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We make eco-friendly instant noodles from the water in Tokyo Bay

Katy Kelly Dec 10, 2018
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You never know when you might need to make yakisoba with raw water, so why not learn how?

The sad fact is, you can’t guarantee clean water will always come out of your taps. You can’t always count on your packages of ramen noodles to come equipped with a tasty sachet of flavoring, either. No doubt about it – there are times when you might need to resort to desperate measures for a tasty noodle lunch.

Wondering how he himself might deal with this dreadful situation, our reporter Ahiru Neko set about devising a recipe for “Eco Yakisoba”; a noodle lunch that won’t require tap water or a flavor packet. Thankfully he’s written down all of his steps so that you too can avoid this worst-case scenario.

First thing first: where to get water from? Well, if the water services are all shut off, it’s time to turn to our old ally: sea water. Ahiru Neko set off for Kaihin Koen park in Tokyo’s Odaiba neighborhood, armed with two empty plastic bottles.

▼ Ahiru Neko prepares to fill his bottles

What with it being noon on a cold weekday, there was barely anyone else around to witness Ahiru Neko plunder a generous share of Tokyo Bay water. It was a strange sight indeed, one man frantically filling bottles, so it was just as well no one else was around.

After scooping up some of the dirty water, it was time to take it back to SoraNews24 headquarters. In total, Ahiru Neko probably spent no longer than 15 minutes on the Odaiba shore. Efficient! Once back at the office, he shoved his funky bottles into the fridge so that he could use them in tomorrow’s lunch.

After a night spent in the refrigerator, Ahiru Neko’s plastic bottles were looking…well, just as motley as ever. All the sand and sediment had settled at the bottom of the bottle, and the water itself was peppered through with mysterious black bits.

▼ Yum!

Not even the most deranged of reporters would make noodles with the water in this state. Time to fire up the old Clean Sui machine: a water filtration device intended to make water cleaner and tastier.

Sorry, we should have specified. The Clean Sui is intended to make tap water cleaner and tastier. Not salt water. Definitely not salt water. Please don’t try this at home.

▼ “Please do not use this device to filter hot spring or well water” – Clean Sui packaging

▼ The water inside the Clean Sui looks just as mangy and dirty as ever

But once the water was all done filtering…

▼ Wow!

…It came out looking clear and beautiful. Success!

Next, Ahiru Neko transferred his extremely filtered water into a pot, and brought it to a boil.

Another member of the SoraNews24 team, Yoshio, had been watching all of this involved process with bated breath, and he could hold himself back no longer. He grabbed a spoon and took a little sip of the treated water.

▼ No one has ever been this delighted to drink salt water from Tokyo Bay.

“Amazing! It tastes just like water with table salt in it.”

With the water’s taste and saltiness verified, now the other star of the show could make its appearance: the Peyang instant yakisoba noodles. Stripped of all flavor sachets, sprinkles and sauces, all Ahiru Neko would use in this dish was the block of noodles itself. You never know what might get lost in transit!

Three tense minutes passed.

The yakisoba…was completed.

▼ In spite of its lack of any real flavorings, this eco-friendly yakisoba didn’t smell bad at all.

▼ Bon appetit!

But wait!

Rather than eating the yakisoba himself, Ahiru Neko elected to share it with another reporter, Yuichiro. You see, Yuichiro had the dubious honor of trying Odaiba saltwater in his cooking before, although that was four years ago now…Well, maybe this yakisoba might dredge up some fond memories of the good old days?

▼ Ahiru Neko generously passes off the noodles.

▼ Yuichiro smiles, remembering the disappointing fishy pasta he ate four years ago.

Ahiru Neko was confident his eco-yakisoba would be a big hit, unlike the pasta. He’d used a commercially available water filter despite all the warnings telling him not to! That had to count for something!

Yuichiro took a nice big mouthful of noodles and then paused.

An unreadable expression filled his face.

“….Salty!!!”

That’s right! Far from being inedible or even tasting bad, Ahiru Neko’s Tokyo Bay Eco-Yakisoba had exactly the right amount of salt even without using sauces or flavor granules! While it might be too salty for some, it really complements the mild regular Peyang noodles. Yuichiro’s face lit up in a winning smile.

So if you’re ever in the dire situation where your water is shut off, and you open your Peyang noodles only to find no flavorings inside: remain calm. The water in Tokyo Bay has your back (but, as we must once again state, it might not be so good for your stomach in the long run).