Nongshim’s Yukgaejang Instant Noodles are a ruthlessly deceiving classic that somehow have yet to be thrown to the curb. You’re probably wondering how these noodles could be deceiving… The name implies that there should be some flavor of meat (Yuk — meat). However, after tasting these naughty noodles, I only really ever tasted notes of seafood. Have my taste buds gone sour? Have I scorched my tongue with Hot Chicken Flavored Ramen to the point of no return? Why, oh, why have the Ramen Gods forsaken my MSG-laden soul…? We may never know…
Flavor:
Because this package of instant noodles has been crafted after a traditional dish, it must be an instant classic, I guess? Forget about flavor accuracy. It’s ok to just write the name of the traditional dish on the package instead… Very disappointing…
For me, the broth taste more like a seafood-based broth than a meat one. They didn’t even add any chunks of meat to ramen either. It mostly consisted of the eomuk (fried minced fish) and pa (scallions). The soup is rather light. The broth isn’t very salty, which could be either good or bad and, strangely, not spicy at all.
Spiciness:
Traditional yukgaejang might be a challenge for some people with weak tongues and stomachs, but this is definitely not the case with this instant ramen ripoff. I think most children would be perfectly peachy with this level of heat.
Smell:
The odor given off by these noodles is nothing special. It either smells like your basic instant ramen or like the first opening of a bag of Korean, flavored potato chips. How’s that for being specific?
Texture:
These noodles are rail thin. They are almost thread-like when compared to other styles of instant noodles. If cooking speed is important to you, these noodles will give you +1 to productivity. The cooking time is only 2 minutes, which explains a lot. Even when cooking these noodles for this short of time, they came out incredibly soft and did not hold up long against the broth.
Overall Impression:
It’s a bit of a shame these noodles fell so far short of a beautiful traditional Korean dish. I’m not really even sure they should be allowed to call these noodles anything other than “ramen” or “instant noodles.” The inaccuracies of Nongshim’s Yukgaejang aside, these noodles are thin, light, and very, very basic. Honestly, that’s everything I have to say about these noodles!
Are you guys tasting seafood in this instant version of Yukgaejang? Or, did I just eat something funky that threw off my taste buds? Let me know down in the comments below!
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.
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