Costco Tonkotsu Ramen - Best Ramen at Costco?
Nongshim Tonkotsu Ramen at Costco
Costco sells a 6 pack of Nongshim Tonkotsu Ramen for $11.99. The Tonkotsu ramen can be found in Costco’s pantry and dry goods area of the store near other quick prep meals such as the madras lentils, pho noodles, and the udon bowls.
Nongshim’s Tonkotsu Ramen includes 6 paper bowls of ramen with a rich pork broth and spicy sauce packets. The ramen takes between 3 and a half and 4 and a half minutes to heat depending on if you like your ramen al dente, medium, or soft.
What is Tonkotsu Ramen?
Tonkotsu ramen is a ramen dish where the soup broth is pork based and typically made from pork bones. The broth is usually boiled for hours and sometimes for 15-18 hours in duration.
Traditional tonkotsu ramen will have a yellowish brown color and will be cloudy in appearance. It is also known for its bold, thick, and hearty pork broth flavor.
Other popular styles of ramen are shoyo ramen (soy sauce), shio (salt), and miso flavor. Costco does also sell a frozen shoyu ramen bowl that includes chicken and a variety of ramen toppings.
Costco Cost Comparison
How Much Does Costco's Tonkotsu Ramen Cost?
Costco sells this 6 pack of Nongshim Tonkotsu ramen for $11.99. These do go on sale regularly for $9.59, which is a price drop of $2.40 or a 20% discount.
At retail, each bowl goes for $1.99, and when on sale the price per bowl is $1.60.
When Costco does discount these tonkotsu ramen bowls, it will be a great time to stock up on them. It’s not uncommon to see people buy 2-3 boxes of this ramen when they do go on sale.
The ramen has a best before date that is about a year out from the day I purchased it, so you don’t have to worry about these going bad anytime soon.
Costco vs The Competition
Sam’s Club also sells Nongshim Tonkotsu Ramen Noodles, but their version is the Kuromayu Black Garlic Oil flavored ramen bowl.
Their 6 pack of bowls sells for the same price as Costco’s which is $11.98.
Sam’s Club price is the same as Costco’s, but they do have the Black Garlic Oil Flavor Tonkotsu Ramen. Is that one better? I’m not sure, but as a garlic fan, I am interested in trying that flavor out.
Costco Tonkotsu Ramen Taste Test
Fantastic Noodles
One thing I will mention is how Nongshim provides cooking directions for specific noodle textures. I opted to cook my tonkotsu ramen in the microwave as I like my ramen noodles al dente and the microwave gave the easiest method to track the time.
The noodles came out perfectly firm with a slight chew. I am a big fan of the microwave method for 3 and a half minutes. The noodle texture was fantastic.
Great Tasting Broth
The broth comes from seasoning in a packet, so it’s not going to have a rich and creamy feel like a true pork bone broth would have, but I still thought the broth was very very tasty.
The broth tried to look the part, but it was still fairly light and there was still quite a bit of seasoning that didn’t fully dissolve. There is only so much you can do with a soup base packet, so the looks are forgivable if the taste is there.
Odd Aftertaste - Mystery Solved?
One thing I do have to say is that there were a few times that I tasted a heavily processed aftertaste with the ramen. This isn’t my first time eating this ramen, nor is it the first time where I’ve noticed this taste, so I know I didn’t get a bad batch.
I actually bought this tonkotsu noodle years ago but couldn’t finish them all because the aftertaste bothered me so much.
I even have leftover bowls in my pantry that have expired years ago.
After eating this a few more times, I think I narrowed it down to the dehydrated vegetables that are hidden at the bottom of the ramen bowl.
I’ve started pouring the green onion and the garlic out before heating up the ramen, and it did solve that problem for me.
There doesn’t seem to be much posted about this online, so I might be one of the few that has this problem.
Spicy Tonkotsu
I think the spice packet is a great addition to the tonkotsu ramen. It gives the soup another depth of flavor and gives it a nice little kick.
I’m a big fan of spicy ramen, so I’m adding the chili oil every time, and if it didn’t come with the chili oil, I would be adding in my own sriracha.
