Here’s all the noteworthy noodle news you may have missed in December 2025! We’ve got a ton of product announcements from Nongshim, a surprising new product line from Ramen Bae, a major Korean manufacturer entering the instant noodle space, a new Buldak flavor, and a new Buldak discontinuation. Read on for more!
Read more: Noodle News Roundup: December 2025Ramen Bae Debuts Protein+ Ramen
It seems like almost everyone is jumping on the high-protein ramen craze, but I admit I was surprised to see that Ramen Bae was doing it too. Shortly after last month’s news post went live, I saw an announcement from Ramen Bae that they were introducing five varieties of high-protein ramen products for immediate sale, which they are calling “Protein+ Ramen.” They’re currently selling three stir-fry flavors (Teriyaki Beef, Teriyaki Chicken, and “Shacha” Smoky Seafood) and two soup flavors (Chicken and Beef). The stir-fry varieties contain 28g of protein in each pack, while the soups have 21g each. I’ve already had a few people ask me if I’m going to review them, and the answer is: I would love to, but they’re very expensive and Ramen Bae didn’t respond to me the last time I reached out to introduce myself and ask for review samples (back around when their Ramen Hot Sauce came out). Currently, you can only get their ramen in 5-packs of the same variety for $28.50, a stir-fry-only variety 18-pack for $85.50, a soup-only variety 18-pack for $85.50, or a 30-pack for $142.50. There is, perplexingly and frustratingly, no way to just buy a sampler containing one of each flavor. And look, the YouTube channel makes a little money every month, but not enough to cover ordering any of the five-flavor bundles at their current prices. So, hey Ramen Bae! If you want to reach out to me to send some review samples, I’d be shamelessly delighted to accept them.
Buldak Stew Type Discontinued (Maybe)
Another fan-favorite Buldak flavor looks like it may have gotten the axe. Take this with a grain of salt, as always, since Buldak discontinuations seem to never truly take (people keep finding the discontinued Jjajang and Curry flavors months after they’ve supposedly stopped production), but it does seem like Buldak Stew has been removed from the Samyang website, and several people have reported on Reddit that it is now scarce and almost impossible to find. If it is indeed discontinued, that’s a shame, because it was a really great flavor.
Samyang Introduces Buldak Garlic Stew in Korea
There is a bit of a silver lining, however, if you’re upset about Buldak Stew being discontinued, because there now appears to be a new Garlic Stew Buldak flavor being sold in South Korea. While this variety doesn’t seem to be available outside of South Korea right now, it’s possible Garlic Stew is a replacement for Stew. I recall Stew being pretty garlicky already, so hopefully this flavor comes stateside so I can review it and see how it compares.
Bibigo Makes Ramyun Now!
While shopping in Target after Christmas, I happened upon some new products I hadn’t seen discussed anywhere else. Bibigo, a major Korean food manufacturer known for their dumplings, frozen meals, and snacks, is now selling a quartet of ramyun cups: Sweet & Savory KBBQ, Spicy Kimchi, Korean-Style Sweet & Spicy, and Extra Hot & Spicy. I am a big fan of Bibigo dumplings, so I’m expecting some good-quality ramyun from these flavors. I have two cups in-hand as I write this with the other two on the way, so I intend to review all four in the new year. I honestly don’t know if these just came out in December or it’s just that they had somehow slipped under my radar earlier this year, but either way, I’m always excited to see a new noodle maker, especially one with the established reputation of Bibigo.
Nongshim Announces New KPop Demon Hunters Cups
Back in the September news post, I talked about Nongshim’s KPop Demon Hunters tie-in products, which, aside from a new bottled Toomba sauce, were all just repackagings of existing Nongshim products with Demon Hunters characters printed on them. And while that was a little cool, it was disappointing that none of the Korean noodle companies were going to be reproducing the actual personalized ramyun cups eaten by Rumi, Zoey, and Mira at the beginning of the movie. But now, we finally have confirmation that Nongshim is making them! The cups were released for sale on December 10th in South Korea, and will be available in the USA in late January, 2026, with Australia and Canada to follow after. The flavors are Zoey’s Hamburger Ramyun, Mira’s Spicy Queen Ramyun, and Rumi’s Superstar Ramyun. Not only am I excited to try all of these, I’m also excited that maybe this will convince my kids to try finally some Korean noodles. As always, reviews will happen if I can find these cups, but I expect they’re going to sell out very quickly.
Nongshim Teases New 40th Anniversary Shin Flavor
In other Nongshim news, earlier in December, they posted a cryptic image to their social media, indicating a new Shin Ramyun flavor was coming for the brand’s 40th anniversary. Speculation was rampant until the disappointment set in, as the “new” flavor turned out to just be Shin Gold made for sale in South Korea. Possibly the most underwhelming Shin announcement in recent memory, if I’m being honest. Shin Gold and Shin Spicy Chicken have both been available for some time now, so this is kind of a popcorn-fart of an announcement, in my opinion. It turns out there was another new Shin flavor announced in November (that I missed) that sounds a bit more exciting: Shin Sweet & Spicy Kimchi Stir Fry. Now that one I’ll be happy to review.
Nongshim Announces Ramyun Chef
Yes, there is still more Nongshim news to close out the month of December. Last month, I mentioned that there were a ton of new products that had popped up on Nongshim’s USA website, and now we have an entire new product line that was just announced, called “Ramyun Chef.” Nongshim promises that this line is intended to consist of “global ramyun” with “authentic flavors,” which I am assuming based on the recipes means these are kind of ramyun fusion products. The current lineup is: Beef Bulgogi stir-fry, Creamy Garlic Chicken stir-fry (which might be a repackaging of Nongshim’s Sam’s Club-exclusive Creamy Chicken Stir Fry, but I’ll have to verify once I have it in-hand), Braised Beef, and Curry Chicken. While Beef Bulgogi is clearly a Korean recipe, the others seem to embrace the global fusion aspect a bit more. The Braised Beef flavor is a take on Taiwanese braised beef, Curry Chicken is a Japanese-style curry soup, and the Creamy Garlic Chicken is French-inspired. If you want to buy these, you can get them from Nongshim’s TikTok shop or from Amazon, although Amazon isn’t shipping them until early-to-mid January. I’ve already got mine on order, so there’s another mega-review planned for 2026!
