Chefs Eunjo Park, Douglas Kim, and Toshiaki Kondo are used to thinking outside the box when it comes to cooking; however, today on Epicurious we’ve asked them to give us their unfiltered, honest reviews of some prominent instant ramen brands found on supermarket shelves. Which noodles pack the most bang for your budget, and which should you avoid at all costs?
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00:00We've gathered three professional chefs
00:02to blind taste test every instant ramen brand
00:04we could get our hands on
00:06to see which ones meet their standards.
00:15Nissin Top Ramen Chicken Flavor.
00:18It looks a little bland.
00:20Maybe American version of an instant noodle.
00:22Too yellow for me, I think.
00:24What I look for in a great bowl of ramen,
00:27first of all is the noodle texture.
00:29I want my noodles to be very bouncy.
00:31Supposed to be not so soft.
00:33So ramen noodle made from high-protein flour,
00:37also a little alkaline water.
00:39It enhances the pH level.
00:41It strengthens the gluten structure of the dough,
00:44and that makes it chewy, bouncy, and firm in the hot broth.
00:49For instant ramen broth,
00:51I'm looking for natural, deep flavor.
00:54Not so salty, not too light.
00:57It's not one-dimensional.
00:59It should have fattiness, umami.
01:01So when I look at the package,
01:03whatever the flavor they say,
01:04I need to taste it when I'm eating the broth.
01:09It's like a one-dimension flavor of chicken,
01:12like a Campbell chicken soup.
01:14It's no complexity,
01:15and it basically tastes like a chicken bouillon
01:17with the water.
01:18The ramen texture, I don't love it.
01:20It's very soft.
01:21It doesn't have much texture at all.
01:24Sort of like a lower-end version of an instant noodle.
01:26It tastes almost like a Nissin top ramen.
01:31Top ramen.
01:32Top ramen?
01:33Oh.
01:34Whoa.
01:35Oh, I got it right.
01:36Top ramen, chicken flavor.
01:39Yeah, a lot of ingredients
01:40that you will not see from restaurant ramen.
01:42The ingredients, some of them I can't even pronounce.
01:46Silicon?
01:47Powdered chicken, rendered chicken fat.
01:49I remember buying this in a Walmart
01:52when I was in high school.
01:53It was like 25 cents.
01:54It will fill a lot of hungry college students.
01:58Nongshim Shin Black Premium Noodle Soup
02:00with Beef Bone Broth.
02:02Looks pretty good.
02:03I see a lot of garnishes.
02:05I see shiitake, scallion.
02:07It has a little more garlic and spice smell to it.
02:10I'm gonna say this is a Korean ramen.
02:13It has this gochugaru chili flake.
02:17This is a definite step up.
02:18The flavor is more assertive.
02:20When you look at the broth,
02:21it actually has a little more creaminess to it.
02:24To me, it looks like a paitan base,
02:25and paitan is basically you cook the bone.
02:29The collagen and the fat from the bones are extracted,
02:32creating this savory, creamy broth.
02:35Texture of a noodle is good.
02:37I think it holds a little better.
02:38It's more bouncier in my mouth.
02:41I think this is a Shin Ramen Black.
02:42Oh!
02:44Wow, see?
02:45It's the Shin Black, I see.
02:47Shin, this means karai, spice, spicy.
02:50It has the beef bone broth.
02:53Beef bone broth is more fattier, richer than beef broth.
02:57Have to cook long time to get beef marrow into the soup.
03:02This is one of my favorite instant ramen.
03:06Nissen Cup Noodles Chicken Flavor.
03:08Just by look of it, I don't like it.
03:11It has this cardboard smell.
03:13Smells like cup noodle smell.
03:15Definitely this is Japanese ramen, I think.
03:19The broth is very one-dimensional.
03:22This broth is a little light.
03:23I need more on the flavor.
03:25And the noodle is very soggy.
03:27It doesn't hold any texture at all.
03:30The purpose of this noodle,
03:32if this is cup noodles, is very different.
03:34It has to be cooked faster in the lower temperature water.
03:37They use more starch than wheat flour.
