Many people say that gluten-free products are just “not the same” as the ones made of wheat flour.
Not only are they not the same, but they are also a little bit disappointing in terms of texture or the flavor.
What’s worse is that gluten-free stuff is normally way more expensive than it’s gluten-containing counterparts.
I finally found a good, Japanese, gluten-free, ramen that you can buy online in the U.S
The manufacturer’s primary location is in Gifu prefecture in Japan, but you can also buy their ramen here! One of my students, who lives in Japan, told me about this company: Kobayashi Noodle; it is not a giant company, rather it is a small company focused on “Bringing Authentic Japanese Flavor to America”.
Here is the link to the Kobayashi Noodle in Japan. If you want to check out.
https://www.kobayashiseimen.jp/
The manufacturer sells two types of ramen on Amazon. The price for the ramen was about USD $25 a box (6 packs) on Amazon. The good news is that all the labels, instructions, and everything else on the package is in English, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to read Japanese.
One is for almost like fresh ramen alternative, and the other one is instant noodles.
What I bought are instant noodles which come with liquid soup base in a pouch.
I bought miso, shoyu, and tonokotsu. （みそ 味噌、しょうゆ 醤油、とんこつ豚骨) My favorite is Miso. All of them are good though.
The price is on the higher side, I have to admit. it is almost 4 dollars a pack, which makes it even more expensive compared to most of gluten-free ramen I see at normal stores in the U.S, but I think this was the best instant ramen I ever had, actually. When I checked the price sold in Japan, their retail price for each ramen was about 3 dollars in Japan. (340 yen a pack) Considering that they may need to ship raw materials from Japan, I think price is pretty good.
I normally eat instant ramen with stir-fried meat, vegetables, and an egg.
MY TIP FOR THIS RAMEN IS TO ADD EXTRA HOT WATER BECAUSE IT IS A BIT SALTY, IN MY OPINION. I NORMALLY USE AROUND 700 ML OF WATER INSTEAD OF 500 ML.
Japanese traditional noodle, soba (Buckwheat noodles), is also gluten free, depending on what you buy:
I pick 100 % soba flour noodles (jyuuwari soba じゅうわりそば、十割そば). A lot of products you buy at stores contain more wheat flour (komugi go こむぎこ 小麦粉) than buckwheat flour (soba ko そばこ 蕎麦粉) these days; Buckwheat/soba flour is more expensive, but 100% buckwheat is naturally gluten-free and the flavor is more authentic, in my opinion.
I probably want to try the other kind that can be alternative for fresh raw ramen next time although this one doesn’t come with soup.. I will update when I get the other kind.
If you are interested in exploring new ramen, try out Kobayashi’s ramen; you won’t be dissapointed!