Mar 02, 2026 17:15:00
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the release of Nissin Yakisoba UFO, the ‘ Nissin Yakisoba Extreme UFO, ‘ which is the ‘ultimate evolution’ of the sauce, noodles, ingredients, and sprinkles, was released on March 2, 2026. Compared to the regular UFO, it has a luxurious specification that ‘the sauce is about 110% thicker,’ ‘the noodle thickness is about 114% thicker,’ ‘the volume of the meat ingredients is about 169% thicker,’ and ‘the amount of sprinkles is about 130% thicker.’ A set that allows you to compare the regular version UFO and the Extreme UFO arrived at the GIGAZINE editorial department, so I actually tried eating and comparing them to see how extreme it is.
‘Nissin Yakisoba Extreme UFO’ (released March 2nd) | News Release | Nissin Foods Group
https://www.nissin.com/jp/company/news/13657/
The comparison set of ‘Regular UFO’ and ‘Extreme UFO’ that arrived at the editorial department looks like this. ‘All ultimate evolution’ is written.
When I opened the lid, there was one serving each of regular UFO and Extreme UFO inside.
The following improvements are being promoted: ‘The sauce is thicker by approximately 110%,’ ‘The noodles are thicker by approximately 114%,’ ‘The volume of the meat ingredients is increased by approximately 169%,’ and ‘The amount of furikake is increased by approximately 130%.’
This is the usual UFO packaging that we’re all familiar with.
The Extreme UFO packaging looks like this. It’s a striking package that makes extensive use of gold.
For regular UFOs, all you need to do is pour in boiling water and wait 3 minutes.
For the Extreme UFO, you’ll need to wait 5 minutes. A longer wait means the noodles have changed significantly in thickness, so you can expect a different texture.
The usual UFO ingredients are as follows: The sauce ingredients are listed in the following order: sauce seasoning, sugar, vegetable oil, reduced starch syrup, salt, collagen peptide, spice seasoning, flavor seasoning, pork seasoning, pork seasoning oil, garlic seasoning, spices, protein hydrolysate, and flavor oil.
The ingredients in Extreme UFO sauce are sugar, sauce seasoning, reduced starch syrup, salt, vegetable oil, soy sauce, spices, spice seasoning, flavor seasoning, pork seasoning, pork seasoning oil, protein hydrolyzate, flavor oil, and garlic seasoning. The ingredients are listed in descending order of content, so you can see that the regular UFO and Extreme UFO sauces have very different compositions.
The usual UFO calories per serving are 556 kcal, and the salt equivalent after cooking is 4.0 g.
Extreme UFO has a lower calorie count of 539kcal. The salt equivalent after cooking has increased by 0.1g to 4.1g.
The lid comes with sprinkles.
When I opened the lid, the sauce was on top of the noodles.
I lined up the furikake and sauce. The one on the left is the regular UFO, and the one on the right is Extreme UFO. The furikake in Extreme UFO is clearly larger.
Below are the regular UFO (left) and the extreme UFO (right) after cooking. The extreme UFO turned out a darker color.
First, I tried the usual UFO. The chewy noodles were mixed with spicy sauce, making it the ‘usual UFO.’
The Extreme UFO features thicker noodles, significantly improving their chewiness. The sauce has a fruity and spicy flavor, enhancing its sweet and spicy flavor. While the regular UFO has a spicy sauce with a gentle dashi-like aroma, the Extreme UFO’s sauce has a more pronounced sweet and spicy flavor. While the regular UFO can be enjoyed on its own, the Extreme UFO is quite strong, making it a great snack to have with bread or rice. Some editorial staff commented that the Extreme UFO is ‘strong enough to be enjoyed as a snack with alcohol.’ The Extreme UFO isn’t an ‘upgraded version of the regular UFO,’ but rather a unique food that pursues a richer flavor. The distinct flavors make it a fun cup of yakisoba to compare.
Nissin Yakisoba Extreme UFO will be available nationwide from March 2, 2026. The suggested retail price is 259 yen excluding tax, and a 12-meal set is available on Amazon.co.jp for 3,357 yen including tax (280 yen per meal).
