It’s summer right now (I wrote and reviewed this on the last day of July) and one thing that happens during the summer months is that South Korean brands put out their cold noodles. This one is a play on bibimbap – instead of rice, it’s noodles. Here’s a little about bibimbap from Wikipedia –
Bibimbap[2] (/ˈbiːbɪmbæp/BEE-bim-bap,[3] from Korean 비빔밥 [pi.bim.p͈ap̚], literally “mixed rice”), sometimes romanized as bi bim bap or bi bim bop, is a Korean rice dish. The term “bibim” means mixing various ingredients, while the “bap” noun refers to rice. Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) or kimchi (traditional fermented vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste), soy sauce, or doenjang (a fermented soybean paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The hot dish is stirred together thoroughly just before eating.[4]
The noodle version is served cold while the rice version is hot – and my favorite is served in a stone pot. The rice at the bottom is kind of crunchy and you pour a little tea in and it makes it’s own little rice soup which is nice. Let’s check out this, the noodle version called bibimmyun.
Samyang Foods Bibimmyun – South Korea
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, cook noodles 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The oodle block.
A wet sauce sachet.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added sliced egg, spring onion, carrot, cucumber, ham, and Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts. The noodles worked well with the sauce – thick and chewy. The sauce was spicy and sweet – very good and a nice accompaniment to hotter weather. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801073101449.
Two days in a row of varieties with long names! This one does NOT include noodles, however it’s topokki. What’s that? Wikipedia, if you please –
teok-bokki (떡볶이) or stir-fried rice cakes is a popular Korean food made from small-sized garae-tteok (long, white, cylinder-shaped rice cakes) called tteokmyeon (떡면; “rice cake noodles”) or commonly tteok-bokki-tteok(떡볶이 떡; “tteok-bokki rice cakes”).[1][2] Eomuk(fish cakes), boiled eggs, and scallions are some of the most commonly added ingredients. It can be seasoned with either spicy gochujang (chili paste) or non-spicy ganjang (soy sauce)-based sauce; the former being the most typical form,[3] while the latter is less common and sometimes called gungjung-tteok-bokki (royal court tteok-bokki).
Today, variations also include curry-tteok-bokki, cream sauce-tteok-bokki, jajang-tteok-bokki, seafood-tteok-bokki, galbi-tteok-bokki and so on. Tteok-bokki is commonly purchased and eaten at bunsikjip (snack bars) as well as pojangmacha (street stalls). There are also dedicated restaurants for tteok-bokki, where it is referred to as jeugseog tteok-bokki (impromptu tteok-bokki).
Curry topokki?! Oh man I’m missing out. These little rice tubes of deliciousness are just what the doctor ordered – let’s give it a try!
Samyang Foods Buldak Carbo HOT Chicken Flavor Topokki – South Korea
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add sauce, topokki, and hot water to the line. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes at 1000W with the lid on. Add in powder. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added baked chicken. spring onion, sesame seeds, and fried onion. The tteokbokki comes out very well – very satisfying. The carbo flavor is quite good – although came out soupy this go around. Nevertheless it’s very good. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801073910287.
My buddy Paul in Australia and I met when he mentioned this one on the facebook page. ‘Have you tried this?’ I found it at a local HMart – he tried the bowl version – I ound botht he pack and the bowl. It sounds good – I like kimchi a lot. I like how often they say real on the package – no dude, it’s real – it’s really really real.
Jongga Instant Noodle Kimchi Ramen Hot & Spicy Flavor – South Korea
Detail of the package (click to enlarge). Contains fish and crustaceans. To prepare, add everything to 400ml boiling water and cook 3 minutes. Finally, sir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet of soup base.
A wet sachet of kimchi.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added egg yolk (raw), Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, processed cheese, spring onion, and nanami togarashi. The noodles are good – nice chew to them and they have a thicker gauge than the average instant. The broth has a bright and tasty kimchi hit – not too spicy. The real kimchi is really real,son. However the downside of the whole thing is the bitter aftertaste. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801052053233.
