Miso ramen shop Shingen is a Sapporo favorite, loved by both locals and tourists.
Their signature dish is a mellow white miso ramen. Having had this ramen in person, I was excited to try their official premium instant ramen. How does it stack up? Let's find out!
White Miso Ramen in Snowy Sapporo
Shingen has two main locations. The flagship shop is in Ishikari City, right above Sapporo. The Sapporo City shop is much easier to get to. Furthermore, they carry English menus at the Sapporo location.
The inside is small and unassuming, with an L-shaped counter for customers. It's the perfect ramen hideaway for Sapporo's brutally cold winters.
They serve shoyu (soy sauce), shio (salt), miso, and spicy miso ramen. But their miso ramen is the one to order. In it, white miso supports a pork bone and vegetable-based soup.
Taste-wise, the soup is milky rich from the pork bones. But the sweetly flavored white miso ensures that the soup is gentle tasting too. This white miso is a critical component. You'd expect them to showcase it in an official instant ramen.
It would be equally important to showcase the thick and wavy noodles.
Shingen's Instant Miso Ramen
Instant noodle manufacturer Myojo is behind Shingen's official instant ramen. You got to love the packaging. The white miso is mentioned on it, along with how the soup is pork bones and vegetables.
Inside, there are four packets. Two are for toppings and two are for soup.
Let's start with the soup and see if Myojo did it justice!
The Soup
I'm not a fan of ramen soups that are overly sweet, whether the sweetness comes from mirin, white miso, or something else. The soup in Shingen's instant ramen is indeed sweet from the white miso. But I absolutely love it.
While sweet, it's still well-balanced. The pork bone richness is there, just like in Sapporo. In addition, vegetables counteract the soup from feeling too rich.
But make no mistake - white miso is the star of the show. I don't think I've tried any other instant ramen that highlights white miso like this one.
The Toppings
For toppings, there's a slice of pork, green and white negi (spring onions), and menma (bamboo shoots). The chashu pork is particularly tasty, with a good ratio of meat to fat.
The negi play an important role in contributing to the soup's sweetness and freshness. In the same regard, the menma adds crispness. In summary, the toppings are high-quality.
The Noodles
The noodles are almost as thick as at Shingen. It's hard to get them as wavy in instant form. But Myojo does an admirable job.
The noodles are hefty and have proper bite to them as well.
Conclusion
My final score for Shingen's official instant miso ramen is 5/5. Again, the soup is something special. The white miso flavor shines through, just like at their ramen shop.
The toppings and noodles are great, as you'd expect in any Myojo premium instant ramen. But it's the layered, white miso-powered soup that elevates this one to legendary status.