The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
The Ramen Rater’s top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles Of All Time made it’s debut last January and I thought this would be a good day to release the new one for 2015! South Korean instant noodles (known as ramyun) are characteristically thicker and chewier than most instants. Spiciness is a common trait as well as beef flavors. Here are my top picks of the South Korean varieties I’ve reviewed of my 1,573 reviews to date.
Here’s one my wife got me during my birthday trip to Canada earlier this year! Thanks, Kit! This is a neat one. First, it’s a South Korean brand, but it is definitely for thye Japanese market; everything on the label is in Japanese for the most part, and a curry cup falls in line as well. This line also has a Shoyu cup, another Japanese ramen flavor. As I’m sure all who follow my blog know, I’m a big fan of curry, and so my hopes here are high! Japanese curry is much different from Indian or Malaysian curries; it’s usually not spicy and has a sweetness to it. Let’s see what’s under the hood of this Samyang Curry Noodle!
This Sogokimyun is a bit interesting. It looks to be a re-branding of another one. I just looked through everything and found this one from September of 2010 – that’s one old review! What I remembered was seeing the windmills on the packs. The difference though is that this version and the older one – this one doesn’t include a vegetables sachet, only the powder one. Wow – 1,378 bowls of noodles ago. I guess if you do something every day, it does tend to add up! Just about to the 1,500th review; I knew I’d hit it at some point. Next will be the big 2k. Anyways; let’s check this one out!
Samyang Foods’ Buldak Bokkummyeon. I’ve had the pack form and did up a recipe a while back involving a way to cool the heat. This is the bowl – and a fiery bowl at that. This stuff doesn’t mess around; there’s no broth. The noodles have a violently hot coating that really means business! It’s so hot that people challenge each other to devour a bowl as fast as they can on YouTube all the time! Let’s open up this bowl and see how fiery this one is!
Bowls of noodles. They’re made all around the world and are a great option for those with access to boiling water and are ‘on the go.’ Some are basic and have very little imagination to them or perks, while others are really full meals that include meat and vegetables, seafood and other niceties. I’ve review 1,410 different noodle varieties and of those, many have been bowls. Here’s a list of the best, most memorable bowls I’ve come across is my adventure in tasting.
Here’s a little cup that’s been sitting in my box for a while. Sounds good – something a little spicy and seafoody! Let’s check it out!
Wow – number 1300! Would’ve ever thought I would’ve done this many reviews; seems like I did the 500th review not very long ago. Let’s check this one out – a spicy South Korean jjampong!
It’s no secret that I eat a lot of instant noodles. Last year alone, I did 320 new reviews! I’m often asked, “when you aren’t reviewing, what instant noodles do you like to eat?” South Korean ramyun is the answer. In 1963, instant noodles were first introduced to South Korea as ‘ramyun.’ People were a little confused at first; they thought it was a textile! They also weren’t super keen on it being chicken flavored; South Koreans prefer rich beef flavors as opposed to lighter poultry tastes. With a little tweaking, the spicy rich beef noodles synonymous with ramyun were born. The thick noodles, rich broth and spiciness keep me coming back for more. This list contains my favorites from the 1272 reviews I’ve done thus far. They are all made in South Korea, and many will be hard to find in the United States, if not impossible. With that, here’s my list.
Happy New Year to everyone! Thought after I did my 2.3 mile walk I’d come home and try some South Korean ramyun! This is one of Samyang Foods’ new baked noodle line. 2013 was the 50th anniversary of ramyun coming to South Korea. Let’s see what this new one is like!
I’ve had lots of different versions of this. Today it’s the South Korean local one – not the export. Sounds really good to me! Let’s check it out!
First, I’d like to send my best wishes to those affected by Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines. Latest news reports another storm on the way. Like to help? Check out www.redcross.org to see how you can.
I saw a recipe that sounded interesting a few weeks ago, and decided I wanted to try it. The issue: I only had one bowl of Samyang Foods’ Budalk Bokkumyeon, a fiery and spicy fest whose close relative the package version made the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2013 list. I emailed Samyang Foods about it and they kindly sent some as well as some other new varieties.
Here’s a brand new one from Samyang Foods of South Korea. They sent instructions on how to cook them as well as a little info about this new variety:
Recently I heard about this recipe using Samyang Foods Budalk Bokkumyeon (Hot fried chicken flavor ramyun). I only have one of the bowls so I needed at least onhe more so I could do a regular review as well as try the recipe. I asked a friend at Samyang Foods if they could possibly send some more and I got a yes! Today this box arrived.
Whoa hey what’s this? Here’s another snack made from instant noodles! This one’s from South Korea – let’s check it out!
Gotta love the name. This is a South Korean combination of Jjajang (a black bean dish) and noodles. They usually end up nice and hearty with just a sauce and no broth. Let’s check it out!
Today, it’s a South Korean classic cup. These guys were the very first to introduce ramyun in South Korea back in 1963! I did a Meet The Manufacturer with Samyang Foods- here’s what they have to say about cups:
Today is the last review of the Samyang Foods Meet The Manufacturer spotlight. Rest assured, there will definitely be more of their products reviewed in the future – I only do a maximum of 15 reviews in a row for a company during a Meet The Manufacturer and they sent more than 15, so lots of neat stuff coming! I want to thank Samyang Foods for their samples and everything else – really nice people!
So here in the US, this is simply called Assorted Vegetable – although I think the 60 Ingredients is definitely important. I’d love to know what all of the ingredients are… Let’s check this one out!
