New Hot Pot-Inspired Top Ramen Bowls Are Finally Rolling Out Nationwide

I go to multiple grocery stores every week looking for products to review here on Sporked. I also get at least a dozen emails a day telling me about new products “coming soon” anywhere from days to months in advance of the actual release date. I also spend a good chunk of my free time scrolling through social media for finds that may have made it to shelves sans press release. So, tell me why I only just found out about a new line of hot pot-inspired instant ramen bowls from Top Ramen?

Wait, Top Ramen makes bowls now?

Apparently! I was walking through Walmart when I found an endcap display packed with three different flavors of “Nissin Top Ramen HotPot Fusions.” These super-sized noodle bowls are inspired by “traditional Asian hot pot meals.” (In addition to the HotPot Fusions, Nissin also sells select flavors from their Top Ramen and Hot & Spicy Fire Wok lineups in this larger bowl format.) While these first launched in very select Sam’s Club stores earlier this year, the full trio of ramen flavors only started hitting national shelves this summer.

What is hot pot?

Hot pot refers to a centuries-old style of at-table cooking in which you cook your own meat and vegetables by dipping them into a bowl of boiling broth or soup. The most popular chain offering this style of cooking in America is KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot; if you haven’t been to a KPOT before, get a group together and check it out ASAP. These new HotPot Fusions bowls appear to be inspired by both classic hot pot flavors and nouveau flavors—at a tenth of the price and effort and with the addition of ramen noodles. What a great time to be a college student.

What flavors of Nissin Top Ramen HotPot Fusions are there?

Keep in mind, these are fusion hot pot flavors. So you won’t find classic mala hot pot flavored ramen here. The three flavors are Korean Spicy Beef, Thai Coconut Curry Chicken, and Japanese Garlic Tonkotsu Pork. Nissin is spreading the love across multiple different cultures for sure. (Sorry, vegetarians. Check out this list of vegetarian ramens for a few options open to you.) I don’t know about y’all, but that is a very solid starting lineup of flavors. Should I review the trio here on Sporked? Let me know in the comments.