Usually, this is a summer list, coming out late July or early August. No more. Why? A couple of reasons – first, I’ve been busy. The whole diet and exercise thing has kind of taken over my life – which is good and a pain at the same time. I do a LOT of walking – often 15 miles in a day. This takes a lot of time and so there’s that. The other reason is that I’ve heard many ask why this list doesn’t come later in the year when it’s colder.
I figure we’ve had a handful of days already dipping below 32F (0C) and so that’s a good qualifier for being cold. It’s just been hard to find time mainly but no more. Here’s the list in all of it’s glory – with a new #1 and a lot of burning behind it! I want to note that the top couple in this list are really hot and if you’ve never tried spicy stuff, you might want to give some others a try first – they really messed me up! Don’t hurt yourself!
One other thing to note – this year I’ve got not only a link to the review of each one on the list but nine of them have mukbang videos linked as well. Anyways, here’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2020 Edition!
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2020 Edition
Video Presentation
Watch as I go through The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2020 Edition list.f All Time 2020 Edition in detail!
Taihodien is a popular restaurant in Taiwan and apparently, they don’t know when to quit when it comes to Sichuan peppercorn. I mean really – this is so full of ’em that it will numb up your brain and buzz you in to next week! Original review
#9: Paldo Bulnak Bokkummyun Spicy Fried Noodle – South Korea
A spicy one to be sure and flavored with the sauce one would put on baby octopus! A twist on the spicy Korean chicken, this features thick chewy ramyun noodles and broth free form – sweet and spicy all the way. Mukbang – Original review
#8: Paldo Volcano Curry Kkokkomyun – South Korea
Another dry noodle from South Korea by Paldo. This doesn’t feature the curry flavor I would have expected; it’s kind of like it’s own rendition of curry which didn’t honestly make me really think of curry all that much. But it’s spicy – that’s definitely not in question. Mukbang – Original review
#7: Paldo Teumsae Ramen 9,413SHU Version – South Korea
I’ve ben trying to get this one for a very long time and the folks at Paldo finally sent me some – thanks! This one was very tasty and very hot, although I remember the first time I tried it many years ago and it blew my head off. These days it’s not too hot to handle for me, but it’s still plenty hot. Mukbang – Original review
#6: Liangchengmei 30S” Hot Bird Noodle – China
Thirty seconds to cook, featuring fresh noodles. This company is coming up with some really unique and delicious varieties which I thoroughly enjoy. This one is very reminiscent of another one on this list with a chicken. Mukbang – Original review
#5: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyeon – South Korea
While not the spiciest in their lineup, I find this to be the real baseline for the heatwave instant noodles have experienced in the past few years. This is the origination of the Fire Noodle Challenge – and it’s popular. I can get this at the local store even – and that’s really saying something to it’s popularity. Mukbang – Original review
#4: Mamee Shinsegae Ghost Pepper Spicy Chicken – Malaysia
Not the first time Malaysia’s been on this list that’s for sure, but the spiciest offering by far. Black noodles – that’s all I’ve got to say. Ominous and lethal! Mukbang – Original review
#3: Samyang Foods Buldak Mini – South Korea
The absolutely hottest Samyang Buldak variety yet. In this video I have it wrong – this is almost 2.75x spicy. What I liked about it was that the noodle block was smaller, so doing a mukbang wasn’t such a gut-filling fiesta. Would like to see an extra challenging one though – 20,000 next time! Mukbang – Original review
The only variety I’ve NOT been able to conquer. Fail. Twice. First off, I think these taste awful outside of the violent spiciness; like burnt plastic curry. What’s rough is that this calls for 700ml water which I believe is the top end of any instant I’ve had. Not only that, you’d think that would dilute to the point of almost bland but it most certainly does not. I managed 1/4 to a 1/3 each time of trying this. The sheer size of the bowl plays a psychological game with you. It’s mean. Mukbang – Original review
#1: Culley’s World’s Hottest Ramen – New Zealand
This was hard. The only reason I was able to finish it was because of the size. I think that’s why many people have conquered this one. There are some issues with the directions on this one and I think they could be changed without effecting flavor/heat level. Basically, cook the noodles, drain, add in boiling water and sachets and stir. This was conquering the worm for me. I pounded it and then it pounded me. Eight hours of capsaicin cramping – oh so bad. Felt like an alien was going to pierce its way out of my stomach – no joke. Plus I went through a phase where I was tingling all over, slightly numb, and kind of cold. I either went into or teetered on the edge of being in shock – endorphin land to be sure. Mukbang – Original Review
#1 vs. #2: Comparing Two Ultra Spicy Monsters
Okay so these are both violently hot, but there are a couple big differences that make them very hard for me to pit head to head. The 18 Prohibited is downright huge – it’s a big portion. The Culley’s is quite manageable where size is concerned. So, that raises a couple of questions.
