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Goodbye, Cup Noodle Shio! We try Nissin Cup Noodle’s revitalized new flavor, Negi Shio

Dale Roll May 1, 2023
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Does it meet expectations? We find out!

Those who are Cup Noodle fans may know already: the “Shio” flavor, which had a salt-based broth, is no more. Instead, the popular instant noodle brand has completely remade and rebranded it as “Negi Shio”, which, based on negi meaning “spring onion,” presumably has a more onion-y flavor to it.

Now, we at SoraNews24 love Cup Noodle, so we had to admit this change was a shock. Shio was such a classic flavor…Why fix what wasn’t broken?

The original Cup Noodle Shio had a more Western feel by incorporating the flavor of olive oil, but the new Negi Shio, which was released on February 27 this year, seems to be leaning more towards Japanese flavors with the addition of negi. That’s rather a drastic change. As such, we had to do the responsible thing as reputable journalists and see how the new flavor compares.

According to Nissin’s website, the Shio flavor was originally released in 2003 and had been part of the regular Cup Noodle lineup ever since, which ordinarily would suggest that it was pretty popular and that retiring it was a hard decision for Nissin to make. And yet, the commercial for the new Negi Shio, shared in the tweet below, has a cute little jingle that sings, “Goodbye Unpopular Shio, Nice to meet you Negi Shio!” as Negi Shio dropkicks Shio out of the way, so maybe the decision really wasn’t that hard.

https://twitter.com/cupnoodle_jp/status/1630779898750021632

While such brutal treatment of what must have been someone’s favorite Cup Noodle flavor could stir up a bit of controversy, for us it just signals total confidence in the flavor. That made us pretty excited to try it.

The most distinctive thing about the packaging, beyond the new name and accompanying design, was the fact there was a packet of chiyu, or chicken fat, attached to the lid of the cup, which is meant to give the broth a chargrilled chicken flavor. The oil is the final touch, added after pouring in the hot water and waiting three minutes.

The fragrant scent of chargrilled chicken and green onions hit us hard. We’d expected this, of course, but not for it to be quite so powerful. It felt like an attack on our nostrils. The broth was packed with the umami of chicken, and the sweetness of chiyu helped to mellow out the flavor a bit. Still, it was really salty.

Nevertheless, with the combination of sophisticated ingredients and the addition of plentiful toppings, the quality was really good for instant ramen.

Because of the strength of the spring onion’s scent and flavor, the new Negi Shio won’t appeal to everyone. For those it does appeal to, though, in a tweet that claiming “Cup Noodle Negi Shio is selling like crazy”, Nissin shared a recipe that can make it even more delicious. Well, it’s more like a way to stretch your broth even further, since all you have to do is add white rice to what’s left over when all the noodles are gone.

先日発売してめっちゃ売れている「カップヌードルねぎ塩」。
実は、残りスープにご飯をぶちこんだだけの雑炊が、めちゃくちゃうまいのでやってみてください。 pic.twitter.com/WikaxXOU3S

— カップヌードル (@cupnoodle_jp) April 6, 2023

This turns it into a sort of “zosui”, rice gruel with vegetables and toppings, and it was really delicious. We had to say, before trying it with rice, we were solidly on Team Shio, but this nudged us just far enough over the line to make us a fan of Negi Shio.

In the end, some people will probably hate Cup Noodle Negi Shio’s strong, peculiar flavor, which makes it surprising that Nissin introduced it not as a limited edition flavor but as part of their regular roster. But perhaps we should have expected that. If the Negi Shio flavor is shown to be drop-kicking the old Shio flavor in a commercial released by Nissin, we can assume they weren’t trying to play it safe. In truth, the flavor is aggressive enough that it’s like a dropkick in itself.

And that, my friends, is the real appeal of the new Cup Noodle Negi Shio flavor. It encapsulates the fighting spirit of a company that was ballsy enough to make a breakfast-flavored ramen. There’s no doubt that the Negi Shio has set a new bar for instant noodles–but whether that bar is good or bad is up to you.

Source: Nissin
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