Lotus Foods Tom Yum Rice Ramen Noodle Soup

This is Lotus Foods’ Tom Yum Rice Ramen Noodle Soup is a vegan, gluten-free noodle made with organic brown rice. The branding is all natural-foods aesthetic. Lotus Foods is known for their brown rice noodle products, and this Tom Yum cup is their instant entry.

Produce in China.

What’s in the Package

Inside the cup you get a small rectangular block of organic brown rice ramen noodles and a single silver foil seasoning packet. This is one of the the smallest noodle brick we’ve seen in any instant we’ve reviewed. The cup itself is also on the smaller side.

How to Cook Lotus Foods Tom Yum Rice Ramen Noodle Soup

1. Remove lid and fill the cup with boiling water to the inside line
2. Stir in the seasoning packet, cover, and let stand 5 minutes.
3. Our cook recommendation: let it steep an extra 30 seconds to 1 minute beyond the pack time. The rice noodles come out a little chewy at the recommended time; another minute brings them to properly tender.

How Does It Taste

This one is a miss for me. James and I were both underwhelmed.

The broth is both bland and spicy, which is a strange combination. There’s no real tom yum taste. What you taste is dehydrated kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass, but nothing else on the tom yum checklist lands. No sourness, no proper tom yum paste body. It reads more like hot water with kaffir lime and lemongrass powder stirred in than an actual tom yum soup.

The spice is interesting. It’s not the chili heat you’d expect from a tom yum. It’s a pepper-powder spice, more like ground white or black pepper than Thai chili. James called it a 2-3 out of 5 for our palates. Front-end disappointed. The spicy-medium-mild marker on the pack says medium; it reads hotter than that depending on who’s eating it.

The noodles are the one thing with promise. They’re chewy organic brown rice noodles, vermicelli-ish in texture, and if you let them cook an extra minute they’re properly tender.

How Does It Compare

Against other tom yum instants, this is the weakest I’ve tasted. The Mama Tom Yum Shrimp is the benchmark for actual tom yum flavor at the instant tier. The Nongshim Shin Ramyun Tom Yum Jay Fai is the Korean interpretation with Shin Ramyun base. It’s more flavor-complete than this Lotus Foods cup. The Maggi Perisa Tom Yam is the Malaysian take and is also more fully realized.

The closest direct comparison might be the Thai Kitchen Lemongrass & Chili Instant Rice Noodle Soup since it’s the same rice-noodle, lemongrass-forward, vegan territory. Thai Kitchen is also light, but slightly more balanced than this Lotus Foods Tom Yum.

If you need gluten-free and vegan, this is an option. Otherwise, there are better tom yums and better brown rice noodle options.

How to Level Up Lotus Foods Tom Yum Rice Ramen Noodle Soup

The bowl needs more of everything. What could save it: MSG added to the water, a pinch of salt, mushroom powder for vegan umami depth, fresh minced garlic, or a protein add. Even shredded rotisserie chicken would make this feel like half a meal instead of a snack cup that doesn’t commit.

A squeeze of fresh lime and a few torn mint or Thai basil leaves on top help pull it closer to the tom yum target the label promises.

Final Verdict

The Lotus Foods Tom Yum Rice Ramen Noodle Soup is a gluten-free vegan cup that prioritizes the noodle-base marketing (organic brown rice) over the flavor execution. It ends up bland-and-spicy at the same time, with mostly hydrated kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass carrying the bowl. I would not buy this again.

How do I rate my ramen? Check out the Ramen Rating Guide.

Related Instant Ramen

• Mama Tom Yum Shrimp Instant Noodles
• Nongshim Shin Ramyun Tom Yum Flavor Jay Fai
• Maggi Perisa Tom Yam Instant Noodles
• Thai Kitchen Lemongrass & Chili Instant Rice Noodle Soup
• Ichiran Vegan Ramen

Where to buy Lotus Foods Tom Yum Rice Ramen Noodle Soup

• Amazon
• Hyvee
• Target
• Walmart