If the 18 Prohibited were the same size of the Culley’s, would I be able to eat it all? Yeah – just like the Culley’s I would have been able to just plow through it. If the Culley’s were the same size as the 18 Prohibited? Oh God no – nobody could. So, I went with the one that seemed hotter to me. Like I said above, the 18 Prohibited has a bit of a psychological game it plays just from the size of the beast, whereas it’s quite possible to finish the Culley’s before the full build of heat has even unleashed.
Another gauge is the pepper used itself. The 18 Prohibited uses Bhut Jolokia and the Culley’s Carolina Reaper. One could simply search Wikipedia for SHU levels of each variety, but that doesn’t fly since the exact quantity of each would need to be taken into account; I could make a little meat pie with Carolina Reaper mash that has a very high SHU, but if I use an eyedrop worth or a half cup is what’s going to decide the heat really.
In the end, I went with the one that ended up having the most effect on me, and that was the Culley’s. I didn’t eat the whole 18 Prohibited, but I’m kind of guessing I would not have been able to keep all of that one down, and definitely couldn’t these days what with my diet and exercise regimen really changing how I can tolerate not only the sheer heat but such a straight carb slam like these.
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add 80ml water to the line in the cup. Add noodles, veggies, and seasoning. Microwave for 3 and a half minutes. To prepare on the stove (how I’ll be doing it) Add 160ml water to a pot and boil. Add noodles and cook for a minute and a half. Add veggies and seasoning, stir in, and cook an additional minute and a half.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion and sesame seeds. The noodles are great – working with the sloppiness of the sauce – tteokbokki also was the same. Sauce was interesting – like a sweet and spicy tteokbokki sauce with notes of black bean. Delightful – first one I’ve eaten that wasn’t a mukbang in a while. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8809061679017.
I thought to continue this series of Prison Ramen Burrito Recipes that you couldn’t get in prison since you can’t get these varieties, the next logical step would involve Shin Ramen/Ramyun. I ended up with the standard Shin Ramen as well as Shin Black in this one. It ended up being an enormous monstrosity!
By the way – if you’re not familiar with my show, it’s on YouTube and for over a year, a new episode has come out every single day (well there was that one time where I pushed the wrong button but we won’t get into that). Join the regular commenters and say hi! I’m always happy to answer questions! Also, check out www.thechocolatebreak.com – my wife and I review chocolate as well.
Shin Ramen Burrito Prison Recipe – Instant Noodle Recipe Time – EP 457
Finished (click to enlarge). Okay so a lot going on here. Korean Chee-tos, Korean Spicy Sun Chips, Shin Ramyun, Shin Black, raw egg, gochujang, sesame seeds, spring onion – it’s pretty hardcore. You can do this! It’s really easy – just watch the video! Enjoy!
I’ve been wanting to try this one for a great while. Happily, they were sent along by my new contact at Paldo! Thank you very much! This one screams mukbang to me but as some of you might know already, mukbang is something that’s getting harder and harder for me these days. I used to eat a LOT mre, and now I exercise and my diet is much more regulated. To put it bluntly, scarfing down a big block of carbs is easy when you do it more often than I do now.But of course, I’ll give it a shot.
I think this one will definitely test my spice handling; that’s another thing I haven’t done a lot of recently. Handling spicy foods seems like it’s kind of like a muscle – if you don’t exercise it at all it gets weak. Let’s give these a try!
