Armed with a taste for noodles and a fondness for microwave meals, Seattle-based chef and restaurateur Mutsuko Soma crafted a winning recipe in a Cup Noodles contest, which challenged food-loving innovators across the country to create an original food concept, product or idea.

Nissin Foods, maker of Cup Noodles, hosted its “Use Your Noodle” competition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cup Noodles in September. The competition’s design honors innovator and Nissin Foods founder Momofuku Ando, who disrupted the industry with his invention of instant ramen in 1970, said Jaclyn Park, vice president of marketing for Nissin Foods USA.

Soma, who owns Seattle Japanese restaurant Kamonegi and sake bar Hannyatou in Fremont, won the $50,000 grand prize for her recipe that featured the Original Cup Noodles flavor and was inspired by okonomiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake dish.

“Mutsuko’s innovative approach to enjoy another iconic Japanese food by utilizing the Cup Noodle Original flavor delivered on our hopes for an idea that was creative, original and presented well,” Park said in an email. “Plus, it’s a delicious recipe you really can make at home.”

Since she opened Kamonegi in 2017, Soma’s fresh, handmade soba noodles have brought her local acclaim and earned her the title of Best New Chef 2019 in Food & Wine magazine, among other honors. But her love for Cup Noodles stands strong.

“At home, I cook so many things in microwaves,” she said. “I don’t like washing dishes. Microwaving cup noodles doesn’t create dishes — microwave, ready to eat.”

Whether they’re heated in a plastic foam cup or plated with a delicate herb garnish, Soma simply loves noodles. Soma said her favorite noodle dish is soba noodles with duck, also known as kamonegi, the name of her restaurant.

“I eat noodles every day — soba noodles, ramen. It’s easy to eat, and also comes with broth, so it’s so comfortable,” she said.

Soma said she is going to use the $50,000 for her restaurants. First up, she’s going to buy a Zojirushi hot water boiler, which provides boiling water at the push of a button.

Park said the sizable prize was meant to encourage talented individuals to enter the contest.

“The prize had to be big to celebrate 50 years — that’s a huge milestone for any brand. We also wanted to make the prize substantial to entice talented innovators, academics, budding chefs and product inventors around the country to share their original food concepts,” Park said. “A prize of $50,000 makes it easier to envision turning a concept into a reality.”

Soma is no stranger to noodle competitions. In 2020, she participated in the 50th-anniversary Top Ramen competition, where she created not one but 50 recipes using Top Ramen and posted each of them on her personal Instagram account. Soma did not win last year’s competition, but she enjoyed the opportunity to challenge herself.

“After COVID got started, I tried to challenge myself by creating new recipes, using TikTok — something I’d never done before,” Soma said.

Like most, Soma and her team felt the effects of the pandemic. Kamonegi’s dining room was closed due to the pandemic until July 2021, and Soma had to adapt her menu for takeout.

“I had to switch the menu, since soba noodle doesn’t hold well,” she said. “I never had rice before, then I flipped the entire menu to more rice-heavy dishes.”

The changes to Kamonegi’s menu aren’t permanent, but Soma said her time spent experimenting has been beneficial to her craft.

“Since I changed so many things, I learned so many things, too,” she said. “Something I’d never done before gave me a good idea, like, ‘Oh, I should be doing this,’ or like, ‘Let’s have this on the menu, but a different format.’”

Soma said the best discovery she’s made during the pandemic has been to always do more.

“Say I have to make one thing; I do 50 different ways, then I find three or four best ones out of 50,” she said. “I do many ways — try, do not think, just do it — so I can discover a lot of things.”

Soma, who is also a mother, wears a lot of hats around her restaurants in addition to being chef and owner. When patrons are able to dine-in, Soma can sometimes be found serving food, and she also does marketing for her businesses on social media. Kamonegi and Hannyatou both have very active Instagram pages, and so does Soma herself.

Soma said she likes using Instagram the best among social media platforms, but she and her team are learning to use TikTok, where she posted a video of her winning Cup Noodles recipe. Her “Cup Noodles Okonomiyaki” combines the Cup Noodles Original flavor with eggs, cabbage and green onion, and is dressed with okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise.

Despite a full slate, Soma is considering opening a third restaurant location with a different concept — it is in her nature, after all.

“I’m always looking for a new challenge,” she said.

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