03:40You can't expect the same texture
03:43from the stove-top cooking noodles.
03:45Cup noodles?
03:47Cool.
03:48I got it.
03:49Wow, cup noodle now in paper cup, microwavable.
03:53The stove-top is a lot better
03:55just because you're boiling the noodle
03:58so you have more control
03:59of how much you're cooking the noodle.
04:02The cups cook a little uneven
04:04since the top of the noodle may be a little undercooked
04:07than the one that are in the bottom.
04:11Buldak Chicken Carbonara.
04:13It smells creamy.
04:15It looks very spicy.
04:17I smell sort of a capsaicin,
04:18spice compounds found in the chilies.
04:22Yeah, nice and spicy.
04:23Holy s***, it's spicy.
04:25It has flavors that are sweet, spicy, fatty.
04:29It's like spicy ketchup.
04:31They're thicker, wavy noodle that holds its shape.
04:34Nice and chewy.
04:35The sauces are clinging to the noodle a lot better.
04:39The Korean ramen, usually they make traditional dish
04:42and turning into ramen base.
04:45This remind me of a tteokbokki,
04:46which has a sweet and salty balance.
04:49I like this flavor.
04:50I do like it a lot.
04:52I think it's a Buldak series.
04:53There's only one company
04:54that pushing this spice level at the moment.
04:56Oh, no way.
04:58Yeah, it's Buldak.
04:58It's Korean.
04:59Apparently the most viral Buldak flavor, the carbonara.
05:04I'm not getting chicken carbonara from this.
05:06It's pretty good.
05:07I like it.
05:10Buldak Spicy Chicken.
05:12This is another dry ramen.
05:14There's no broth.
05:16Dried noodle again.
05:17Usually you boil the noodle, you strain it,
05:20and then you mix with the seasoning or the packet.
05:23I see a chili in the bottom.
05:25I'm not scared of any spice.
05:27I like hot.
05:29Whoa, super hot.
05:31Noodle's texture's perfect.
05:33Still bouncy and holds its shape.
05:36Noodle texture is good,
05:37but I prefer the square thicker one.
05:39Better noodle to sauce ratio.
05:41Very chili flake forward
05:44with hint of chicken flavor to it.
05:47I taste a lot more MSG in this one.
05:49There's too much spicy, but can't stop.
05:51MSG makes addicting.
05:54I think this bowl of ramen is the Buldak original flavor.
05:59This has to be a Korean.
06:00Japanese stuff is not so spicy.
06:04Yeah, see?
06:05Same company.
06:06Stir-fried artificial spicy chicken flavor ramen.
06:10I could not identify the chicken flavor.
06:13I would like the carbonara better
06:15because to me, that's a little more balanced.
06:17It is quite spicy.
06:18My stomach is heating up very nicely right now.
06:22Maruchan ramen noodle soup, chicken flavor.
06:25Scared to try it because there's no garnish,
06:28just this yellow broth and the noodle.
06:31Yeah, it looks very bland.
06:33Very similar to top ramen.
06:35This is like the same caliber as the top ramen.
06:38Ramen have to be eaten right away.
06:40Don't let it wait.
06:43Has little more complexity compared to the top ramen.
06:48It actually has a little more richer chicken flavor.
06:51Yeah, this is nice.
06:52You know, the wavy noodles, good texture.
06:54So the wavy noodles are steamed,
06:57piped into a disc or square,
06:59and it gets deep fried
07:01to take out the moisture for longer shelf life.
07:04It creates all these small pores into the noodle.
07:07So when you pour the hot broth to it,
07:10it cooks faster too.
07:11And when I slurped it,
07:12soup actually clings to the noodles better.
07:15I'm gonna guess chicken flavor Maruchan.
07:19Ah, okay, the other brand, Maruchan.
07:21Contains powdered cooked chicken.
07:24I don't know if that's different
07:25than just regular powdered chicken.
07:27Powdered chicken is a dehydrated chicken
07:30crushed to the powder.
07:31That means easy to rehydrate with hot water.
07:34So it gives the chicken flavor.
07:36Pretty surprisingly not bad.
