Umai Crate by Japan Crate focuses on bringing you Japanese-exclusive instant noodles. Each month, you'll receive 7-8 instant noodles to try, along with a bonus collectible!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Umai Crate
The Subscription Box: Umai Crate
The Cost: $25 a month + free shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Save $3 off your first box
CODE: MSADD3
The Products: 7-8 Japanese-exclusive instant noodle dish + a bonus collectible
Ships to: Worldwide
Umai Crate February 2018 Review
This month’s Umai Crate booklet lists each of the ramen bowls with a small description and cooking instructions. This is always super helpful to review before and during taste testing! As usual, there is always a super fun recipe for Dan Dan Noodles.
Time to get cooking!
Mushroom Udon
The first bowl of the month comes from the seaside city Setouchi. The main ingredients include bonito and kelp, and the noodles are made kneaded with whole grain flour to give them a sweet texture similar to an udon. The broth itself is extremely light with hints of sweetness that comes from the noodles. I got a light mushroom flavor that provided lovely hints of salt. This is the perfect bowl to add chicken or shrimp to with a nice helping of hot sauce.
Hokkaido Salt Ramen
This ramen comes from a city in Hokkaido that is known for its salt ramen bowls. This packet was unlike others that I received as the noodles are very long! You are going to want to cook this in a larger pot to really allow the noodles to cook thoroughly. The broth has a very strong sesame flavor that was had a thick and creamy texture to it. The noodles, again, were very long and sort of crispy. There were hints of salt in each bite as well. This was not my favorite ramen that I have tried as I thought the noodles were a bit too sticky and the sesame flavor was so strong. However, my husband absolutely loved this bowl and thought a touch of hot sauce really brought out the salt flavors in a big way!
Tororo Kombu Udon
This little cup comes from a collaboration with Fujiko x Ace Cook. This dish is packed full of scallion, egg, and Torero kelp that is blended with potato for an extra rich flavor. This bowl was one of my favorites this month! The broth was so rich and the noodles had a light butter flavor that really made this such a comforting meal. The kelp gave each bite a light earthiness that I really loved. I decided to keep this cup simple by simply adding some hot sauce and allowing the natural flavors shine on their own.
Nature Miso Ramen
This bowl is a healthy version of miso ramen. The noodles are made with 100% domestically sourced flour and salt. The miso broth had a sweetness to it that was so lovely and fresh. Even though this includes salt, I didn't taste a strong saltiness in the broth. The noodles were so light and fluffy and soaked the broth up nicely. I decided to add chicken to this bowl and a soft boiled egg, it really dressed this earthy dish up!
Sansai Soba
Sansai means mountain vegetables and includes mushrooms, shoots, and more! Since this is filled with hearty vegetables, the flavors really come across as being very earthy. The noodles are so creamy and fluffy and they pair nicely with the rich broth. There were bits of vegetable throughout as well that added this interesting crunch that only came out in a few bites. This bowl really shines on its own, so all I did was add some chicken and gobbled this bowl down for dinner!
Dombe Kitsune Mini
This cup was so small, perfect for a light snack or something you could eat as an appetizer to a larger dinner. This type of udon is best known for the fried tofu on the top. I found this tofu to be very sweet, which caught me off guard a bit! It really soaks the broth up so it can be a bit mushy, but I don't know if there really is a way to prevent that from happening. This bowl, outside of the fried tofu, is a pretty standard udon. The broth has a lovely soy flavor that is sweet and salty, and the noodles are so light and fluffy. I loved this little cup so much!
Big Sauce Yakisoba
This bowl is massive and had some tricky instructions so be sure to read carefully before cooking (there are A, B, C tabs to add and then drain the water). Since this is yakisoba, you simply add water to cook the noodles, then you drain the water before adding your spice packets. For this bowl, the spice packets include a spicy mustard mayo, yum! I was very excited for this hearty bowl, but sadly it fell flat for me. Since you are adding the spice packets after draining the water, I found the texture to be extremely grain from the spices, they just did not mix-in with the noodles well. The noodles were so hearty and fluffy and the flavors were a lovely blend of sweet and spice. My husband absolutely loved this bowl and added chicken to really build it out, but for me, it was just a nice texture.
Bonus Item - Spoon
The bonus item this month is a spoon. However, this is just not any ordinary spoon! If you look closely you will see that there are holes on each side which helps to drain soup out in case you get too much in one scoop. It is also a great ramen spoon, perfect for scooping small pieces and holding lots of noodles in each bite.
Verdict: This month's Umai Crate brought a lot of new flavors and a nice mixture of healthy and traditional bowls. I was also very happy to see some smaller cups and then big bowls that made for the perfect dinner on a cold winter evening. There were a few bowls that were not my favorite, they were almost too sweet or the noodles were too sticky, but there were so many that I loved! Umai Crate does such a good job at bringing a unique curation of ramen dishes that I know I can't find at my local grocery store. They also keep sending new flavors and bowls that require a "new way" of preparing like the Big Sauce Yakisoba which I love because it expands my knowledge of ramen!
To Wrap Up:
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? No, order by the end of March to receive the April box.
Coupon - Use code MSA3 to save $3 off your first Japan Crate Premium, Doki Doki Crate, Umai Crate, or Kira Kira Crate
Value Breakdown: This box is $25 a month with free shipping. I received seven ramen bowls which come to an average of $3.57 per item.
Check out all of the Umai Crate Reviews to get more information on this subscription. Check out all of our Food Subscription Boxes in the Subscription Box List. Rate, review, and follow this subscription on the Umai Crate profile page.
What was your favorite bowl from the February Umai Crate?
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.