What is Oriental Flavor Ramen & is It Vegan? You’d Be Surprised!

If you see ramen packets labeled as oriental ramen, it refers to a distinct flavor profile.

Oriental ramen is mostly a soy sauce-flavored ramen with ginger, onion, turmeric, and garlic seasoning.

There is some confusion about vegan ramen. Many people claim that oriental flavor ramen is vegan.

That’s a half-truth because the only oriental flavored vegan and vegetarian ramen is Nissin Top Ramen Oriental brand.

Other ramen brands that make the oriental flavor are not certified vegan and contain some animal or fish by-products.

Other popular Asian ramen brands like Maruchan also make oriental flavored ramen packets, but they are not vegan.

What is in ramen oriental seasoning?

Oriental flavored ramen is not a new food. It’s been popular for decades, and back in the day, it was extremely cheap.

However, it’s not the healthiest of meals because of its high sodium content and MSG. In fact, most brands of oriental ramen contain about 30 ingredients! That’s a lot.

But the main flavor of oriental ramen seasoning comes from:

Ginger
Soy sauce
Onion
Garlic
Turmeric

The rest of the ingredients are additives and artificial flavorings.

What does oriental flavor ramen taste like?

This type of ramen has a savory taste. With the ginger, onion, garlic, soy, turmeric, salt, and pepper, the noodles are flavorful, but it’s a relatively mild taste.

Since it’s not spicy, it’s a basic umami type of flavor.

Some people say that oriental flavor is most similar to beef ramen.

Is oriental ramen vegetarian, or does it have meat?

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Most oriental ramen is not vegetarian. However, Nissin Top Ramen is labeled and advertised as vegetarian. Therefore there are no animal products in this ramen.

Most ramen is not vegan because the packets contain fish by-products or dried animal stock. Oriental flavored ones contain the dried animal stock, too, so you can’t eat them if you are vegetarian or vegan.

Maruchan Oriental flavored ramen has animal by-products in the seasoning packets, so it is not vegan.

What happened to oriental flavor ramen noodles, was it renamed?

Some brands still use the name ‘oriental’ on their ramen packaging.

However, Maruchan brand has renamed this particular flavor to ‘Soy Sauce Flavor’ because it better reflects the savory taste of the noodles.

Check it out here on Amazon

Oriental ramen has a distinct flavor profile, but the word oriental doesn’t quite capture the flavor. The recipe and flavor have remained unchanged.

Therefore, you can expect the traditional taste you’re used to.

Nissin Top Ramen has now been renamed “soy sauce flavor,” too. As well, they are now advertising their ramen as vegetarian. Also, there’s no longer added MSG in their ramen products.

You can find that one here on Amazon

The controversy surrounding the word oriental

The term ‘oriental’ is very outdated and not popular at all. It is a problematic term, and in the U.S, the law prohibits using the word ‘oriental’ in official documents. The word is politically incorrect.

That’s the reason why most brands, even Japanese ones, no longer label their noodles as ‘oriental’ and use ‘soy sauce flavor’ instead.

In the past, food was called oriental because it came from the East. In fact, ‘the Orient’ was the general term used to refer to anything Eastern, especially during colonial times.

These days food is renamed to become politically correct and inclusive.

Oriental flavor ramen recipe

Copycat oriental ramen is quite easy to make. All you really need is some packaged ramen noodles, but you shouldn’t use the seasoning packets they provide. You can also use soba or udon noodles, but if you want to copy oriental ramen, these thin packaged ramen noodles are the best choice. I recommend getting a value pack of chicken ramen noodles that are very cheap, and you will use the noodles only, no seasoning. Course Side DishCuisine Japanese, KoreanKeyword Ramen, Vegan Cook Time 10 minutes Servings 8 Author Joost Nusselder Cost $5

Ingredients

4 packages of 3 oz ramen noodles any flavor will do as you’re not using the seasoning packets
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp soy sauce
¼ tsp ground ginger use ½ tsp if you want a stronger flavor
¼ tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Instructions

Fill a pot with water and wait until it starts to boil. Add the noodles and let them cook according to package instructions.
In the meantime, combine all the seasoning ingredients.
Once noodles are almost cooked, stir in the seasoning ingredients and cook for about a minute or two.

Notes

It’s a straightforward recipe, right? The key to making oriental or soy sauce-flavored noodles is to use the seasonings I mentioned. Those are the basis of oriental noodles, but you don’t have all the additives. If you want to make the recipe vegan, use vegan noodles such as Nongshim vegan noodles or use buckwheat soba noodles that are gluten-free and certified vegan.

Takeaway

If you miss oriental flavored ramen, you can always buy the soy sauce flavor because it’s actually the same thing. Therefore, you can enjoy that savory taste anytime.

As well, if you want to try to make it at home, the copycat recipe will only take about 10 minutes to make, and you can feed the whole family in an instant!

Here are the 9 best ramen toppings to order or use when making ramen at home