In this review, I’m taking a look at Paldo Namja Ramyun, a Korean red chili and garlic soup with a very bold marketing campaign. “Namja” translates to “man,” and Paldo has leaned into that with a hilariously over-the-top commercial you can find if you search on YouTube. Thankfully, anyone can enjoy this soup regardless of how masculine they feel. I’ve had good luck with Paldo’s Premium Gomtang before, so I’m hoping this one would also deliver.
Read more: Noodle Journey Episode 21: Paldo Namja RamyunI originally picked this up in a big variety pack, but it’s also available as a 5-pack or bowl version from Amazon and Yamibuy. At the time of review, the price hovered around $10–$12 for a 5-pack. Sodium content comes in at 1,850 mg per serving (80% of your daily value), and it appears to be vegan based on the ingredient list, though check the packaging if that matters to you.
Noodles:
These noodles are chewy, satisfying, and clearly different from the ones Paldo uses in their Gomtang. They pair wonderfully with the aggressive broth and hold up well through cooking. I wouldn’t mind them being slightly thicker, but this is still a fantastic noodle texture.
• 9/10
Spiciness:
The chili hits hard and lingers, earning this the title of the spiciest Korean red soup I’ve reviewed so far. It stops just short of Buldak-level intensity but still brings serious heat. If you’re spice-averse, you might want to tame it with an egg or some cheese, or just seek out something milder to begin with.
• 7.5/10
Overall:
This is exactly what I want out of a Korean red soup: pepper and garlic, turned all the way up. The garlic aroma punches you in the face as soon as it starts cooking, and the flavor backs it up with sliced garlic, chili, and just enough mushroom to add some great umami depth. There’s no sweetness here that I detected despite the presence of corn syrup in the ingredient list. If anything, the only flavors getting drowned out are the carrots, and I don’t care. This is my new favorite spicy Korean ramyun.
• 10/10
Namja has officially dethroned Shin Ramyun as my go-to. If you love garlic and chili as much as I do, this one’s essential.
Notes since filming: Some people have said that the recipe for this one has changed since I reviewed it (for the worse), which makes me think an eventual re-review might be in order. This is hands-down my favorite shin-style soup that I’ve had despite the beef flavoring being artificial compared to real beef in Nongshim USA’s Shin, and while I kept up with buying Namja for a while after this review, it just made more sense to eventually go back to buying Shin more regularly since it was so much cheaper and easier to find in grocery stores. Still, when I’m running out of Shin (and Shin-adjacent varieties) and I happen to find myself in an Asian market, I grab myself a pack.
