A big update to this guide happened on 5/23/2022 and 5/25/2022, so with this big change, I happily announce the new version which includes a great deal more varieties. I’d also like to add that in many reports including personal experience, the tolerance to the heat of Buldak rises significantly; so you eat it today and it’s almost too hard to finish? Try it again tomorrow – you will be surprised most likely that it is easier to handle.
One variety that has captivated the world is Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun. The ‘Fire Noodle Challenge’ is something of legend; people will try to eat a bowl of the spicy noodles as fast as they can and then (usually in a YouTube video), the reaction to the heat is seen, ranging from silence to screaming, calmness to dripping sweat.
The viral mania of this challenge has finally prompted me to release a special series on the varieties and some info on them you might not know. I have included a boatload of information in this post – check out the video as well as all the information below it!
This is a presentation I’ve made including lots of informational as well as me taking down a bowl of the 2x Spicy noodles.
What is Samyang 2x Spicy Noodles’ Scoville Heat Unit?
The original Samyang 2x Spicy Noodles Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) was at 8,808 SHU but the renewed version is at 10,000 SHU. That’s 2,000 SHU more than their first limited edition release in 2017!
To put this heat level into perspective, jalapeno’s SHU measures somewhere between 2,000 – 8,000 SHU. Meanwhile, Tabasco Sauce ranges from 7,000 – 8,000 SHU. Its as if eating these noodles is like eating a whole chili pepper or chugging hot sauce straight from the bottle.
HOT FACTThe updated Samyang 2x Haek Spicy Buldak Chicken Noodles’ Scoville Heat Unit is 10,000 SHU.
The noodles are primarily made from wheat flour, tapioca starch, gluten, and soybean oil while the soup is made from artificial chicken powder, red pepper powder, chili powder, and other powdered spices. The packed flakes include roast sesame and roasted laver.
One unique thing about the Samyang Spicy Noodles is that apart from the dried seasoning packet, it comes with the sauce packet: a dark red liquid stir-fry sauce that contains all the “nuclear” flavors that spice up the noodles.
If you want to see what’s inside a pack of Samyang 2x Spicy Ramen, watch our full review where we unpack a bag, go through the nutritional facts, and prepare a bowl:
Read more of our Samyang Spicy Noodle Reviews and choose your pick:
It will be hard to achieve the spice level of Bulddak Chicken if you cook it the proper way. Don’t underestimate the difference in flavor when you ace your water-to-noodle ratio!
To prepare your 2x Samyang Noodles correctly, here’s what you should do:
1. Boil your noodles for 5 minutes. You want to cook your noodles for exactly five minutes in 600 millileters of boiling water. The goal is to get stringy and chewy textured noodles, not sad and soggy.
2. Save eight spoonfuls of water (or 120 milliliters of water) before draining your cooked noodles completely. You will use this leftover water with your liquid nuclear seasoning in the next step.
3. Stir-fry, season, and serve. Stir-fry your noodles and gradually add your preferred amount of nuclear sauce over it for a subtle crisp and a spicy taste that you can tolerate.
Doing it this way will prevent you from diluting the nuclear sauce and decrease the challenging spiciness that you’re looking for. Dont forget to put in the flakes before serving!
We all know how straightforward instant noodles are. That’s their appeal. You follow the packaging instructions and youre done!
However, if you want to explore other ways to enjoy samyang ramen, you can add a square of cheese for added richness and attempt to bring down the heat.
For added protein, you can add fried egg, chicken bites, or pulled pork. Or if you want to supplement what’s included in your dry seasoning packet, you can include shallots, carrots, beansprouts, bokchoy, mushrooms, or other vegetables you deem fit.
On the side, you can have a wedge of lime to add a hint of zest to your noodles.
You can also use Samyang Spicy Noodles for budae jiggae army stew and hot pots!
As it is, these noodles are vegan and considered halal food. Although, there is an allergy information that its manufactured in a facility that processes fish, eggs, milk, and shellfish, so best be informed.
And a final tip from us: The Spicy Noodle Challenge prohibits you from having a drink of water or milk to temper the heat. However, that doesn’t mean you can leave it out by your side. It’s okay to take a step back when you can’t handle the heat. You wouldn’t want to have any regrets with an instant noodle dish!
The Samyang ramen—which are a product of South Korea—have developed quite a reputation over the past ten years because of the Fire Noodle Challenge trending on social media. And they even have their own entry in Wikipedia. According to that, the Hot Chicken flavor comes in at 4,404 Scoville Units while the 2x doubles that to 8,808 SHU. The 2x Spicy Mini goes even higher to 12,000 SHU, and it sure seemed like the cup I had was in that range.
There was a time when I decided that I had eaten enough ramen in college that I never had to pop open a package of those dried noodles again. Then the Texas Winter Storm of 2021 hit, and I bought some ramen as emergency supplies which included a Tapatio flavored cup of the noodles. After trying those (more on that here), my opinion on ramen changed and I decided to put those back on the acceptable list. In the meantime, I noticed people going on and on about Samyang’s spicy ramen on social media and I happened to stumble upon some in World Market. I couldn’t resist and snatched up the one cup they had on the shelf.
On the package, it says that there is added sugar, but I have no idea why they are pointing that out. (What did I just say about not reading the ingredients of ramen?) There is a little bit of sweetness in the final product, but not a lot. And as for the laver and sesame seeds, they may add some hints of flavor, but nothing that really stands out. I typically add in fresh veggies like mushrooms, broccoli, green onions, chilis, etc. that I steam along with the noodles to spruce them up. In this case, though, the chili pepper is not needed.
As you pour the sauce out, there is something that you will notice immediately. It has a look and consistency very similar to blood. Let that serve as an advance warning to those who may not have a high tolerance for spicy food!
Serving Size: 1 Cup (70g) Calories: 300 Fat: 11g (5g Sat/0 Trans) Protein: 7g Carbs: 43g Sodium: 640mg
I heard about this one and was very interested. I found out it was available north of the border in Canada. We go there pretty often, but it took searching on four trips to find it. These are frozen section spicy little dumplings full of Buldak Bokkeummyun spiciness and flavor. They pretty good and I did this review where I paired them with the Stew Type – check it out!
Recently I saw something about a new Buldak Bokkeummyun in the Korean Samyang Foods instagram. I asked about it and was told it was just coming back. What? Well, the 2x was advertised as for a ‘limited time’ and apparently, it was in South Korea. They brough it back December 3rd, 2018 – however this time it’s 10,000 SHU. This link will take you to the review which contains unboxing, cooking, mukbang, and a special holiday recipe.
This is a presentation I’ve made including lots of informational as well as me taking down a bowl of the 2x Spicy noodles.
SAMYANG FOODS> It means a Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen. ‘Bulkdak’ means spicy chicken and ‘Bokkeummyun’ means stirred type of noodles. Korean spicy chicken is literally spicy chicken. In Korea, many restaurants usually cook it with very hot flavor adding red pepper, which is more spicy than general Korean food. So, it is hard to eat even for Korean. We added noodle on hot chicken flavor, so we could make characteristic noodle.
1) Put the noodles and flakes into 600ml boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. 2) Please remove the water from noodles (reserve 8 spoons of water (120ml = 15ml * 8 or 1/2 cup)) and put liquid soup Into noodles, stir-fry 30 seconds. 3) Add flakes, stir well, and serve.
FAQ
Which Samyang is the hottest?
Which Samyang is less spicy?
It has a Scoville index of 12,000 and this is the hottest flavor in Samyang’s Buldak lineup.