07:40Trader Joe's miso ramen soup.
07:43We got the first ramen that is not wavy.
07:46Now I'm seeing straight noodles.
07:48Straight noodles are supposed to be more denser
07:52and chewier compared to the wavy ones.
07:54You see this noodle is a more thinner
07:56and also the color is a little more whiter.
08:00That means it's a less alkaline contents in there.
08:02This is interesting.
08:04Smells like a little bit of miso.
08:06Not Japanese.
08:07Slurp.
08:09It tastes healthy in a not good way.
08:11This is pretty bad.
08:12The flavor is very, in a good way, delicate.
08:16Possibly vegetarian.
08:18You can taste a little bit hints of miso
08:19but it wasn't deep enough.
08:21The texture of the noodle is not good at all.
08:24It almost breaks in my mouth when I put them in.
08:27Each noodle stick together.
08:29I'm wondering if the noodle contains different starch.
08:33I don't know, I never tried an American ramen
08:36but could be American.
08:38I wouldn't try it again.
08:42Oh, no way.
08:43Trader Joe's miso ramen soup.
08:46Trader Joe's.
08:47Oh, it is vegan.
08:49It tastes vegan.
08:51So in Japan, we have many type of noodle soup.
08:54Ramen, udon, soba.
08:57So if you're not vegan, make a vegan noodle soup.
09:01Don't call it ramen.
09:02This one really shocked me, this one.
09:06Ichiran take-home ramen kit.
09:09Another straight noodle.
09:10Look like a pie time base.
09:12The color of the soup looks like tonkotsu ramen.
09:15Tonkotsu ramen is a pork ramen.
09:17It's like a cloudy, like this color.
09:23This one is very flavorful.
09:24I like this a lot.
09:26Very complex, very deep.
09:28Finally, I get the fat.
09:29I like this.
09:30Maybe it's tonkatsu.
09:31Don basically is a pork and kotsu is the bone.
09:35Tastes like Hakata-style ramen,
09:37which is a tonkotsu base and thinner noodles
09:40and straight noodles.
09:41Hakata is the name of the place, my hometown.
09:44It feels that noodle is not fried.
09:47When you're doing a frying process,
09:48the water needs to escape from the noodles,
09:50so you create kind of a very, very small, rough texture.
09:54It has this silkiness.
09:55I'm guessing maybe it's air dried.
09:57Has a little of al dente texture in the middle.
09:59The closest one I can guess is like maybe the Ichiran ramen.
10:03Reminds me of Ichiran.
10:06No way.
10:07Ichiran?
10:07It is the Ichiran ramen.
10:10Oh my goodness.
10:11The Hakata-style thin, straight noodle.
10:14The noodles, wheat flour, wheat protein, salt, lye, water.
10:18That's the alkaline solution.
10:20This ramen is a higher quality than the other one.
10:22Delicious.
10:23I will buy it again.
10:26Sapporo Ichiban Original Flavor.
10:29This reminds me the yellow broth ramen packs,
10:32but with beef smell.
10:33Broth is dark because soy sauce?
10:39The flavor of the broth is surprisingly good.
10:42Very beefy, maybe with this deep color,
10:44it's shoyu base, the soy sauce base.
10:47To be honest with you, there's so much MSG,
10:49I can't even tell what this is.
10:50And the noodle texture is pretty soft.
10:53It is soft, but I wouldn't complain.
10:56Yeah, this is standard noodles.
10:58Not too soft.
10:59Nice length to eat.
11:01Yeah, this is great.
11:02Sapporo?
11:04Sapporo Ichiban?
11:05Oh.
11:06Oh, okay.
11:08Bingo.
11:08Sapporo Ichiban, this is a major brand in Japan.
11:11This is Tokyo-style ramen.
11:13This is basically chintan base with the shoyu flavor.
11:16It's the chintan where the broth is cooked
11:19in a lower temperature.
11:21The flavor is a lot lighter and more clear.
11:24Daily recommendation for sodium is 2,300 milligram.
11:29And this one has 1,820 milligrams.
11:33When you eat this whole package, you're almost there.
