Luxury Ramen. Tastebuds Explode In joy

Nongshim Black: The Ramen Lover’s Ramen.

First, some introductions. Nongshim is a ramen manufacturer from Korea, that also has operations in the U.S. I first experienced them back in 1992 when I was stationed in Korea, with the Army. To say that this is “Deluxe Ramen” is an understatement. To many, it’s also an oxymoron, as in, how can ramen, something that we can buy for as little as 20 cents per pack be “deluxe”. In the U.S. “ramen” is more or less ubiquitous with Nissan Brand’s Oodles of Noodles, (what it was titled when I was a kid) and to me, the lower quality “Maruchan, Smack Ramen”. This ramen (written as ramyun by the company, and as it’s spelled in Korea) is so far above this salt and fat leaden calorie trap, that to really compare them is as if to compare diamonds with damp mud. As I've stated, I first tried this ramen back in ‘92 in Korea, and up until this point, I was only familiar with Oodles of Noodles brand. There was, on every base and sub-post in Korea, a cantina, or Korean cantina as we took to calling them. In this little restaurant/snack shop, I could drop down about 2.25 in 1992 dollars and get a good steaming bowl of spicy ramen loaded with cooked egg and topped with cheese, and additionally, the Korean version of Orange Crush soda. Anyone who knows me, will know that I ate this at least 4 times per week, if not more. When I got a little more acclimated to being in a foreign country, and decided not to be “the Ugly American” that we were all warned not to be, I started exploring the town around my base and eventually made my way to the open air markets. It was here that I learned that the ramen I was getting made for me at the cantinas was actually available retail, in cases of 20 for about 15 dollars American. Those of you who are paying attention will realize that that’s about 75 cents per pack, nearly 4 times the value of ramen in the states. The thing is, this is Not american ramen, not by any stretch. The noodles themselves are thicker, and chewier, and actually require a longer cook time. The “soup base” that we also simply call the “chicken salt packet” is so red with ground chili that you simply know your tastebuds are in for a beating. Additionally, Koreans being on a peninsula are more prone to use seafood flavors than they are domesticated animal flavors such as beef, pork, or chicken and they Certainly won’t have an “Oriental” flavor.
The main flavors of instant ramen as it’s called that I’d experienced both in Korea, and since are “Hot and Spicy” and “Kimchi” flavor, which, is, basically hot and spicy with an alternate vegetable pack. This brings me to the NongShim Black. First, in my FLAG (Friendly Local Asian Grocery) I didn’t find this brand as a case of 20, only a 4 pack, and there was no clear price labeled. Yes, I should have realized that this was a warning sign. I get to check out, with my other purchases, and when the ramen is rung up, I get to see the sticker shock. 6.99 for a 4 pack of ramen. Yep, $1.75 per pack, for ramen. Now, this is by far Not the most I’ve spent on ramen. I’ve bought Japanese brands of ramen that went for upwards of $4 per pack. This was however, the most I’d paid for Korean ramen. Another thing I noticed was, there was no description of the flavor contained within. Simply “Black”. Now, I tried “Coke-Blak” several years ago, where it was coke mixed coffee and sold for large amounts of money. It was also rather terrible. So I get home, I unload my groceries and plan my ramen dinner for the next day. The package of Nongshim Black actually features beef marrow bones and garlic. Now I had an idea of what flavors I was in for. Rich beefy flavor with potentially the Koreans love of Lots of garlic. My first surprise was that this package actually 3 flavor packs, 2 of which were powders and 1 of which was the “vegetable packet”.
Nearly every brand of ramen that I’ve purchased in the past 20 years (outside of American brands) feature only 2 packets, 3 for “deluxe Japanese brands that feature a flavor oil”. Never have I had 2 powder plus a vegetable pack, so this was interesting. Also of note, was the second powder pack was not translated to English, it was simply labeled “Seol Long Tang”. Having Just read the Wiki article on this particular Korean phrase, I now know that my translation of the packet was accurate, it’s ox bone soup base. Again, this is a first for me in Korean ramen, and it made a Huge difference. What this particular soup packet added to my once simple bowl of spicy ramen was a thickness of flavor, a richness in the broth that I’d not experienced before. This was, without a doubt, simply the best ramen that I’d ever had. If I had to give this ramen a comparison rating versus other instant ramen that I’ve had, excluding American versions, I’d have to rate it between an 8.5 and a 9.5 out of 10. I will require further “tastings” to refine that. I will also not buy any other flavor of Nongshim brand ramen. Once you’ve had the best, anything else is simply not worth the money or the effort. My next favorite Nongshim ramen would be the Kimchi flavor, and in comparison, that’s about a low 7 on the 10 point scale. Basically what I’m saying here is, if you love, or even like instant ramen you owe it to yourself to purchase at least one pack of this type, simply to experience “luxury ramen”. I looked up the company’s information and also information on this specific type of ramen from them, and it turns out that it’s a release to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company, and that this flavor specifically was in development for over three years. That’s some damned good ramen.