermented soybean paste) soup on a creamy pork-style base, made without any pork or other animal ingredients. Buy it if you like miso ramen and want it richer; if you want a plain miso soup, the Itsuki Sapporo packet is the lighter one.

On the pack: 京都 みそとんこつ風 (Kyoto miso tonkotsu-style). Tonkotsu is the creamy pork-bone ramen soup, and 風 means "-style": here the pork taste comes from a flavouring, not from pork.

What you're getting

• The creamy body comes from sesame, sesame oil and palm oil; a flavouring, garlic, onion, ginger and cabbage extract season it, and no chilli is named in the ingredients. The miso is a mild one made from soybeans and rice.
• It contains MSG (flavour enhancer 621).
• The noodles are smooth, straight and dried, in two separate bundles, and they boil for two and a half minutes, half a minute less than the Itsuki Sapporo packet.
• Nothing comes on top. The pork, egg and bean sprouts in the picture are a serving idea: the pork would stop the bowl being vegetarian.
• Allergens: contains wheat, soy and sesame. Read the pack's own label before you rely on ours, including its line on what else the factory handles.
• Diet: the maker describes it as free of animal ingredients, so it suits vegetarians. It is not certified vegan.

Itsuki makes this range only for shops outside Japan, so you won't find this packet on a Japanese supermarket shelf. The soup is salty: leave some in the bowl if salt matters to you.