11:36Hikari Minraku, tonkotsu taste, restaurant-style ramen.
11:40Another straight noodle.
11:43Just by looking at the broth,
11:44you know it's gonna be creamy.
11:47Definitely tonkotsu soup.
11:48Smell pork, which is a good sign I know what I'm eating.
11:53This will look good.
11:56Flavor is complex.
11:57It has nice balance to it.
11:59This type of noodles taste like champon noodles.
12:03It looks like ramen noodles, but more thick.
12:06So when you cook this kind of noodles,
12:09I think you need a bigger pot
12:10so that the noodles can release the starch better.
12:13If you don't boil it correctly,
12:15it makes it a little more gummier than other noodles.
12:17The noodle holds the shape well.
12:19I would say this is a restaurant-quality ramen.
12:22I like more than Ichiran.
12:23I like Ichiran better.
12:24This one has less kick and a little more MSG in it.
12:28Personally, I don't love this.
12:30It has this like off smell that I'm not too fond of.
12:35Okay.
12:36Restaurant-style soup.
12:38Restaurant-style ramen tonkotsu.
12:41Fish sauce, vegetable powder, Chinese bamboo shoot.
12:45Oh, maybe it's the bamboo shoot
12:48that has this little funky smell to it.
12:50It says restaurant-style ramen,
12:52and I think they achieved it.
12:54But not my favorite, to be honest.
12:56But actually, this is a top three.
13:00Endo Mi Mi Goreng fried noodles.
13:03We got a bowl of dry ramen.
13:06Actually, I'm going into a different country.
13:09It has this like a sweet soy.
13:12It's just one flavor, sweet.
13:14I think it could be a little more aggressive.
13:16The noodles are thinner.
13:18It has nice texture, nice mouthfeel.
13:21Do I like it?
13:22I'm okay.
13:23This is not my favorite, but I can eat.
13:25Sort of like China, Southeast Asia.
13:28Tastes like Mi Goreng from Indonesia.
13:32Ah, Mi Goreng.
13:33Oh, yeah.
13:34The flavor was very distinct.
13:36According to what I know,
13:37the Endo Mi is the most popular brand from Indonesia.
13:40Yeah, I would try it again.
13:42It's a fun noodle, flavorful.
13:46Ottogi Spicy Jin Ramen.
13:49This smells like home.
13:50This is definitely spicy ramen.
13:53Yeah, smells like a Korean one again.
13:55Garnishes that are not too giant, but pretty good.
14:00The flavor of the broth is very comforting.
14:02Very umami, garlicky, oniony.
14:05I taste a lot of kombu.
14:07It's a kelp.
14:08Bring up the umami.
14:09Has nice spice in the back of the throat.
14:12This is a lower end version of the Black Shin Ramen
14:15I tasted earlier.
14:16Can see the broth a little more transparent.
14:19Wavy noodle, I like this best.
14:21Much more chewy.
14:22It's like a classic Korean instant ramen.
14:25Jin Ramen, the spicy one from Ottogi.
14:28Jin Ramen?
14:29Oh, my God.
14:31Jin Ramen, Korean.
14:32There's a lot of cult following for this brand.
14:34Actually, my wife loved this brand.
14:36Noodle got little tapioca and potato starch
14:39to help the noodle to stay firm, bouncy texture.
14:43And it also holds in hot broth longer.
14:46It's one of my go-to ramen,
14:47so I'm glad I got this right.
14:52Lotus Foods Red Miso Rice Ramen.
14:55This one's a tough one.
14:57I have no idea what this is.
14:58Maybe this is gluten-free noodle.
15:01It's just laying in the broth and soggy.
15:07Oh, my God.
15:07This is very bad.
15:09It's terrible.
15:10No taste.
15:11It just tastes like a muddled veggie water.
15:14The broth is very thin.
15:16They use a lot of seaweed to bring up the umami flavor,
15:18but it didn't work.
15:20Looks like a miso soup, but a lot of seaweed.
15:24The noodle is very bad, too.
15:26I never tried noodle like this.
15:29It's chewy, but not in a good way.
15:32Tastes like a sponge.
