Detailed instant noodle reviews and ratings – watch, read, and discover your next favorite.
I’m diving into what might be the most polarizing Buldak variety: Samyang Buldak Corn Ramen. It’s drawn some harsh reactions online, which bumped it to the top of my curiosity list. I usually enjoy the Buldak product line for its spicy, flavorful reliability, but corn in Korean ramen? And a corn-flavored sauce no less? That’s new to me.
Samyang returns to the spotlight in this review with their spicy twist on a Korean favorite: Samyang Buldak Jjajang Ramen. For those unfamiliar, jjajang is a Korean adaptation of Chinese black bean sauce, which is a thick, earthy, and slightly sweet sauce that I’ve only recently started exploring. My first exposure was through Nongshim’s Chapagetti, but this version promises a much more intense experience thanks to Samyang’s trademark Buldak heat.
Time to up my spicy street cred. This episode covers Samyang’s 2x Spicy Buldak Hot Chicken, the viral challenge noodle that gained a reputation for destroying people at double the intensity of the original Hot Chicken flavor. I'm not eating this to prove anything, I just want to see whether the hype is deserved, and more importantly, whether it's still actually edible. I’ve already covered the original Buldak and the Carbonara, both of which I enjoyed, so I'm going into this one with a decent idea of what to expect from a flavor perspective, but not from a spice perspective.
Time to dive into the one that started it all: Samyang Buldak Hot Chicken Ramen, the pack that kicked off a thousand spicy noodle challenges and an entire subculture of people shoving noodles into their tear-stained faces for the enjoyment of others. I’m not here for the Internet clout, just a proper review of a famously spicy stir-fried noodle. I’ve already tried the Carbonara version and loved it, so it was time to see how the base flavor holds up without the creamy powdered cheese to tone it down.
Today we're diving into Samyang’s original orange-packaged ramen, simply called "Samyang Ramen," a product that’s been around since 1963 and is often regarded as the blueprint for red chili Korean instant soups. Given how much I enjoyed their Buldak Carbonara, I’m curious to see how this more traditional offering stacks up. This is the company’s flagship noodle product, and it seems like every major Korean instant noodle brand has their own take on this style, including Nongshim Shin, which I referenced heavily in this episode as a benchmark.
Samyang Buldak Carbonara Ramen is one of the most talked-about instant noodles on the Internet, constantly recommended in Reddit threads, YouTube challenges, and noodle circles of all kinds. I picked mine up as part of a Korean ramen combo box from Cokoyam (RIP), but you can also find it on Yamibuy and Amazon.