Kinrei's 'O-Mizu ga Iranai' frozen ramen series introduces its first large serving

Greetings, I'm Nabeko, the munching woman. Summer's festive mood is over, and with the upcoming Silver Week, it's time to tighten our purse strings. That's where frozen noodles come in handy.

Buying bento boxes or chilled noodle products quickly pushes you over ¥500, but frozen noodles, which come with toppings and soup, can be under a single coin (¥500) and often boast high-quality flavor. As they say, freezing makes it easier to maintain quality, so don't underestimate modern frozen noodles.

However, I have one complaint. Frozen noodles often feel less substantial compared to what you get at a restaurant. I've always wished they offered more volume.

As if reading my mind, Kinrei has released a large-serving frozen ramen.

Kinrei's First 'Large Serving' Features 230g of Noodles!

Kinrei offers its 'O-Mizu ga Iranai' (No Water Needed) series of frozen ramen. Starting September 1st, two new large-serving products, the first of their kind in the 'O-Mizu ga Iranai' series, were released.

Available sequentially, primarily in mass retailers, starting September 1st

These are the 'O-Mizu ga Iranai Oomori Buta Ramen' (No Water Needed Large Serving Pork Ramen) and 'O-Mizu ga Iranai Oomori Stamina Ramen' (No Water Needed Large Serving Stamina Ramen), which are being rolled out sequentially, primarily in supermarkets.

'O-Mizu ga Iranai Oomori Buta Ramen'

'O-Mizu ga Iranai Oomori Stamina Ramen'

Both feature a large serving of 230g of noodles. To give you an idea of how much 230g is, the average noodle weight for Kinrei's frozen ramen series is 155g (as of January 2026). What, that's over 1.4 times more!?

Kinrei's frozen ramen averages 155g of noodles, compared to 230g here.

The price is open and varies by store, but the suggested retail price is ¥354. Despite being more voluminous than usual, it's in the same price range as the standard 'O-Mizu ga Iranai' series, or even slightly cheaper for some products.

A Whole Bag of Bean Sprouts, BAM! Tasting the Pork Ramen

I got to see the real thing at the tasting event! First up was the 'O-Mizu ga Iranai Oomori Buta Ramen.' It's a tonkotsu shoyu (pork bone soy sauce) soup with pork back fat and minced garlic, a bowl clearly inspired by the Jiro-kei style.

The height is impressive

Opening the package, I noticed it was already large even before cooking. Did Kinrei's frozen ramen always have this much height...?

The left is a standard product, the right is the large serving. The height difference is clear.

The 'O-Mizu ga Iranai' series has a unique specification where the soup, noodles, and ingredients are frozen in three layers. Since this time there's a generous 230g of noodles, the thickness of the three layers is noticeably different. When I asked if they could manufacture this in the factory just like usual, they replied, 'The circumference is the same, so it's fine.' I see, it's grown vertically, not horizontally.

The only toppings are pork back fat and garlic

However, looking at the top, for a large serving, aren't the toppings a bit sparse? All I could see were pork back fat and minced garlic. Yes, that's actually where one of this product's secrets lies.

As shown in the package photo, this pork ramen is recommended to be eaten with added bean sprouts. I see, it's a large serving, but the idea is that you customize the toppings yourself.

Tasting it with bean sprouts topped

At the tasting event, I ate it with about a whole bag of bean sprouts piled on. They said you just microwave a bag of bean sprouts from a convenience store or supermarket and pile it onto the ramen.

Rich pork umami! The garlic really stands out.

Sipping the soup, the rich pork umami hits you hard. It's rich with pork back fat, but surprisingly, the flavor is clean. It has the punch you'd expect from a hearty ramen, but perhaps because there are few off-flavors, it's addictive without being crudely junk-food-like. Then, the kick of the minced garlic comes through.

The noodles are extra thick and brownish

The noodles are thick, made with a blend of flour used even in specialty shops. They're designed for a robust, 'washi-washi' (chewy, firm) texture, offering plenty of bite. The brownish noodles also let you distinctly taste the wheat flavor. The sensation of chewing them is exactly what you'd expect from a hearty ramen, and it's exhilarating.

