Instant Noodles Lovin

Today I thought I'd dedicate my post for something very special to me.
INSTANT NOODLES.
I'm talking about KOREAN instant noodles. They are just FANTASTIC.

In Korea, Instant noodles are a national item, and its high popularity for many years makes it so famous in other countries as well (this is starting to sound like a casual essay).
It is an iconic representation of unhealthy junk, cheap substitute meal and also, maybe, loneliness = =
it's like a cultural thing i guess.. its a cultural belief that many busy university students, poor couples, businessmen and unemployed who all live a lone. Well, its not exactly false...

Korean noodles (ramyun 라면) are different from Japanese ramen. Korean noodles generally tend to be spicy... while japanese ramen have many different flavors like beef, miso, etc.
Since I'm korean and I grew up with the korean version of instant noodles, i have a PASSION for them. Actually about 10 minutes ago I had one.

By the end of this blog (if you want to read the whole thing), you would be as knowledgable as me... in the instant noodles category.

SO I think I will go on to review different brands of instant noodles that I have tried many times so far.

This is Shin Ramyun (신라면) and this is one of the most (and I emphasize.. MOST) popular ramyun in the country. this is also my personal favourite. the noodles cook and taste GREAT and the soup is also amazing. Once you try this one, you woulnt' really want to eat others. This one is great with egg cracked in (but DONT pop the yolk), minced garlic and sliced spring onions.

This one is called neoguri (너구리 pronounced like nuh-goo-ri) which literally means raccoon. No raccoons added though, its just the name. The noodle for this one is relatively thicker than any other brands, and people jokingly call this 'udon' because of the thick noodles. The soup has a gentle flavor, so its great for people who cant handle spicyness.

This is just an average instant noodle called sam-yang ramyun (삼양라면) and this one is one of the most celebrity endorsed products. Despite its advertising, the taste is average and nothing really stands out. This is for people who don't really want to risk anything.. Eat this with some nice 'ripe' kimchi and it will taste great.. just like you would with any other ramyun. Koreans eat ramyun with kimchi a lot. im not really a fan of doing that but it tastes good. People also put rice in the soup and eat it when they finish noodles.

This one is called an-seong-tang-myun (안성탕면 pronounced ahn-sung-tahng-myun) and this is also very delicious. It is not that spicy, but it tastes great and this one is one of my staple choices. for this one, you can put an egg in but you can either pop the yolk or just leave it, tastes great both ways.

This one is called teumsae ramyun (틈새라면 pronounced tum-seh-ramyun) and this is omgso spicy. I had this one today and it is SOOOOOOO spicy. do not underestimate. i wouldnt say it is delicious, although I enjoy spicy food. This is just.. overly done. The soup powder contains wayy too much chilli powder i think. people enjoy this one coz its SO spicy but if you cant handle spicyness do NOT go for this one! It will really burn your mouth! and dont eat this with kimchi. 

This one is called Jin ramyun (진라면) and this is another very popular and common one. I had this a lot when i was little, but not so much now. This one comes in many flavours, the one pictured above is the spicy one :). Eat this one with kimchi and egg with its yolk popped and stirred inthe soup to make the thick mess.. it may sound gross but it tastes fucking super that way.

Although more types exists and I have tried a lot, I only mentioned the most popular and well known ones because if i dont, i could go on forever. There are many different flavours to these ones like kimchi ramyun and stuff which I havent really tried yet.

Many other foods have been invented with these lovelies 

Snacks:

You first open the packet, put the powder flavour in, Smash the noodles into pieces and shake so the flavour spreads evenly. You eat this one raw and it comes in diff flavours like BBQ, beef, chicken, ddeokbokggi, etc.

You just pop this in your mouth These are bite sized and round (sometimes have star shapes) and comes in 3 flavours as far as I know. The mild one (pictured above), pizza and black bean sauce. I like the mild ones the best.

Cuisine:

부대찌개 basically stuff everything you want in with those babies.

치즈라볶이 yeah its ddeokbokggi with ramyun.. with cheese. sounds gross but tastes good! a very popular dish hehe

짬뽕라면 is okay

라볶이 the thing above with cheese but without the cheese!!

and so on. People put in pieces of seaweed, sesame seeds, egg, ham, rice cakes, kimchi, beef, mushrooms, garlic, springonions, carrots, cabbages, onions, mussels, etc when cooking them but i like the simple original. After you eat them, you feel regret because you just ate something really unhealthy and you feel super bloated but that is all part of the fun.

YUM!!!!!

oh and I recommend Miso ramen for those who wants to try out japanese instant noodles. they are fantastic.