Noodle Journey Episode 26: Snapdragon Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen

This review features my first-ever encounter with a Snapdragon product, a brand I wasn’t familiar with before spotting it at my local Acme. I paid $3.19 for this Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen cup, which is more than any other cup product I’ve reviewed so far. Snapdragon markets itself as delivering premium street food flavor, but this price tag is tough to justify unless it really delivers. This brand also offers other flavors like miso, curry, and pho in mainstream US grocery chains, and I’ve heard very good things about their pho in particular. Let’s see how this goes!

This cup contains 760 mg of sodium, which is surprisingly low, and the ingredient list features milk-derived components, non-dairy creamer, garlic, onion, soy sauce, artificial pork flavor, and yeast extract. Despite the porky branding, this appears to be vegetarian-friendly, but the real question is whether it brings any actual tonkotsu flavor.

Noodles:
The texture is on par with your standard cup noodles. They’re slightly chewy and serviceable, but nothing remarkable. They’re a bit rounded instead of flat, and they cook quickly in the microwave. They’re fine, very middle-of-the-road.
• 5/10

Spiciness:
The chili oil gives this a slight tingle, but it’s incredibly mild. We’re talking less heat than Tabasco. If you’re sensitive, you’ll be fine. If you want a kick, this won’t cut it.
• 2/10

Overall:
The garlic chili oil is the best part of this product, lending some richness and a nice oily mouthfeel to the broth. The thickened consistency from the non-dairy creamer is also pleasant, but that’s where the compliments end. The broth is underseasoned and surprisingly bland, with only faint hints of soy, onion, and sesame that barely register unless you catch a stray seed. The seasoning packet smelled rich and promising before adding water, but once microwaved, the flavor was disappointingly muted—like Snapdragon tried to stretch a small amount of seasoning across too much liquid. There’s nothing remotely tonkotsu-like about the final result. If this cost a dollar, it might be worth trying for the garlic oil alone, but at over three dollars, this is an absolute miss.
• 2/10

I have their miso ramen cup in my queue next, but unless I see a major improvement there, I won’t be rushing to try their other offerings. Still, if you’re watching your sodium, this could be one of the few options out there with such a low count. But as far as flavor goes, you’ve got much better choices for cheaper.

Notes since filming: One of the commenters on the original video said he found a way to make this taste good:

Honestly, I love the product. You’re completely right talking about the water level. I usually cook the noodles and veg pack in plain water first. Once noodles and veggies are done. I dump half the water out, then add in oil and pork packet. This helps intensify the flavor of the broth. Once you get the true flavor of the broth. You can kind of justify the price point.

So there you go. It seems there’s an unconventional way to make this taste better at the cost of some broth volume, but I’m not giving Snapdragon anymore money for this cup to experiment with it.