This one today is probably one of the more interesting varieties of the Nongshim countdown to episode 200 and it’s also taken the internet by storm recently. It is a product that requires a little bit of explanation if you haven’t heard of it: this is Nongshim Shin Ramyun Toomba Stir Fry.
On its surface you can probably look at this package and deduce what it is. The package says it’s spicy and creamy stir fry, but what the heck is the word “Toomba,” you might ask? And I’m glad you asked because there’s some interesting history there. The restaurant chain Outback Steakhouse has a creamy seafood pasta dish called Toowoomba Pasta which is kind of their version of a fettuccini alfredo with shrimp, crawfish, and mushrooms. Somehow within the last decade, that dish from Outback became kind of a viral sensation in South Korea, which led to lots of recipes where that Toowoomba style pasta was combined with Korean noodles and a little extra spice. From all that, we ended up with Toomba ramyun. So that’s what this is: it is Nongshim’s ramyun version of a Korean hack of Outback Steakhouse’s Toowoomba pasta.
I should mention that most people who’ve tried this seem to love it, but there is a not-insignificant chunk of people who think that this is a very poor knockoff of Buldak Carbonara. I’ll be sure to describe exactly what I’m tasting so you know if this is for you or not. I am a big fan of Buldak Carbonara and Cream Carbonara, so I will let you know how it compares to those flavors.
You can currently find this in Asian grocery stores across the United States in four-packs for $8 to $10, pretty much in line with the pricing of other premium Shin products like Black or Green. I don’t believe there’s anything substantially different in the recipes between the US and Korean versions.
I did a double take when I saw the sodium level in this because it is really unexpectedly low for an instant noodle pack: only 860 mg. That is really not bad in the instant noodle world at all.
Inside the pack we’ve got a block of noodles and two packets: one is a liquid sauce and the other is a seasoning powder. Between the two packets we’ve got powdered cream, beef bone extract, black pepper, powdered cheddar cheese, paprika, garlic, onion, MSG, mushroom powder, mustard powder, parsley, chili pepper, soy sauce, and tomato paste. There’s quite a combination of ingredients and they all sound really good.
There are two ways to prepare this on the back of the package and I wouldn’t be doing my job as a reviewer if I didn’t show you both methods and offer my opinion on which one I like more.
Nongshim Shin Ramyun Toomba (Method 1: 300ml Water Retained)
The Verdict:
| Product: | Nongshim Shin Ramyun Toomba (Method 1: 300mL Water Retained) |
| Origin: | South Korea (Manufactured in the USA) |
| Noodle Quality: | 9/10 |
| Spice Level: | 4/10 |
| Overall Score: | 9/10 |
The first cooking method is to boil these in 300mL of water for 3 1/2 minutes and then stir in both packets at the end. This gives you a little bit of starchy water left after the noodles are done absorbing what they’re going to absorb, enough to make the sauce. The liquid packet smells really good – super garlicky with sweet and umami elements. The seasoning powder is where all the cheese is. It smells like powdered cheese, but it doesn’t smell overly artificial.
It’s a little bit of a pain to get it all mixed together as the powder likes to cling to the sauce, but it makes a pretty creamy consistency and was not as watery as I was expecting. It smells incredibly good.
Noodles:
Nongshim’s noodles at 3 1/2 minutes have great consistency and great chewy texture. I really love the way these noodles turn out in a stir-fry sauce scenario rather than in a broth. They’re terrific.
• 9/10
Spiciness:
It’s got a zip to it, but I would call this the upper end of a mild heat or maybe the lower end of a medium heat. There’s cream and cheese in here to tone it down. It’s a very comfortable pleasant spice. And if we’re going to make the inevitable comparison to Buldak Carbonara: this is a much more spice-friendly option for those of you who can’t handle the heat of Buldak. It doesn’t really linger. It gets you in the back of the throat and then it goes away after a minute.
• 4/10
Overall:
Look, I haven’t had Outback Toowoomba pasta in probably a decade at this point (do they even still sell it in the US?), so I can’t say how faithful Toomba is to the recipe it is paying homage to, but I’m certain Toomba is spicier. But putting that comparison aside, this is just a really wonderful blend of cheesy creamy goodness with a very strong punch of garlic, some nice savory undertones, and then a little touch of sweetness from cream and what I think is probably gochujang paste. It’s a wonderful combination: cheesy, savory, sweet, garlicky. I don’t miss the sodium in this; it tastes terrific without needing extra salt or MSG. It kind of stinks not having any dried toppings in here; even a little pack of dried mushrooms would have probably put this at a perfect score. Everyone who says this is like a much less spicy version of Buldak Carbonara pretty much hit the nail on the head. It’s a little more garlicky than that, but flavor-wise it absolutely does remind me of that.
• 9/10
Nongshim Shin Ramyun Toomba (Method 2: 500mL Water Drained)
The Verdict:
| Product: | Nongshim Shin Ramyun Toomba (Method 2: Water Drained) |
| Origin: | South Korea (Manufactured in the USA) |
| Noodle Quality: | /10 |
| Spice Level: | /10 |
| Overall Score: | /10 |
For the second cooking method, you boil the noodles in 500mL of water, drain them completely, and then mix the powder and sauce in. The only water left is whatever was desperately clinging to the noodles. From a practical perspective, I don’t prefer this method just because it’s a little harder to get everything mixed up. Some spots are a little lighter than others. There is no sauce in the bottom; this is very much a dry noodle at this point.
Noodles:
Same great noodles as before. I undercooked them by 30 seconds compared to the last version, but I don’t think there’s any significant change in the texture or quality.
• 9/10
Spiciness:
Here’s where things change. You don’t have that creamy sauce tempering down the spice this time, and so the chili pepper in this is now coming at me with its full force. It is spicier now. Because the cream isn’t diluted in water, the spice is much more concentrated, putting this more into the medium spice category.
• 5/10
Overall:
Along with that concentrated spice, the flavor is also more concentrated. The thing that’s popping for me a little bit more this time might be the tomato; this has a slightly more acidic tangy vibe along with the garlic, cream, and cheese. I prefer the flavor in this method because it is more bold and vibrant. That first cooking method was no slouch whatsoever, but for me, this method is the better way to enjoy these noodles and get the maximum amount of flavor, even if you are sacrificing the more liquidy sauce from the first method. The only thing keeping either one of these from being a perfect 10 is the lack of a textural element. It really needs something like dried mushrooms or crunchy garlic to break up the monotony of the noodle texture.
• 9.5/10
Final Thoughts
To the handful of people I’ve seen on the internet who said “this flavor is just pretty mid”… are you okay? Who hurt you? This is one of the best examples of a creamy cheesy noodle that I’ve ever come across. It’s a very good Buldak Carbonara alternative because it’s not nearly as spicy, but it does have very similar flavor notes and texture.
