RAMEN~!!

Ottogi Ramen Bokki If you're a fan of tteokbokki (떡뽁이 - spicy rice cakes), then give this a try! Tteokbokki is one of, if not the most popular street foods of Korea. This ramen attempts to combine the sweet and spicy flavors of tteokbokki with ramen noodles. Contents (from top to bottom, left to right): Dried vegetables (green onions), sauce and noodles The noodles and vegetables are cooked in the container, using hot water and then drained through a spout in the lid. I only used about 3/4 of the sauce in the packet and it was still very flavorful. It isn't in the picture, but if you have some string cheese in your fridge, I highly recommend adding some of that too. It gives the ramen a nice saltiness and creaminess that goes well with the sweet-spiciness of the sauce. On the spiciness scale, this was a 5. It was comfortably spicy,  but not overpowering. Available at: Palama Supermarket

Paldo Premium Jjajangmyun If you like Jjajangmyun (짜장면 - black bean noodles), then this is totally the ramyun for you! I'm trying another instant jjajangmyun (black bean noodles), with this one proclaiming its "premium" status to buyers. Let's see how fancy it is. Contents (from left, top to bottom): Dried vegetables, Sauce packet (it looks so fancy), and Noodles (I accidentally broke the block when I dropped the package) The noodles are of the standard Korean ramen thickness and chewiness. They are once again cooked and then strained along with the dried vegetables (cabbage and peas). The sauce is already pre-made and contains onions, some sort of mystery meat, chewy bits of what seem to be bean curd, and potatoes, which came as a pleasant surprise. I suppose that this is where the "premium" part comes into play, as there are more ingredients in the sauce than you would normally find in other instant jjajangmyun. The finishe...

Nongshim Soon Veggie Noodle Soup If you're looking for something a little lighter but with a kick, give this a try! The Soon Veggie Ramen is considered one of the healthier, lighter options in Korean ramen. The broth is of the seafood-vegetable variety, and comes with a larger quantity of dried vegetables. Package contents (top to bottom, left to right): dried veggies (carrot, choi sum, green onion), soup base, noodles The noodles in this ramen are once again of the same chewiness and thickness of most of the ramen I've tried. Therefore, I think I'll just call them "standard noodles" from now on. The broth is very light seafood broth, and the additional vegetables from the second packet make it seem very healthy (which I think is what Nongshim was going for). Overall, this was a good ramen. The broth is not oily and has a lighter seafood flavor, but still packs enough heat to make you want to drink a glass of water at the end. Availab...

Pulmuone Spicy Beef Flavored Ramen Noodle Soup Starter (The name is so long.. -_-) If you like the flavor of beef, then this is the ramen for you. Contents (from left to right, top to bottom): Dried vegetables, Soup base and Noodles The noodles are wide and flat, one of the most common styles of noodles in instant ramen. They're very tender and chewy when cooked and due to their waviness, hold onto the flavor of the broth really well.  Dried vegetables (green onion, seaweed, carrot, pepper, shiitake mushroom) The sauce (Sorry, it looks kind of gross here.) This ramen is a little different in that the base comes as a paste instead of a powder. When I opened the packet, I was immediately hit with the smell of beef. The base is added to the pot with the noodles and vegetables. Overall, I liked this ramen. It's a nice change to have a beef-based broth as opposed to a seafood one (which is what I normally find when I buy ramen). The vegetables ...

Paldo Bibim Men (비빔면) If you don't like messing around with broth and enjoy spicy things, then give this a try! So, we're back with Paldo for the second week in a row. This ramen is meant to resemble Bibim Naengmyeon (비빔냉면), which is a cold spicy noodle dish that actually looks a lot like the finished product of this instant ramen. Contents (from left to right): Sauce and Noodles Cooked noodles The noodles in this ramyun are really thin, as they're supposed to resemble the buckwheat noodles used in naengmyeon. They're not as chewy as the noodles in the other ramyun I've tried, but they're extremely soft in texture and consistency. Similar to the Zha Wang ramyun, these noodles are strained and cooled after cooking and then mixed with the packet of sauce provided. The sauce As the package states, the sauce for this ramyun contains real apple juice. This style of dish normally contains pureed apple or asian pear, which adds a laye...

Paldo Cheese (치즈) Ramyun If you like cheese and are looking for something different, then this give this a try! The Paldo brand is known for the Bul Jjamppong (불짬뽕) Ramyun, Rabokki (라볶이 - a combination of ramyun and tteokbokki, also known as spicy rice cakes), and Bibimmyeon (비빔면). Contents (from left, top to bottom): Cheese powder, soup base, dried vegetables, and noodles. The soup base has a bit of heat to it, with a hint of a seafood-like flavor (once again, anchovies). The cheese powder (stirred in after cooking) adds a slightly salty and creaminess similar to eating Cheetos Puffs, but a little sweeter. The noodles in this one are similar in thickness and chewiness to the Nongshim Kimchi Ramyun, but I think this one takes a little longer to cook. They're still excellent quality noodles though, so no worries there. (I started eating and then remembered to take the picture, so there's only a small bowl this time.) Adding cheese to ramyun (particula...