These are really interesting to me; A-Sha basically invented a new noodle shape! These A-Sha Meteor Noodles with Danzai Sauce are described as “3D” noodles and go on to say “Meteor Noodles are made using a special, dual blade to cut 3D ridges onto the noodle to allow for perfect sauce coating on every noodle strand for a maximum flavor experience in every bite.” If you read my review on the A-Sha BT21 Galaxy Variety Noodle Box, you should know that these Meteor noodles appear to be the same as the “Universtar noodles” that came in that box. I’m super excited to give these a try with this sauce, so read on to learn more about the noodles and Danzai Sauce flavor.
The Verdict:
| Product: | A-Sha Meteor Noodles with Danzai Sauce |
| Origin: | Taiwan (Export to the USA) |
| Noodle Quality: | 10/10 |
| Spice Level: | 1.5/10 |
| Overall Score: | 10/10 |
At first glance, the noodles might look like they’ve just got extra ridges, but if you look at a cross-section, they actually look more like a five-pointed star, or a “meteor” as A-Sha eventually settled on for a name. There’s a pretty interesting article here about the genesis of the shape if you’d like to learn more. As for Danzai Sauce, A-Sha doesn’t really go into much detail on the product page about what it is, just calling it a “rich and savory sauce” that was developed to coat these Meteor Noodles. We’ll get into the ingredients below.
As with all A-Sha products, you can order these directly from their website, or you will find them on Amazon and in warehouse club stores like Costco. For that reason, these only appear to come in 12-packs, so it’s quite a commitment to buy a box of these. That’s what I’m here for, right? To tell you if I think this is worth buying a big box of these…
As you can see, each pack contains a single block of noodles and a sauce packet. There’s no toppings here like with some of the other Meteor Noodle packs you might see on A-Sha’s site. The infamous Danzai Sauce, which is very much thick like a paste, contains wheat flour (as a thickening agent, I assume), vegetable oil, soy sauce, sugar, shallots, MSG, garlic powder, chili, various spices, and a black vinegar made from a big variety of extracts (rice vinegar, carrot juice, onion juice, tomato juice, and orange juice). That’s quite a blend of ingredients. This has a very medium 1250mg of sodium per package.
Noodles:
As was the case when A-Sha was calling these Universtar noodles, I think the texture is incredible. The extra ridges do indeed deliver not only a perfect coating of sauce in every bite, but deliver it with an amazing firm, chewy texture that doesn’t get soggy over time. This is a marvel of noodle engineering – Meteor noodles are the best noodles A-Sha makes, in my humble opinion.
- 10/10
Spiciness:
There is a light tingle of chili and sichuan peppercorn in every bite of the sauce. It is totally comfortable and barely perceptible unless you’re very spice-averse. I think the average noodle enthusiast would be fine with this.
- 1.5/10
Overall:
Let me preface by mentioning the cooking instructions and how I made these noodles, because how you handle the sauce coating step could influence your overall experience with this flavor. Like I mentioned above when talking ingredients, the “sauce” packet is really a paste. It’s very thick when you squeeze it out into your bowl. The instructions on the side of the box, as you can see in the photo above, tell you you need to loosen up the sauce with a spoonful of the noodles’ cooking water. Knowing that, I decided to simply scoop the noodles from my saucepan with a pasta fork without really shaking them too dry. This is a pasta sauce technique too – basically let a little bit of the starchy water mix with your sauce to get it loose and glossy. I figured the same method would apply here, and I was right. The paste turned into a sauce and I didn’t have to worry about whether or not a “spoonful” was a teaspoon or a tablespoon or something else – and it turned out to be a perfect consistency to evenly coat the noodles without getting watery. If you buy this product, I recommend you just add the noodles to the sauce using that method and it’ll come out just right. If that’s not something you feel like doing, then yeah, a half tablespoon of noodle water is probably fine, and add another half if the sauce is still too thick for your liking.
And indeed, this sauce is just right. Maybe more than just right – I think it’s the best sauce I’ve ever had from A-Sha. There is a concentrated umami flavor to the Danzai sauce, almost an artificial beef flavor coming from the MSG/soy sauce/yeast extract combo, mixed with a bold blend of spices and black vinegar. It’s totally unlike all of the liquid soy sauce-based sauces A-Sha uses in so many other products – it’s very thick and so much more robust than those have been in the past. The spice blend actually reminds me of a Taiwanese braised beef soup, with a light hit of Sichuan peppercorn and star anise. There were a few little pieces of what I think were caramelized shallots here and there that I enjoyed. I can’t really complain about anything here. The noodles are incredible, the sauce is a wonderful flavor and the whole thing eats hearty enough to be a small standalone meal or a great side dish (I cooked myself a steak as my protein to eat with this, and it was a perfect pairing from a flavor perspective).
- 10/10
Continuing the Journey
- Want a soup version of the braised beef flavor in this sauce? Check out Kang Shi Fu Braised Artificial Beef Flavor Soup Noodle.
- For a more premium braised beef soup, you should hunt down Ramen Talk Taiwan Style Braised Beef Noodle Soup.
- If you prefer A-Sha’s lighter soy sauce based noodle packs, watch/read my review of A-Sha Hello Kitty Hand Pulled Style Noodles with Friendly Scallion Sauce and see if that’s more to your liking.
