I figured for Meet The Manufacturer Week: Nongshim, I would start with a Bowl Noodles I saw get made while I was at their plant! They were cranking them out en masse! I’ve reviewed the old packaging / version in the past and these new ones are very different. They’re made to be cooked in the microwave, so that’s how I’ll cook them.
Here’s the side and bottom of the bowl’s outer cardboard packaging (click image to enlarge).
Here’s the inside top of the bowl.
The noodle block.
The seasoning packet.
A ton of seasoning! Looks like this should be spicy!
The veggies live in the bottom of the bowl and I fished out a few – there’s definitely more than this in there.
Finished (click image to enlarge). In a pot on the stove, I put some of the new veggie mix we made from stuff we got at the local produce stand. Also, I found some Odeng (fried fish cake) at H-Mart and added it. After it boiled, I drained off the water and added it. The noodles are thinner than many but they’re great – not crumbly or weak – they’re of good quality. The broth is pretty good – I think it might be a tad less spicy than the old Spicy Kimchi Bowl Noodles – still, I like it. The veggies were pretty good, but not a lot of them. I like this one – adding some things to it to dress it up makes it even better. By itself, I give it 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. Looking at the old review, looks like they improved! UPC bar code 031146250301 – get it here!
Nongshim Bowl Noodles TV commercial.
K-Pop stars often do TV spots for all sorts of companies – especially instant noodle companies! Here’s one with T-Ara for Shin Ramyun.
Didn’t expect greatness, kimchi instant noodles I’ve had before were either too salty or just hot. This was great! Broth was spicy, but also sour and savory and cabbage-y, noodles were springy. Vegetables didn’t rehydrate for me, but I’ll still definitely have it again. Agree with adding some mild greens, mushrooms, tofu, and/or egg next time. Didn’t need salt imo.
Thanks. I probably will do that, but it will be a while. I am disabled and my spouse, who usually helps me a lot is right now fighting both a tooth root abcess AND passing (trying, anyway) a kidney stone! Just miserable! But when I get things together I will try to take pics & send in. BTW, I made this exact same concoction a couple of days ago and it was just as tasty, which means it didn’t just taste so good ’cause I was sooo hungry the first time…LOL. And my 18 y/o nephew likes this flavor plain with just the seasoning that comes with (and he hates cabbage!). Liked it so much, in fact, he lifted a couple of my packs!
Just wanted to say I LOVE this site now. It has led me to several great brands of yummy noodles. Thanks for all YOUR hard work!
Wow, I can honestly say I hear ya – I’ve got the tooth troubles though and my wife’s got the kidney stone troubles. I tried my 7 year old with kimchi and as he chewed it he looked at me like I was an insane axe murderer – I guess it really doesn’t taste like Velveeta or chicken nuggets or mac’n’cheese… Yeah though – seriously ya gotta get some pics in to me for Show Your Noodles – that’d be great! Glad you like the site – it’s a lot of fun and everyone seems to like it and it’s a pretty accessible subject for people; I mean, noodles are cheap – if you can’t afford the instant noodles then hit the food bank (and they’ll sling some your way!)
– TRR
Oops, forgot to add, I put the green tops of the green onions on top after I transferred the whole pot full to the bowl I ate it from. Also, the dried veggies that come with rehydrate nicely but there are not a huge amount – less than I like which is why I added so many extra. I think some fried tofu or real kimchee would also go well in this. I think i needed to add salt because there is NO ADDED MSG ( the other reason I bought it). It does have some related naturally occurring seasoning, but no MSG (YAY). Still has a nice umami backdrop to the general flavor. I don’t usually go this much into detail but I was very surprised at how much I liked this product (LOL)! Hope others find it as likeable.
Hey you should enter the ‘Show Your Noodles’ competition! email a picture of your instant noodle creation to hans@theramernraster.cvom and leave your first name, last initial, location and what you made and it’ll get on the site! It sounds like you’ve got the knack for adding stuff and making the noodles your own – awesome!
– TRR
I really really likes this product, though I didn’t cook it it the microwave because I wanted to add a bunch of fresh vegs to it. I sliced up about 2-3 button mushrooms(I cut them into quite small bits), cut about 4 thin garlic(chinese) chives, sauteed this in about a tbsp of butter in a 1 1/2 qt pot till shrooms were lightly browned, then added about 1/4 cup water and 1/2 carrot sliced paper thin, 1 lg savoy cabbage leaf sliced into very thin strips, the bottoms (white parts) of 2 green onions slice about 1/4 inch, and about 6-7 micro baby bok choy(these are about 1 1/2 inch long, very cute and very quick cooking and tender). Put on the lid and let it steam. Meanwhile, I opened the bowl and dumped out the noodle block into another bowl along with the dried veggies and dug out the seasoning packet. When the veggies in the pot were almost tender (and most of the water had steamed away), I added water to the bowl the stuff came in up to the line, then dumped that into the pot. When that came to a boil, I added the seasoning, then the noodle block and dried bits. As soon as it came back to a boil I took it off the heat stirred a little then added 2 raw eggs and covered for 3-4 min. Then dumped it all into a nice big bowl and enjoyed. Flavor was great, moderately spicy but not overly so; In fact, I found I needed to add just a little salt! But breaking the yolks and stirring them in might have had something to do with that. Noodles were very good, tasty with good texture. Broth was not overly oily or greasy even though I sauteed the mushrooms in some butter. I REALLY liked the balance of flavor in the seasoning packet (so much so that I was surprised).
Overall, I found this a pleasantly surprisingly good product. I think it would be just fine with a little green onion and maybe just a few fresh greens (shredded cabbage or baby spinach or shredded bok choy), and the egg. Makes a very large serving, with 2 eggs and the amount of vegs I put in, could have served 2 (I was very hungry!). It held up well to all the additions too, which not all such products do. Cost less than a buck at my local WM. Worth having in the pantry, IMO.