Noodle Journey Episode 13: Lotus Foods Purple Potato Rice Ramen with Turmeric Curry Soup

Welcome back to another purple noodle review as I continue my quest to find something gluten-free that doesn’t taste like punishment. This is another Lotus Foods variety, their Purple Potato Rice Ramen with Turmeric Curry Soup. If you caught my review of their Forbidden Rice Ramen with White Miso Soup, you’ll recall I wasn’t exactly kind to the broth in that one. The noodles were fine, but the flavor was a total debacle. This one, at least on paper, looks more promising thanks to the addition of actual spices and the novelty of potato-based noodles.

This is a gluten-free and vegan product that still uses rice flour alongside the potato flour, and it sells for around $2 depending on where you shop. Inside, you get a purple noodle block and a seasoning packet that includes dried tomato, green pepper, carrot, scallion, turmeric, onion powder, and the ever-frustratingly vague “spices.” I went on a short rant about that in the video if you’d like to watch it, but I just feel like companies that don’t clearly list their ingredients are the worst, especially for people with allergies or sensitive palates.

Noodles:
They’re chewy and decently thick, with a good bite, and they don’t have a weird flavor of their own. The big issue is how badly they clump together during cooking. No amount of stirring fixed that. They look pretty cool when they’re dry, but once cooked, they lose their color and the presentation gets a bit unappealing and falls apart.

• 6/10

Spiciness:
Despite the curry label, this isn’t spicy. There’s turmeric, cumin, maybe some cinnamon, but nothing resembling heat. The 1 out of 10 for spiciness here is a bit generous for those of you with sensitive palates.

• 1/10

Overall:
This is better than the white miso version, which admittedly isn’t saying much, but it still falls short of being what I would consider “good.” The curry flavor is weak and reminds me of those bland supermarket curries from companies that clearly don’t specialize in curry. There’s no complexity, just a generic turmeric-forward soup base that smells stronger than it tastes. The noodles themselves are actually fine in terms of texture, but the way they clump together really drags down the eating experience. This whole product feels like it was designed to check dietary boxes, like “gluten-free” and “vegan,” but they forgot to focus on better taste. Still, it’s edible, and if you’re gluten-free and desperate for a curry noodle option, you could do worse. But for me, this isn’t something I’d ever buy again.

• 5/10