Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
This year, we’ve got some new fiery additions to this list of spicy and burning hot varieties. If you can find them, you’ll be feeling quite the burn! If you think you’ve found anything hotter or noteworthy of being on this list, please comment below or send me an email. Without further adieu, here’s the 2013 picks for the spiciest instant noodles I’ve found after 1,128 reviews!
Cups were the second instant noodle innovation that really took the world by storm. Nissin founder Momofuku Ando of Japan decided that a cup would be a really handy way to have instant noodles on the go. His creation came to the market in 1971. Forty-two years later, the instant noodle landscape is filled with many different cup designs and contents – some all inclusive only needing hot water,m and some requiring a little more with packets – and some even with forks! Of all the varieties I’ve tried to date, here are my favorite ten.
This was sent to me by Kristina W. of Arizona – thank you! Jjajangmyun is basically a noodle that is coated in a black bean sauce. Let’s check it out!
A couple days ago, I was interviewed via Skype on NTD TV about the recent uproar over The Bottom Ten List as well as what I do. It was a lot of fun and I would like to thank NTD TV for this great opportunity! Thank you! Here’s a direct link to their site.
Here we go with the 28th edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!
In the last week, I’ve had a lot of traffic from upset Taiwanese that none of their country’s beloved instant noodles made the list. I saw videos like this one and then this angry one. I felt a video message would be appropriate, and here it is.
Another one from my March birthday trip to Canada. I tried to translate this one but no luck – the name I got from the distributor’s sticker, so if anyone knows for sure this is the wrong name, please let me know. Let’s check it out!
Found this one at Uwajimaya in Bellevue and thought it was worth a try. I do like Worcestershire sauce!
This is one you can probably find quite easily in a grocery store here in the United States. Let’s have a look.
Another from my trip to Canada for my birthday. Wow – what a past two days here! The Top Ten 2013 list came out to a clamor of Taiwanese disapproval – Taiwan didn’t make the list. But, hopefully out of it all I’ll get contacted by one of the companies in Taiwan, but so far nothing. On to other things though – that being this interesting bowl by Nongshim. This one’s made in Shanghai, China. Let’s check it out.
So these last two days have been crazy – so many people from Taiwan just coming in droves to the site and declaring their passion for the instant noodles of their country! You should be proud of yourselves; I’m never going to look at Taiwanese noodles the same again, that’s for sure! I’m sure I’ll be reviewing more very soon so keep your eyes on The Ramen Rater!
If you watch this from beginning to end, not only proven yourself a true fan of the instant noodle, but also seen pretty much every single instant noodle review and re-review I’ve ever done. Clocking in at an hour and forty-nine minutes, this is pretty heavy duty. Enjoy!
Yep – another one from my Canadian birthday trip! Let’s check this one out.
Export sticker (click image to enlarge).
Another one I got while in Canada for my birthday. I’m sure many folks will immediately ask ‘where did you get this’ and ‘where can I get it,’ and I’ll just say I’ve only seen this in Canada. See, they get stuff in the Vancouver area from not only the Nongshim plant here in the states but the one in Shanghai, China. Got a couple more coming down the pipe of reviews soon that hail from China. Let’s check this out!
One of the last that Joe & Gil from the UK sent a while back – thanks again! I like chow mein, but what’s ‘super’ chow mein? Let’s see!
Another from my trip to Canada on my birthday! Vegetable! Let’s check it out.
Back of the packaging (click image to enlarge). Says it contains wheat and soy and may contain trace amounts of egg, fish/shellfish, nuts and sulphites.
Here’s the last of the three product samples sent by the nice folks at Maruchan – thanks again! Spicy shrimp sounds good – let’s check it out.
Here’s one that the folks from God Of Patena sent – thanks! Very little English on here – searched and translated via UPC code and kept coming up with ‘chanpon’ over and over so I’m calling it that. Also found it called ‘champon’ too, but more often than not it was ‘chanpon.’ Most things show it as a seafood broth, but as you can see on the package, it looks like ham or smoked pork. I also saw mention that this was a borrowed noodle soup from Chinese culture; like jjamppong perhaps? Let’s check it out!
