Time for a ramen review! Today we have Mama Yentafo ramens, the rice noodle version (left) and the bean vermicelli version (right). They are based on the Thai noodle soup of the same name. Yentafo is otherwise known as Thai pink noodle soup and it is one of Thailand’s most popular and famous soups.
You can see the contents of both versions are very similar. The bean vermicelli version, for some reason, just has some plastic wrapping around the noodles. Other than that though, the ingredients seem to be the same; in both packages there is the soup base, a chili packet, and seasoning oil. Both noodles can be cooked by just submerging them in 1.5 cups/350 mL of boiling water from the kettle in a bowl and covering them with something. Wait 3 minutes, and the noodles are cooked!
First we can look at the rice vermicelli version. Both of the noodles have a nice texture and the soup is nicely tangy and very mildly sweet. There is the tiniest bit of spice without the spice packet added, but it’s almost not noticeable. I added a soft-boiled egg and bok choy to make it an easy meal. I need to cook the egg separately of course, but I find bok choy cooks well enough by cooking it with the noodles. The soup also has a really cool hot pink coloring! I took a picture in the light to try to show off the beautiful color of the broth, but it looks best in-person.
The bean vermicelli version has much smoother-textured noodles, as one would expect of rice vs bean noodles. The taste is mostly the same (tangy with a bit of sweetness and the tiniest hint of spice), but it is also slightly saltier.
I ate these soups for the first time on a chilly, rainy day, and it was a really good choice of meal! The tanginess made me feel warm and brought up my mood, and I bought more the next time I was in Pacific Rim because I knew this would be a great comfort food for days when the weather is more dreary and dismal, which I think we’ll be seeing a lot in the coming months. I definitely have found myself craving to have it again, too. Plus the bright color is so fun!
-Josie