This is Samyang getting outside of their comfort zone. Samyang’s Tuigim Kalguksu is a cup of noodles from the company that won’t ulcerate. By Samyang standards, these noodles could be eaten by a newborn. Although, I still don’t recommend it! If you’ve got a tongue as sensitive as a youngling, these noodles will be one of the very few cups from Samyang made just for you. It features a rich, savory seafood broth that puts all but the best bowls of jjambbong to shame. This salty and savory oceanic flavor with fried bits like a school of sea turtles. That is… IF sea turtles actually school? Anyways, I think these noodles are great, minus those sea turtles, so here’s my honest opinion about this outlier of a cup from Samyang.
Flavor:
I didn’t think I would like the flavor of Tuigim Kalguksu too much, but I found the broth rather tasty. I’m just not a big fan of the little fried bits… Sometimes they tend to taste too much like the oil they were bathed in. This wasn’t the case this time. While there was still a bit of an oily aftertaste, these fried bits added some extra texture to this cup of noodles. The broth on the other hand was excellent. It was shrimp-y with a rich, salty seafood flavor. I can tell there’s plenty of MSG packed into these noodles, because my brain was ecstatic. The broth is every so spicy as well, which made the flavor that much better. The beef I had with these noodles was that the ingredients are all super tiny. There’s just nothing substantial other than noodles to bite down on. It’s the same story with all Samyang noodles really… I had trouble identifying the ingredients, so I think I found: tiny slices of laver (a.k.a. seaweed), spring onion, fried crumbles or nuggets, shrimp, sesame seeds, and some egg.
Spiciness:
What is this? Did Samyang actually make a cup of instant noodles that’s not spicy!? Someone better check the thermostat down in the underworld, because it must be getting pretty icy down there. These noodles are super mild. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some heat in these noodles, but I didn’t even break a sweat. That’s definitely a first for me with noodles from Samyang. It didn’t even warm my belly! There was a little bit of mouth heat from the red chili pepper powder. It helped to enhance the overall experience. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that 99% of people can handle this level of spiciness.
Smell:
Tuigim Kalguksu has the aroma of both Samyang’s buttery tasting ramen noodles and little fried bits. The fried crumble have their own unique fried, oily smell that reminds me of the floating fried pieces you get in a bowl of miso soup. Samyang’s noodles are always overpowering in both flavor and aroma. Again, they have their own unique buttery smell that is featured in almost every single cup of noodles they make. If you’ve had noodles from the Buldalk series, then you’ll know exactly how these smell and taste. Finally, the broth comes into play. You can smell the squid and other seafood bits (whatever they are) at the tail end of a good whiff.
Noodles:
These are basically the Samyang noodles you already know and probably love. They are thick, flat, and wavy. There’s no deviation in terms of noodles here. Samyang always seems to use the same noodles repeatedly. They taste like basic ramen, but have that Samyang buttery note. My noodles turned out to be a little soft and chewy, but they weren’t bad at all. There’s also a good amount of noodles in this cup, so you won’t go hungry!
Overall:
Yum… Shrimp-y! The seafood flavored broth is so rich and savory, it will have you coming back, bite after bite. Its delicious flavor along with a dash of red chili pepper powder, makes these noodles incredibly enjoyable. These can be enjoyed by virtually everyone. If you’re not into empty calories coming from little chunks of fried bits, these won’t be for you. However, if you’re a fan of these bits of fried goodness, you will like these noodles. What I like best about these noodles is that they deviate away from much of what Samyang is known for. Tuigim Kalguksu is something that is very different from the Buldalk Series. Best of all these noodles aren’t lethally spicy, so you can enjoy them without worrying about Day 2.
Do you love a shrimp-y broth? Should these noodles be lethally spicy like other products by Samyang? 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.
