I?m finally reviewing this juggernaut of the ramen scene! I?ve had Nongshim?s Shin Ramyun Noodle Soup in the past and just forgot about it. It?s not something I routinely stock but that may change. I got these at my friendly, local Asian grocery store.
So today I?m eating Shin Ramyun (or ramyeon) from Nongshim (Nongshim America, Inc. in this case). This is a Korean ramen that is very famous all over the world. Nongshim describes this as bold and spicy. Spicy indeed.
I was pleased to see that Nongshim gives us a circular noodle brick. Always a plus. They tout their noodles as soft and chewy and I can say they definitely are. I immediately noticed that they were a larger noodle than most and when the cooking instructions recommended a 4 1/2 minute cook time I knew they must be substantial. So we have the noodles, a packet of soup base, and a packet of ?vegetable mix? (dehydrated veggies).
If we take a look at the ingredients to see what the ?flavor? of these noodles actually is, we see that there is powdered beef bone extract, beef extract, beef fat, black pepper, red chili pepper, onion, mushroom, mushroom extract, and a bunch of other stuff. The vegetable mix contains bok choy, shiitake mushroom, carrot, green onion, and red chili pepper. So that?s kind of a diverse vegetable mix. Saying that this soup is a spicy beef flavor would be pretty spot on. The only thing adding spice here that I can identify is black pepper and red chili pepper.
I want to point out the nice addition to the cooking instructions. I?ve never seen this before on a ramen package but it has a noodle texture graphic, telling you that you should cook the noodles for 4 minutes for al dente texture, 4 1/2 minutes for medium, and 5 minutes for soft. Anyway, just thought it was cool.
It?s also cool that they have stove top and microwave instructions. Obviously this is not a ramen imported from South Korea and is manufactured and distributed by Nongshim America, Inc, so we don?t see anything we need to translate and it?s all just a lot more American-friendly.
I followed the instructions and boiled 550 ml of water, then added the noodles. I messed up here though. I wasn?t thinking and I did not add the flakes or the soup base until after the noodles were cooked. I know, rookie mistake. So I was a bit worried that the noodles would not get any of the taste of the broth, if that?s a thing. I always assume that if the water the noodles are cooking in has the soup base in it, they will absorb some of that seasoning. No idea if that?s how that works though. I let the flakes sit in the water for a bit to mostly rehydrate and the soup was still great, but I am a little disappointed in myself for messing that up.
The finished product
Pictures don?t do this one justice, much like a lot of instant ramen. The noodles are big and have a great texture. This is also a good bit of food. It seemed a bit more filling than some of the other instant ramen I?ve had. The broth is very flavorful; some might think it?s too salty but if you don?t like salt then why are you eating instant ramen? I kid, but this was like a very flavorful beef ramen with spice added. I seemed to remember this ramen being a lot more spicy the last time I had it. Maybe my tastes have changed but this was perfect. I can definitely recommend this as a more premium (despite this not being Shin Ramyun Black) instant noodle for purveyors to keep in stock in their pantry, as long as they are spice lovers.
Rating: 4/5