Nongshim Tonkotsu Cooking Directions
Convenient To Heat
Nonghim’s Tonkotsu ramen noodles come in paper bowls which can be used to heat the noodles and broth. This makes the ramen super convenient as they can be quickly heated, eaten on the go, or even stored as a backup snack at work.
There are two different heating methods for this ramen, and that is to either add water and microwave, or directly add hot water to the bowl.
Controlling Noodle Texture
One thing that I really appreciate with Nongshim’s cooking directions is that they have a little diagram that tells you how long to cook the noodles depending on the desired texture.
Their typical directions call for 4 minutes of heating or steaming time, but that should be adjusted depending on how you like your noodles.
- For Al dente noodles, cook them for only 3 and a half minutes.
- Medium Noodles will cook for the default 4 minutes.
- Soft noodles will need an additional 30 seconds bringing the total cook time to 4 and a half minutes.
I prefer my ramen noodles al dente, and I’m grateful they provide this easy to use chart.
Microwave
- Completely remove lid, soup base & spicy sauce packet.
- Pour room temperature water up to the inside line (330 ml, about 3/8 cups).
- Microwave for 4 minutes. Add soup base and serve.
Caution: Product is very hot after heating. Handle with care to avoid spilling or burning yourself. Never microwave without water.
Hot Water
- Open lid half way, remove soup base & spicy sauce packets.
- Pour hot water up to the inside line (330 ml, about 3/8 cups).
- Close the lid for 4 minutes, add soup base, and serve.
Caution: Product is very hot after heating. Handle with care to avoid spilling or burning yourself. Never microwave without water.
TOnkotsu Ramen Serving Suggestions
The Tonkotsu ramen is great on its own, but instant ramen can always be made better. Here are a list of some of the additions I would make to enhance the bowl, and take it to the next level.
- Sriracha
- Soy Sauce
- Rice Vinegar
- Soft Boiled Egg
- Spam
- Garlic
- Onion
- Seaweed Slices
Tonkotsu Ramen Nutritional Information and Calories
How Many Calories in Costco's Tonkotsu Ramen?
One serving of this Costco Nongshim Tonkotsu Ramen is going to be one bowl and will contain 450 calories.
Those 450 calories will come from 18 grams of fat, 64 grams of carbs, and 8 grams of protein.
As you can see the carb count is ridiculously high and the fat is also a little higher than expected. These tonkatsu ramens bowls are not going to be healthy for you and should be eaten in moderation.
With the high fat and carb count, I do recommend taking in a little additional protein with the meal.
Extremely High Sodium
Aside from the nutritional profile, the tonkotsu ramen also has an extremely high sodium count. Each bowl will have 1550 mg of sodium which is 67% of the daily recommended value. This is almost an outrageous number considering that each bowl only has 450 calories, is a light meal at best, and makes up just one meal of the day.
To cut down on some of that sodium, I recommend to not finish off the broth after eating all of the ramen noodles.
Costco Tonkotsu Ramen Review
Product Name: Nongshim Premium Tonkotsu Ramen
Product Description:
Price: $11.99 Retail / $9.59 Sale
Quantity: 6 Bowls
Location Within Costco: Pantry and Dry Goods
Price Per Ramen Bowl: $2 / $1.59
Summary
Costco’s Tonkotsu Ramen is a miss for me, but I may one of the few who dislike it. The noodles were fantastic and extremely enjoyable, but the broth was disappointing, to say the least.
The price is fair for a premium instant ramen, but the nutritional label leaves a lot to be desired on a macro nutritional level as well in terms of sodium intake.
I do know that when the tonkotsu ramen goes on sale at Costco, the price is great and people often stock up.
Overall
-
Value - 7/10
7/10
-
Convenience - 9/10
9/10
-
Taste - 8/10
8/10
-
Nutrition - 6/10
6/10
-
CFDB Score - 8/10
8/10
Pros
- Great noodles
- Easy to make
- Tasty broth
Cons
- Extreme sodium content
- A little pricey
- Review Methodology