15:33No texture.
15:35Definitely gluten-free.
15:36What is this?
15:37Like a health-conscious, vegan,
15:39gluten-free bowl of ramen.
15:41Try it, Ajo, again.
15:43Oh.
15:44Ah.
15:45Oh, lotus food.
15:46Oh, my goodness.
15:47Red miso, tamari.
15:49Noodle made with organic brown rice.
15:51So it is on the healthier side,
15:54but I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy.
15:57Very bad.
16:00Mama Pork Flavor Instant Noodles.
16:02This broth also got this very distinct smell.
16:06Not Japan, more South Asian country, I think.
16:09Oh.
16:11Man, this is pretty bad, too.
16:13Little cardboardy flavor.
16:15It's very bland.
16:16There's no depth.
16:17Has a lot of artificial flavor, as well.
16:19Flavor is okay for me, but need more stronger.
16:23But texture of the noodles remind me of a cup noodles,
16:26but it came in a bowl, so I have a higher expectation.
16:29It's already very soft and soggy.
16:32No way.
16:33Mama Pork Flavor.
16:36Thai.
16:37I've never tasted this brand before.
16:38I wasn't a fan of it.
16:40This is not what I expected from Mama.
16:44Maggi Two Minute Masala Noodles.
16:47I smell curry.
16:48It's less brothy.
16:49The noodles are thinner.
16:52I get distinct curry flavor.
16:55It's very savory, nicely balanced.
16:57Noodle thickness is soft, too soft.
17:00Looks more white.
17:01I think they put less alkaline,
17:03because if you put more alkaline,
17:04the noodles become more yellowish.
17:06That's one reason why maybe I don't get a chewy texture.
17:08Chinese.
17:11Maggi Masala.
17:13It's pretty good.
17:14I'm very surprised that it's very well balanced.
17:17It is okay, I like it.
17:18But not much.
17:19But I eat it.
17:21Momofuku Spicy Soy Noodles.
17:24Yeah, smells soy sauce.
17:26Maybe hints of sesame oil.
17:28Fun looking noodle.
17:30It's like flat and wiggly.
17:33We call it Mazemen.
17:34Mazemen is mixed.
17:35Sauce on the bottom.
17:37It's very savory and umami.
17:40So weak, I don't know what it is.
17:42Flavor-wise, I don't know what this flavor is.
17:44Tastes nothing.
17:45Noodle actually was better than sauce itself.
17:48It's a nice texture.
17:49It has the smoother texture.
17:51Perhaps it's air dried.
17:53Wavy flat noodles.
17:55It's not a comma, but it's good.
17:57I used to work at Momofuku.
17:59It just brings me back the memory of this ramen shape
18:02that's very unique.
18:04Oh my God.
18:06Oh, Momofuku?
18:08Hello, old friend.
18:10Spicy soy.
18:11This ingredient is very shorter than any other product.
18:14I don't know if it's good or bad,
18:15but no good for taste.
18:18I've been really want to try this noodle
18:21for a very long time,
18:22but actually finally able to taste it.
18:24So thank you.
18:25Let's see which ramen brands our chefs like the most.
18:28My favorite ramen that I tried today,
18:30Ichiran Tonkatsu Ramen.
18:32Ichiran was my favorite one.
18:35It had the silky noodle and savory creamy broth
18:38with the chilies.
18:39One of my favorite today is Sapporo Ichiban.
18:43I've been eating for a long time.
18:44It's flavorful.
18:45Texture of the noodle is great.
18:47I really enjoy the Shin Ramyun spicy one by Ottogi.
18:50With spice, savoriness brought me a lot of nostalgia.
18:54My other favorite was Nongshim Shin Ramyun Black.
18:58That reminded me of like very traditional Korean ramen
19:02with a richness in the broth and higher quality garnish.
19:06Instant ramen is more than a convenient food.
19:10It's a nostalgia food.
19:12If the science keep developing,
19:15I think one day instant ramen could be good
19:17as restaurant quality ramen.
19:19Some good one and some bad ones.
19:22Just have to pick the right ones that you can enjoy.