Most people who are keen on South Korean ramyun have heard of the craze for ‘white broth’ ramyuns. Nagasaki Jjampong was Samyang Foods’ entry into the white broth realm, but they made another variety – Nagasaki Crab Jjampong – that has a milder taste. Let’s check it out.
Well this one looks to be extremely spicy. Samyang Foods sent some instructions along as everything on the back of these packages are in Korean. Well, they also added a little advice:
Here’s Samyang Foods’ spicy beef ramyun bowl. Let’s give it a peek!
Close-up of the top (click image to enlarge).
Okay folks – here’s something I’ve never seen before. This is bajirak kalgugsu. I’ve had kalgugsu before, but this has a special ingredient: actual clams in shells! Here we go!
Okay so what’s Hot Chacharoni? Well, its a form of jjajangmyeon. What’s jjajangmyeon? Wheat noodles with a black bean sauce! Pretty much every South Korean instant noodle company has their own take on the popular dish, but this is the only one that I’m aware of that is spicy! Let’s check it out.
Here’s another of the HoMyeonDang private label varieties. This is a stir noodle – drain the noodles after cooking and add the sauce and stir. Let’s check it out.
First, I want to wish my wife a Happy Birthday! Love you! Well folks, here it is. This is the ramyun that started it all. Here’s an except from my interview with Samyang Foods about their first product:
This sure looks fancy! This is a premium private label variety made by Samyang Foods. HoMyeonDang is a restaurant in South Korea – here’s their website. They’re a organic noodle bar! Crab jjampong! Let’s check it out…
Beef flavor – you might be wondering what the difference between this and Samyang Ramyun is. Well, I think this one’s not as spicy possibly. Also, the key that Samyang Foods sent show this as having added milk. I’ve reviewed the export version before – this has only one packet as opposed to the export having veggies too. Well, let’s give it a try!
Here’s Samyang’s foray into the white broth realm. White broth ramyuns are spicy – usually with a jalapeno flavor heat. I’ve tried the pack version before and enjoyed it – let’s check out the big bowl version!
Kimchi! I love kimchi – not only is it hot and spicy and crunchy and awesome, it’s purported to be one of the healthiest foods out there. My favorite comes from a store in my area called KS Mart. They make it in the store and it doesn’t taste at all like the varieties that are branded. I’ve tried to get some people I know to try it, but they think it smells bad and are terrified by it; I just don’t understand. Anyways, here’s kimchi ramyun by Samyang Foods. I think the smiling onion and cabbage say it all – but what I wonder; is the onion planning on eating the cabbage with the chopsticks?
Here’s something new… So this is a ‘stir noodle’ (brothless). I’ve seen Jjajang variations which are stir noodles, but never a spicy seafood one. Basically what you do is cook the noodles and veggies, drain, and then add the liquid and stir, stir, stir. This sounds really interesting!
Sutah. I looked around to find out about what Sutah mean,s but didn’t find much. The description on the sheet Samyang Foods included with the samples reads ‘hot and spicy beef flavor like handmade noodle.’ Sounds good to me – let’s check it out!
Samyang sent a nice big box!
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Upon opening, I was greeted by a big envelope.
It had information about all of the included instant noodles – very handy!
Interview * Samples From Samyang Foods * Samyang Foods Sutah Ramyun * Samyang Foods Ganjjampong * Samyang Foods Kimchi Ramyun * Samyang Foods Nagasaki Jjampong * Samyang Foods Beef Flavor Ramyun (SK Version) * HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Crab Jjampong * Samyang Foods 三養라면 (Samyang Ramyun) (SK Version) * HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Tofu Fried Noodle * Samyang Foods Hot Chacharoni * Samyang Foods Bajirak Kalgugsu * Samyang Foods Yukgaejang Beef Ramyun * Samyang Foods Buldalk Bokkeummyeon (Hot Fried Chicken Ramyun) * Samyang Foods Nagasaki Crab Jjampong * Samyang Foods Assorted Vegetables (60 Ingredients) Ramyun (SK Version) * HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Don Ramyun
Here’s another one from Ramen Place! I’ve tried the cup version which just said 60 Ingredients, but it’s got to be the same thing here, just in a pack. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s the second of the two packs sent to me by Chris H. of Westport, CT – thanks again! So this is the other extremely popular variety out of Korea, Samyang’s Nagasaki Jjampong. I read that ‘white broth’ instant noodles are all the rage there – none are for sale in the Asian grocery stores I frequent and the ones Chris sent are from Korea. Anyways, let’s give it a try!
I’ve heard now from two separate sources that this Kkokkomyeon stuff is really popular and is going to be a really big deal when it comes to the USA. Both a seller of instant noodles alluded to it as well as a mention by name by the lady at the Kitty House at 99 Ranch Market (they sell Hello Kitty stuff there).
Here’s a bit of a mystery sent to me by Nathan in Canada. So what’s this one? Well, the little icon up top gave it away as a Samyang variety, but all I can say is it’s 60 Ingredients. Let’s try it, and if you can read the cup and it’s called something more, please let me know in a comment!
Was very happy to see this one at the store today! I really like Samyang stuff. I liked their regular bowl, cup, big bowl, pack, beef flavor… It’s good, spicy and straightforward Korean noodles.
So far I’ve tried the big bowl, the pack, and now it’s the cup. I generally enjoy this stuff so figuring I’ll like this one too. Here we go!
