The best Buldak ramen was hard to choose. Every flavor of this spicy, Korean instant ramen is so tasty. Even the flavors I didn’t love, I still really liked a lot. Buldak ramen is genuinely incredible.
We bought a sampler pack with every flavor of Buldak noodles to find out which is the ramen to end all Buldak ramen. Through this very long and extremely spicy taste test, I found some important answers. Scroll to find out which Buldak noodles reign supreme. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to soak my tongue in a glass of milk.
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- Corn
Corn isn’t a bad flavor, it’s just not a flavor that had me wanting to slurp down the entire bowl of noodles. It tastes like the classic Buldak spicy hot sauce packet that comes with all of these noodles mixed with Fritos. I feel like this could be delicious if you added in a can of chili and shredded cheddar cheese.
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- Tomato Pasta
This is one of the less spicy Buldak ramen flavors. It tastes like Buldak spicy sauce mixed with SpaghettiOs and dried basil. It sounds weird, but it was actually fine. These would really hit the spot if you were high. That being said, I’ve never been high because I am a professional adult who doesn’t do drugs and would certainly never mention doing drugs in an article I was writing if I did, in fact, do drugs. Don’t worry and please don’t fire me.
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- Curry
Curry is nice! I think the spice blend definitely works well with the classic Buldak ramen spicy sauce. It did feel a little one-note and maybe like it was missing something. I wanted some rotisserie chicken in it to make a more complete Buldak ramen meal.
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- Cheese
The cheese Buldak ramen is good, but it definitely is not the best cheese-based Buldak flavor. Skip this one if the others are available, but buy it if there are no other cheesy Buldak noodles available to you.
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- 2x Spicy
This is very spicy (duh). I have a high spice tolerance and I can acknowledge that this is spicy. I really like the taste of it, but I don’t think most people could actually eat an entire package of it. Because of that, I could not put it higher on this list.
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- Quattro Cheese
Quattro Cheese is delicious and definitely cheesier than the cheese flavor, but still not my favorite cheese-based Buldak ramen. It’s like Kraft mac and cheese mixed with Buldak noodles. Once again, buy it. It’s good. But if you really want the best and cheesiest Buldak noodles, keep scrolling!
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- Jjajang
I love these Buldak noodles inspired by the Korean black bean sauce noodle dish jjajang. This flavor has a little sweetness and is definitely nowhere near as hot as some of the other flavors. This is also one of the few versions of Buldak ramen that didn’t mostly taste like the Buldak spicy sauce. I would definitely buy these noodles again.
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- Kimchi
This is my go-to Buldak ramen flavor. I stumbled upon it because it’s always on sale at the World Market near me. I bought these noodles because they were discounted, but I wasn’t really sure how they’d stack up next to the other Buldak noodles. Luckily, they still rank near the top of the list for me. They really bring the kimchi flavor, which goes great with the Buldak sauce. I add even more kimchi to these and it’s pure heaven.
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- Habanero Lime
Think posole (the traditional broth-based Mexican soup) meets the spicy Buldak ramen you know and love. This flavor is delicious! It doesn’t need accouterments, but I’d top this with a bunch of cilantro and even more fresh lime juice. This is another one of the flavors that feels like a departure from the Buldak spicy sauce. I would buy these noodles over and over again.
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- Hot Chicken
It’s a classic! How could hot chicken not rank near the top? We love Buldak ramen because we love the signature spicy sauce. With this flavor, that’s what you get. If you’re looking for spice that still feels enjoyable, grab a package of these Buldak noodles.
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- Carbonara
As you can see, I had to eat a lot of Buldak ramen for this taste test. Carbonara was the last flavor I tried and, despite being full and tired of Buldak noodles, I ate the entire package. It was too good to let any go to waste. The cheesiness is prominent and pairs perfectly with the spicy sauce. These noodles are, hands down, the best Buldak ramen noodles you can buy.
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I’m sad that they phased out the Mala flavor, Chinese inspired with sichuan peppercorns, it was a really unique taste experience. The OG or Habanero Lime are my go to now.
I bought a five-pack of Spicy Chicken based on this list and I was not prepared for the rise in heat. Real good, but holy smoookes.
Cheese is the only one that is always sold out at my local asian market. The workers often don’t even let it hit the shelves before it’s gone.
Also you forgot the 3x spicy one.
The article is titled “every flavor…ranked”, but it seems like you’re missing a couple flavors here: stew (I bought stew to try the other day), mala (numbing spice, one of my favorites), and naengmyeon (cold noodles, which is only available in summer I believe).
If some of these are (permanently) discontinued, it might be helpful to mention so.
I haven’t been able to find the Mala for years, I believe it was discontinued around 2021? The stew and cold types aren’t that different, same OG base flavor that you add more water or ice cubes to. Others not mentioned but likely harder to find or discontinued as well x3, light, cream carbonara, jjamppong, rose, rose flat noodles, and topokki flavor.
They also missed the cream carbonara flavor