Noodle Journey Episode 140: The Han Kitchen Gomtang Ramyun

The Han Kitchen Gomtang Ramyun is a milky beef bone soup with thick, chewy Korean noodles. I’m starting a trilogy of reviews from this relative newcomer to American markets because I want these on the books as they start popping up in more places. It’s been a long time since the Paldo Premium Gomtang review back in Episode 6, so this is a good chance to see how another take on gomtang measures up.

These cost me $5.99 each for a four-pack on Yamibuy, which is in line with other Korean noodle companies, and they’re also available in Asian markets. The Han Kitchen is a brand owned by an Australian company called ByAsia; these instant packs appear to be manufactured in South Korea for ByAsia and then exported. In addition to this and two other Korean ramyun flavors, they also sell dried organic noodles and have announced bowl products and other styles.

Sodium is 2,170 mg (about 95% of your daily allowance). Inside the pack: a block of thick yellow ramen noodles made from wheat and potato starch and fortified with salt, onion oil, and garlic oil; a powdered soup base (not liquid) with beef bone extract, vegetable/non-dairy creamer, green onion, black pepper, and red pepper; and a seasoning oil that is beef fat.

As I was preparing this, the light, milky color and consistency looked like the package, and the onion/garlic smell seems to come from the vegetable creamer, since those extracts aren’t listed elsewhere on the packet.

Noodles:
Thick, chewy, and flavorful with a very good texture. I might boil them 4 minutes next time instead of 4½ since they’re a little more yielding than I like, but the quality is excellent, right up there with other Korean manufacturers.
• 8/10

Spiciness:
There’s visible black pepper, and red pepper is listed on the package, but I don’t see pieces of red pepper in the bowl. This is really completely mild, but for anyone extremely sensitive to pepper, a cautious nonzero score is warranted.
• 0.5/10

Overall:
The light, milky consistency pairs with a flavor profile that’s beefy, salty, and creamy with good balance. I get onion and garlic for sure, plus some other background seasonings I can’t quite isolate. The green onion bits are fine, nothing to write home about, but I’m glad they’re here (I’ll add my own after). The sodium level is no joke; it comes off saltier than the Paldo version, but I think that actually helps the flavor here. Altogether, this has really nice quality noodles and a flavorful broth with a good consistency. It’s a perfect base to add things to, and I like it just a bit more than the Paldo version.
• 7.5/10