Time for some extremely spicy noodles! This is another one from eMart, makers of Dare You Habanero Ramyun. Dare You weighs in at 5,930SHU (Scoville Heat Units) – the hottest I’ve had thus far. This one’s 3,960SHU – not as fiery hot, but definitely not to be trifled with! Jjampong is a seafood soup. You ready?
Another one from my Canada trip! Needed something I could make quickly today so thought this would do the trick. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one found in Canada on my birthday trip there. I’ve had Sichuan flavors before and not a big fan, but I’ve been pretty happy with Wei Lih’s products in the past – looks interesting! Let’s check it out.
Here’s another one from my birthday trip to Canada in March! Let’s check ‘er out.
Check this sucker out – this is one huge Cup Noodle! Scott from Nissin got this one for me during a recent trip to Asia – thanks! Let’s see what’s going on here…
I reviewed the instant in a smaller pack quite a while ago. It’s got a few seasoning packets and this one only has one big packet. Definitely not instant as the instructions ask for an interesting preparation method. Let’s dig in!
Ealier this year, I got a call from Japan, asking if I would like to be interviewed for a TV show. I answered in the affirmative! They were interested in my Top Ten list, but something shorter. I picked three varietiesand did the interview via Skype. The guy interviewing me is Charles V. Lee. He told me he’s the most popular comedian in Japan. He’s originally from Oregon! So how the show works is a random topic is picked and a question is asked. Then they find someone who knows the answer and they interview them. The term ‘patena’ means random. With that, here’s the video!
I was on Japanese TV at the end of February! The folks there were very kind to send some ramen from Japan!
Got a call from the office at my apartment complex about a package…
Awesome! So Nongshim America had a contest around Easter on their Facebook Page and I was one of the winners!
The FedEx guy knocked on my window the other day with a package!
Holy cow – a flat of Neoguri and a flat of Chapagetti! I did a review of Chapaguri a couple weeks ago and to say thanks, they made sure I can make it whenever I like! Thanks!
A package from Scott A. over at Nissin Foods USA!
Scott recently traveled to Asia and brought some really neat varieties back for me! Notice that cup on the lower left? That’s a King Cup Noodle – it’s friggin’ huge! The trays on the right are a new line from Nissin Foods USA called Pan Asian Kitchen. Thanks!
Today is the last review of the Samyang Foods Meet The Manufacturer spotlight. Rest assured, there will definitely be more of their products reviewed in the future – I only do a maximum of 15 reviews in a row for a company during a Meet The Manufacturer and they sent more than 15, so lots of neat stuff coming! I want to thank Samyang Foods for their samples and everything else – really nice people!
So here in the US, this is simply called Assorted Vegetable – although I think the 60 Ingredients is definitely important. I’d love to know what all of the ingredients are… Let’s check this one out!
Most people who are keen on South Korean ramyun have heard of the craze for ‘white broth’ ramyuns. Nagasaki Jjampong was Samyang Foods’ entry into the white broth realm, but they made another variety – Nagasaki Crab Jjampong – that has a milder taste. Let’s check it out.
Well this one looks to be extremely spicy. Samyang Foods sent some instructions along as everything on the back of these packages are in Korean. Well, they also added a little advice:
Here’s Samyang Foods’ spicy beef ramyun bowl. Let’s give it a peek!
Close-up of the top (click image to enlarge).
Okay folks – here’s something I’ve never seen before. This is bajirak kalgugsu. I’ve had kalgugsu before, but this has a special ingredient: actual clams in shells! Here we go!
Okay so what’s Hot Chacharoni? Well, its a form of jjajangmyeon. What’s jjajangmyeon? Wheat noodles with a black bean sauce! Pretty much every South Korean instant noodle company has their own take on the popular dish, but this is the only one that I’m aware of that is spicy! Let’s check it out.
Here’s another of the HoMyeonDang private label varieties. This is a stir noodle – drain the noodles after cooking and add the sauce and stir. Let’s check it out.
First, I want to wish my wife a Happy Birthday! Love you! Well folks, here it is. This is the ramyun that started it all. Here’s an except from my interview with Samyang Foods about their first product:
This sure looks fancy! This is a premium private label variety made by Samyang Foods. HoMyeonDang is a restaurant in South Korea – here’s their website. They’re a organic noodle bar! Crab jjampong! Let’s check it out…
