These New Maruchan Noodles Are Saucy and Spicy—and They Aren’t Soup

If you were hoping for noods this Valentine’s Day, we have good news. The entire Sporked staff is now on OnlyFans—tits out! Just kidding. I’m not talking about that kind of “noods”—I’m talking about noodles. Hot, long, wet noodles—sorry, this is still kinda pornographic, isn’t it? Deep breath. Okay, I’m good now. Maruchan is releasing a new style of instant ramen called Saucy Noods—and I gotta say, they’re making me horny. I mean hungry.

What are Saucy Noods and how are they different from other Maruchan noodles?

Well, for one thing, the new Maruchan Saucy Noods are saucy rather than soupy. No broth here, just a spicy, savory sauce in two flavors, Spicy Chicken and Spicy Creamy Chicken. The noodles are different, too—they’re flat rather than round, which makes them look a lot like Momofuku’s instant noodles. They’re calling these “stir fry style noodles” to differentiate them from their many varieties of ramen noodle soup.

Heat-factor seems to be a big part of the appeal here, too. Like packs of Buldak, the packs of Maruchan Saucy Noods have little flame-o-meters on them to indicate how spicy they are. The Spicy Chicken flavor has five out of five flames, while the Spicy Creamy Chicken has a slightly less intense four out of five flames.

All the Maruchan Ramen Flavors, Ranked

Hey, sounds good. But what does any of this have to do with Valentine’s Day?

To really squeeze every drop out of the noods/nudes homophone, Maruchan is encouraging people to send Saucy Noods to their Valentines via TikTok Shop. And if you’re on Bumble, you can apparently swipe right on Saucy Noods and “receive flirty encouragement” (plus actual “noods”) in your DMs. I’m not on Bumble (my husband would probably hate if I were), but if you try this, tell us what happens.

If getting noods online isn’t your style, the good new(d)s is that Saucy Noods will be expanding into the retail realm later this year.

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.