Paldo Teumsae Ramen is a spicy, red peppery bowl of instant noodles packing that traditional South Korean spice. It’s a wildly unbalanced bowl of noodles that somehow finds a bit of harmony in the end. And… it’s not just the red pepper getting to my brain. Noodles + Fiery Broth does indeed equal something good enough to eat.
Flavor:
I find this bowl of instant ramen… tasty. It is reminiscent of the traditional Korean red pepper flavor, which increases its harmony with the other ingredients. It belongs with the beef broth and a subset of noodles. While the beef broth flavor is there, it is extremely faint. It is overpowered by the red pepper flavor. Unfortunately, the saltiness is also weak and lends to a cup of instant noodles that feels like it’s missing something. I just didn’t feel satisfied because of this.
Spiciness:
These noodles won’t be that spicy to veteran spice-lovers, but they might be too much for some. The spiciness was strong enough to make my mouth and throat tingle, while warming my stomach. The flavor of the spiciness is also different from that of the more artificially strengthened spice flavor found in popular instant ramen noodles like Buldalk. Like I mentioned above, it is more of a ground red pepper heat that has that unique, slightly bitter flavor to it.
Smell:
I think you’re probably getting the common theme found with these noodles. The smell is a sneezy, volcanic type of odor. I literally felt like sneezing the entire time I spent with this bowl of ramen.
Texture:
Teumsae Ramen includes instant ramen that is slightly thicker than average, but doesn’t hold up so well under the extreme heat of the fiery broth.
Overall Impression:
Paldo Teumsae Ramen is a soupy bowl of ramen for people who love spice. These noodles will make you sweat. The lack of saltiness remains a problem for me. I was craving a bite of kimchi with every bite. Sadly, kimchi was absent from my refrigerator while reviewing this ramen. Other than these key points, this is a fairly basic bowl of instant noodles.
What kind of spice do you enjoy? Do you like mouth hot? A spice that builds? 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.
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