Paldo Teumsae Ramen (9,413 SHU) – South Korea
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, boil noodles and sachet contents in 500ml water for 3~4 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet of soup base.
A dry sachet of vegetables.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, egg, beef sauteed in soy sauce, narutomaki, spring onion, and sesame seeds. The noodles are thick and luxuriant as always. Thicker than your average instant gauge, a hallmark of Korean noodle variants. The broth has a strong spiciness which isn’t for the casual spicy fan but for those who crave strong heat. Good flavor. Vegetable bits did well. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801128508858.
So I’ve been getting a lot of neat samples from Paldo South Korea lately! This one’s a box with less export kind of things and more local styled varieties. Let’s check it out!
Paldo Local South Korean Instant Ramen Noodle Varieties
Here’s another one I found over at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. This new O’Taste brand seems to be cropping up a lot lately. It’s interesting as it’s not exactly a Nongshim variety, but it’s Taekyung Food & Processing, and I’m unsure exactly how they fit in with the Nongshim corporate structure. Maybe I should find out.
Anyways, this isn’t the first Pho I’ve seen from a South Korean company. Nongshim’s Farmer’s Heart range (Farmer’s Heart is a translation of Nongshim) has one. Let’s give it a try!
O’Taste Pho Rice Noodle HOT – South Korea
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare, add everything to the cup and boiling water to the fill line. Cover for 4 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added pork, star anise, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, red pepper flake, coriander, and sesame seeds. The rice noodles hydrated perfectly with a soft tooth that worked magnificently with the broth. Broth had all the hallmarks of pho and was believable. Impressed as I’ve never found an instant pho I truly enjoyed. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8809061676429.
Found this one yesterday at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. So it had a sticker on the side which pulled a bit off but I can still make out the cooking instructions from what’s left. The sticker mentioned ‘Korean pasta’ which I found compelling. This is sujebi – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say –
Sujebi[1] (수제비, in S. Korea), ttŭdŏ-guk (뜨더국, in N. Korea), or hand-pulled dough soup[1], or Korean-Style Pasta Soup, is a Korean traditional soup consisting of dough flakes roughly torn by hand, with various vegetables. The flavor and recipe resemble kalguksu, except that the latter is made with noodles rather than wheat flakes. It is commonly considered a dish to consume on rainy days, along with bindaetteok.
The broth for sujebi is usually made with dried anchovies, shellfish, and kelp. In order to obtain a rich, umami flavor, the ingredients should be simmered for many hours. Added to this broth are soft noodles and various vegetables or kimchi, most often zucchini and potatoes.
Korean people began to eat sujebi and guksu (국수 noodles), both dishes made of wheat flour, from the early Goryeo period (935~1392), but the name sujebi (earlier sujeop-eo) dates from the mid Joseon period. Sujeop-eo is a combined hanja word comprising the terms su (hanja: 手; hangul: 수; literally “hand”) and jeop (hanja: 摺; hangul: 접어 or 접다; literally “folded” or “folding”).
From the Joseon period, people started making various types of sujeobi according to various purposes. Sujebi is today considered a typical commoner’s food, but in the past, it was relatively rare and used for special occasions especially janchi (잔치; feast, banquet) such as dol janchi (the celebration of a baby’s first birthday).
In North Korea, sujebi is called milgaru ddeudeo guk (밀가루뜨더국), which is the words comprising three words: milgaru (밀가루; literally “wheat flour”) + ddeudeo (뜯어; literally “tearing” or “torn”) guk (국; literally “soup”).
The names of sujebi vary according to regions in Korea. [2]
This sounds really interesting. The package mentions this is a seafood flavor and shows some shrimp there. Let’s give it a go!
Chil Kab Farm Products Spicy Sujebi – Seafood Flavor – South Korea
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Unsure whether this contains seafood or meat – check for yourself. To prepare, add boiling water to fill line and cover for 4 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Pasta reminded me of shells in a way. They were definitely chewier and pretty good mouthfeel. Broth was spicy with a very strong shellfish taste to it. Vegeteables were oft found and of interesting character. 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801759016616.
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