Personally, I loved it with mayonnaise topping

Furthermore, at the tasting event, toppings like sliced cheese and mayonnaise were recommended. What really opened my eyes was the mayonnaise. Mayo in ramen? I thought, but adding a little halfway through boosted the richness and amplified the junk-food factor! So good!

The original soup is crafted with a clean flavor that you won't tire of, so adding your own mayo or cheese takes it deliberately in a 'guilty pleasure' direction. It's a unique pleasure you can only really enjoy at home, as it would be difficult to do in a restaurant.

Spicy! The 'Stamina Ramen' Shows No Mercy

I continued eating.

'O-Mizu ga Iranai Oomori Stamina Ramen.' This one is spicy.

Next, the 'O-Mizu ga Iranai Oomori Stamina Ramen.' This is a spicy ramen with a strong kick of garlic and chili. The noodles are also 230g, but they are medium-thick, slightly thinner than those in the pork ramen.

Ate it with chopped green onions on top

For this one, it's recommended to add plenty of chopped green onions. You can buy pre-cut green onions in packs at supermarkets, right? At the tasting event, I also had it served with a generous amount of green onions.

I honestly underestimated it, thinking, 'It can't be that spicy,' but...

From the very first bite, it was incredibly spicy!

Medium-thick noodles

The garlic and chili hit hard, followed by the strong aroma of green onions. The way the green onion fragrance rose somehow reminded me of sundubu. Of course, it's not a seafood flavor, but it strangely gave me that impression.

Adding tofu mellows the spiciness. It would also be good as a snack.

And with this level of spiciness, tofu seemed like a good match. Indeed, tofu was recommended at the tasting event, and I tried it. Adding tofu mellows the spiciness a bit, making it easier to eat.

It seems like many other arrangements are possible. I, Nabeko, even thought it would be delicious to add ingredients like chikuwa (fish cake) and aburaage (fried tofu pouch) and eat it like a hot pot. Enjoying all the ingredients first, then finishing with 230g of noodles... isn't that just the best!?

Adding curry powder turns it into intensely spicy curry ramen

What truly surprised me when I tried it was curry powder. It's a flavor change recommended by Kinrei, and adding it halfway through instantly transforms the taste into something like an intensely spicy curry ramen.

I don't get many chances to eat curry ramen, so I had a vague idea of what it might be like, but this was incredibly enticing! I couldn't stop eating. With the curry flavor, I even wanted to add rice (lol).

This is truly a mercilessly spicy ramen, so I highly recommend it to anyone who loves spicy food.

Large Serving + High Degree of Freedom. Finish It Your Way!

By the way, Kinrei apparently developed this with a sense of 'guilty pleasure' in mind. For example, for the pork ramen, they simmer their own pork bones and minced meat, and blend two types of super-premium soy sauce. The pork back fat is also homemade, deliberately leaving some texture, showing the effort involved.

Even the pork back fat is homemade

I wrote in my impressions that 'the soup was surprisingly clean,' and when I conveyed that to a Kinrei representative at the tasting event, they said, 'We make it carefully from scratch, so that's the base flavor.'

As expected from a company that originally specialized in nabeyaki udon. Even for a 'guilty pleasure' type, you can feel Kinrei's characteristic dedication to creating a proper base flavor.

And what's interesting this time is the 'finish it yourself' aspect. For the pork ramen, you prepare your own bean sprouts and pile them on; for the stamina ramen, you add green onions. Furthermore, you can continuously customize it to your liking by adding ingredients you have at home, such as eggs, mayonnaise, cheese, tofu, or curry powder. A large-serving frozen ramen with such a high degree of freedom is quite new.

While Kinrei targets men in their 20s to 40s, I felt it could appeal to a broader audience. It seems easily accessible to anyone, regardless of gender, who is interested in hearty ramen from specialty shops but hasn't had the chance to visit one.

The noodles are 230g. Honestly, you can enjoy it even without bean sprouts, and conversely, no one will get angry if you add mayonnaise.

Ah, I think I'll stock up on these at home for now.

Added to Kinrei's 'O-Mizu ga Iranai' series. This type is cooked in a pot at home.

*Prices in the article include tax.

♪Munching videos now streaming♪ ASCII Gourmet's YouTube channel 'Donburi Channel' delivers exciting gourmet information.

▲Generational Gaps Revealed by Donburi Preferences!? Favorite Donburi Showdown