This featherweight cup of instant noodles from Nongshim has a few surprises, some good and some bad. I always like to start with the bad news first, so allow me to explain. It might not be a deal breaker for many of you, but the name of this ramen is misleading. Ssal-guksu is the Korean word for “rice noodles” and these definitely aren’t those. In the ingredients, Nongshim lists potato starch along with the rice for the noodles. Now, I’m not a food engineer, but I’m not sure you can still call these rice noodles if you include potatoes. The noodles are still great, but the experience will be less than authentic if you were looking for it. The good news is there are some surprise, tiny landmines of sliced red chili peppers dotted throughout the chicken broth. These exploded in your mouth when you least expect it. Don’t like spicy noodles? Well, the broth isn’t spicy, but man… those sneaky little slices of chili peppers can do some damage. Wait… was that good news or more bad news?
Flavor:
This is a very mild and forgiving tasting cup of noodles, other than the red chili pepper bombs strategically placed throughout the broth. The taste is simple. Most of the flavor comes from the chicken stock and the heat from the red chili pepper slices. Compared to other instant noodles, the taste is significantly less salty. There was a generous amount of chicken added to these noodles, which was great. The other ingredients I found were: the slices of red chili pepper, spring onion, carrot, onion, and some tiny triangles of egg. The broth tasted pretty good and I found its warmth comforting on an autumn’s day.
Spiciness:
Watch out for Nongshim’s Rice Noodles! The broth that consists mostly of chicken stock isn’t spicy at all, but if you’re unlucky enough to accidently snack on some of the slices of red chili peppers, you’re going to feel the heat. The Korean red chili peppers add a bit of flavor and surprise to the overall cup of noodles that I wasn’t expecting. Other than this, the noodles are mild.
Smell:
Disgusting… I actually really disliked the smell of these noodles. I don’t know what the problem is exactly, but they smell unappetizing to me. It’s hard to describe, but Rice Noodles has an unnatural oniony odor. It’s kind of like a sour, stinky sock smell. I could also smell the aroma of the chicken broth with an extremely light smell of “rice noodles.”
Noodles:
Here’s where things get interesting… Can you call a cup of noodles, “Rice Noodles,” if you also use potato starch in them? Maybe “Potato and Rice Noodles” would be a little more accurate. Shame on Nongshim for the deceptive practices here. If you need more stability in your noodles and have to use other forms of starch, then call them something entirely different. The noodles took a bit longer to cook than other cups of instant noodles (1 to 2 minutes more for 5 minutes total). The noodles came out okay. They were very chewy, almost like eating rice cakes that were shaped like noodles.
Overall:
Nongshim’s Rice Noodles don’t smell great, but if you can make it past the odor, you might enjoy these noodles. The broth is gentle and tasty, which is good if you’re eating these to soothe an upset stomach. Although, you’re going to have to pick out the red chili pepper slices to save your belly. At least chili peppers are high in vitamin C! There’s quite a bit of chicken in the cup that you can actually taste too. However, the use of potato starch still bothers me a bit. Are these rice noodles (Ssal-guksu)? Really?
What do you think a better name for this cup of noodles would be? Are rice noodles still rice, if you add potato starch? Let me know in the comments!
If you’re interested in hearing more about instant ramen, check out my on-going series, Noodle Story: An Exploration of Korean Instant Noodles, here on Medium.
