Are Buldak spicy noodles any good?

For many people, instant noodles are as much a dietary staple as are Oreo cookies, Mountain Dew, and bags of Doritos. It’s hard to imagine a food pantry without them.

With so little time and energy needed to prepare raw ingredients, consumers will always be drawn to foods that are pre-packaged and easy to make. Instant noodles are designed with this in mind. Just boil them in water, stir in the sauce pack, and slurp ‘em down.

Whenever we hear of instant noodles, though, we’re reminded of the orange and yellow packaging of Chicken Ramen noodles from Maruchan. These were one of the first meals we made for ourselves after moving out of our parent’s home. And we made them proudly.

But there is another instant ramen product on the market that’s gained a lot of attention in recent years that you need to know about: Buldak spicy noodles from Samyang Foods.

A package of Buldak spicy noodles from Samyang Foods

What are Buldak spicy noodles?

Buldak noodles are a very spicy instant ramen noodle made by the South Korean company Samyang Foods. The original flavor, marketed as Buldak-bokkeum-myeon (불닭볶음면) or Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen, was introduced in 2012 and quickly became known as the “fire noodle” because of its hot spice seasoning.

The original flavor was derived from a popular Korean deep fried, bite-sized chicken dish that was served with a particular hot sauce made out of chili powder, chili paste, soy sauce, starch syrup, garlic, and ginger.

In the years that followed, Samyang Foods released several variations to the original Buldak flavor to keep up with the growing demand and to keep customers interested in the product. These flavor variations include such things as cheese, corn, curry, kimchi, and many more.

Buldak hot chicken noodles and sauce packets

The noodles are sold in different sized packages, like the standard polypropylene package, sold in packs of 5. A “big bowl” version sold in cardboard bowl to make the ramen on-the-go without the kitchenware. And a smaller cup-sized version is sold to enjoy the noodles as a quick snack.

Why are Buldak noodles so popular?

People love to challenge themselves. Whether it’s pouring a bucket of ice over their head, sticking a Tide Pod in their mouth, or licking a toilet seat.

People want to feel triumphant, part of the crowd, and not left out. We want to experience life to its fullest. It doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not.

When we watch YouTubers challenging each other to eat a bowl of super spicy noodles as fast as possible, we feel compelled to do the same. This is how Buldak noodles became so popular.

Through the power of viral marketing, social media is the surest way for a product to be known by the masses. It’s every business’s wet dream. In what’s become known as the “fire noodle challenge,” people are recording themselves eating Buldak spicy noodles and posting the results on YouTube.

The hosts are seen gasping for air, fanning their mouth, choking down water, even crying after eating a mouthful of the original Buldak noodle and its spicier 2X and 3X variants. The spice in Buldak noodles is its most defining characteristic.

Buldak instant noodles cook quickly, which is great for those dependent on convenience

Buldak Noodle Spice Level 🔥🔥

Food spice can be measured by the number of times the capsaicin needs to be diluted by sugar-water before it’s no longer detected. This is represented in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The larger the number, the more capsaicin is present and the spicier the food.

A jalapeno pepper, for example, can range between 2,500 and 5,000 SHU while a Carolina Reaper pepper can reach 2,200,000 SHU.

Below is a table containing the different Buldak noodle flavors and their corresponding SHU levels.

Do Buldak spicy noodles taste good?

How we experience food is often a subjective experience. How we describe taste and smell are sometimes very different when it comes to food. But does the Hot Chicken Flavor taste like hot chicken? If you think really hard of chicken while eating it… yea, probably. Otherwise, no, not really.

The base Buldak spicy flavor is hard to describe as being chicken. It’s heavy on the chili and pepper powder, salt, MSG, and something that’s meant to taste like chicken, but it’s hard to tell.

The noodles also have a hint of sweet, but it’s overpowered by a greasy oil texture that leaves your dishes filthy. To give the flavor a rating, let’s say 3 out of 5 stars. There are definitely better tasting noodles out there, instant and otherwise.

That said, Samyang wouldn’t continue making Buldak noodles if people didn’t like eating them. Year after year, the company continues to post record sales as more and more people discover their product. But you have to wonder if people are more swayed by the spice than the appetizing flavor.

Fans of spicy foods will love Buldak spicy noodles. If you don’t like spice, you will not like Buldak fire noodles.

Are Buldak instant noodles bad for you?

Instant noodles get a lot of flack for the added preservatives, salt, and the shortage of nutrients, but so what? It’s not like we eat them every day. Or maybe we do. But are Buldak spicy noodles really all that bad for you? Well, that depends.

The original Buldak instant noodles and its seasonings contain:

• 1,630mg of sodium. This is excessive. Diets high in sodium can lead to higher blood pressure, heart disease, stomach cancer, and a plethora of other health-related problems.
• Unnecessary oil. Instant noodles are flash-fried before packaging, adding unnecessary oil and fat. Higher quality noodles are made without the use of oil.
• High fructose corn syrup. Added as a sweetener to the sauce packet. Like most added sweeteners, increases the risk of fatty liver disease, obesity, weight gain, diabetes, and other serious diseases.
• Artificial flavors. Can lead to poor gut health, digestive problems, and weight gain. It’s always better to stick with natural and unprocessed foods as much as possible.

Whenever someone asks you if a product is healthy or not, just read the ingredient list. If you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce the ingredient, it’s probably not something you want to be putting into your body.

But of all the things we shove down our gullet, instant ramen is not the worst thing in the world. With a broad understanding of food, we cannot label Buldak noodles as unhealthy, but we really can’t say they’re healthy either.

If we ate instant noodles at every meal, yea, we’d have problems. Contaminates, like those listed above, accumulate in the body over time, preventing it from functioning correctly. Limit your intake of instant noodles to once or twice a week and you’ll be fine.

Adding a few vegetables like broccoli and lima beans can add nutritional value to instant noodles

You can also improve the nutritional value of instant noodles by only using half the sauce packet and by adding vegetables and tofu. Dump in some frozen vegetables as you’re cooking the noodles. This is simple to do and greatly improves the nutritional value of the meal.

Summary

For those wanting an instant noodle with a ton of spice, Buldak spicy noodles from Samyang Foods are a quick and easy way to satisfy your cravings. They come in a range of flavor and spice levels to prevent your food palate from becoming bored.

Buldak Spicy Noodles

The world's best selling Korean spicy noodle. Set your mouth on fire today!

Buy on Amazon

If you’re unsure about what flavor to get, Amazon sellers offer Buldak ramen variety packs so you can taste test a few different options at once.

If you don’t love spicy food, maybe look elsewhere. But if you’re a person who loves the heat, Buldak spicy noodles are one of the most popular options on the market!