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Buldak Ramen

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Buldak Ramen
Alternative namesHot Chicken Flavor Noodles
Buldak-bokkeum-myeon
TypeNoodle
Place of originSouth Korea
Created bySamyang Food
Main ingredientsDried or precooked noodle, seasoning

Buldak Ramen[1] (Korean: 불닭볶음면, romanized: buldak-bokkeum-myeon, lit. 'fire chicken stir-fried noodles') is a South Korean brand of instant noodle, produced by Samyang Foods since April 2012.[2]

The ramen is not only popular in Korea but also worldwide and is Samyang's best-selling product, with 4 billion cumulative sales by August 2022.[3] It is considered one of the spiciest instant noodles available in the Korean market, with the original packet having 4,404 Scoville units.

History

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Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen was first launched in April 2012.[2] It was inspired by a spicy chicken stir-fry dish that Kim Jung-soo, a member of Samyang Foods' sales department, observed while eating lunch at a restaurant in 2010. Kim recalled that the dish had the customers "sweating and fanning their tongues, assailed by both pleasure and pain". When Samyang's food scientists created prototypes for the ramen, she repeatedly told them to make it spicier.[4]

The popularity of the noodles worldwide surged when The Fire Noodle Challenge went viral on YouTube. The challenge was first started by the YouTube Channel "Korean Englishman" in 2014, in which Josh Carrott, the main host of the channel, challenged his friends in the UK to see who could finish the noodles the fastest without drinking any water or beverage to cool the heat down.[5] The popularity of the video led to other YouTubers all around the world to do the same challenge and therefore cause a surge in the noodle's popularity.[6]

Some flavours of noodles were recalled in Denmark in 2024, with the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration stating that a single packet's capsaicin levels are so high that consumers risked "acute poisoning".[7] Later, Denmark authorities reviewed the recall against Samyang Buldak 2x Spicy Hot Chicken and Samyang Buldak Hot Chicken Stew, but maintained the prohibition on Buldak 3x Spicy Hot Chicken.[8]

Description

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The ramen is considered one of the spiciest instant noodles available in the Korean market, with the original packet having 4,404 Scoville units.[9] It is a type of 'stir-fried' dry noodle: after boiling, the noodles are drained, and mixed with a spicy sauce and a topping. The product became famous due to the Fire Noodle Challenge, a viral social media challenge where people film themselves eating the sauce pack or bowl of noodles.[10][11]

Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen is Samyang's best-selling product.[12] 4 billion cumulative sales were reached in August 2022,[3] and the brand attained monthly sales of 6 to 7 billion won the following year (5.1 to 5.9 million United States dollars).[13] From the second half of 2016, as exports of this product increased, they became the company's best-seller. In 2017, the Buldak range accounted for more than 85% of Samyang Food's total exports and 55% of total sales. In 2016, when Buldak-bokkeummyeon began to be sold in earnest, Samyang Foods' sales grew 23.5% to 359.3 billion won, followed by a double-digit growth rate in 2017 with a sales of 450 billion won (estimated value).[14] For this reason, Samyang Foods received the '100 Million Dollar Export Tower' at the "54th Trade Day 2017" event.[15]

The mascot of the Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen series is a chicken named "Hochi" (호치).[16]

Types

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Since the release of the original in 2012 and subsequent success, Samyang has released varieties that differ in spice and often flavour from the original to keep up with demand.[17]

English name Romaja Weight
(g) 		Calories
(kcal) 		SHU Shelf life
(months) 		Launch Date Note
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Buldak-bokkeum-myeon 140 530 4,404 6 April, 2012 [18]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen 2x Spicy Haek-buldak-bokkeum-myeon 140 545 8,808 6 January, 2016 [19]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Cheese Chijeu-buldak-bokkeum-myeon 140 550 2,323 6 March, 2016 [20]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Ice Kul-buldak-bokkeum-myeon 135 600 4,404 6 August, 2016 [21]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Stew Tang-buldak-bokkeum-myeon 145 540 4,705 6 August, 2016 [22]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Curry Keori-buldak-bokkeum-myeon 140 555 3,810 6 December, 2016 [23]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Mala Mara-buldak-bokkeum-myeon 135 520 2,700 6 October, 2017 [24]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Carbonara Carbonara-buldak-bokkeum-myeon 130 550 2,600 6 December, 2017 [25]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Jjajang Jjajang-buldak-bokkeum-myeon 140 560 1,920 6 March, 2018 [26]
Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Mini Haek-buldak-bokkeum-myeon-mini 93 353 12,000 4 December, 2018 [27]
Hot chicken Flavor Ramen Yakisoba Buldak-bokkeum-myeon-yakisoba 125 520 6 July, 2023 [28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Buldak Ramen". Samyang. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  2. ^ a b Ha, Soo-jung (August 2, 2022). "Samyang Foods' Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen sales surpass 4 bn". The Korea Economic Daily. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  3. ^ a b Moon-hee, Choi (2022-08-02). "Samyang's Hot Chicken Ramen Reaches 4 Billion Cumulative Sales". BusinessKorea. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  4. ^ Kim, Max (2024-03-05). "How some very spicy noodles saved the company that pioneered Korean ramen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  5. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: 런던의 불닭볶음면 도전!! // FIRE NOODLE CHALLENGE!!. YouTube.
  6. ^ Lee, Hakyung Kate (5 December 2018). "Foodies across the globe are taking part in the 'fire noodle challenge'". ABC News. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  7. ^ Mao, Frances. "Samyang: Denmark recalls Korean ramen for being too spicy". BBC. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  8. ^ Hyo-jin, Lee (July 10, 2024). "Korea's Buldak spicy noodles return to shelves as Denmark reverses recall". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  9. ^ "Super Spicy Korean Noodles (Buldak Bokkeum)". 26 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  10. ^ Annie Jeong (14 March 2016). "Can These BuzzFeed Employees Handle The Fire Noodle Challenge?". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  11. ^ Ysa Singson (6 August 2016). "What Is The 'Fire Noodle Challenge?'". Cosmopolitan Philippines. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  12. ^ Da-sol, Kim (2019-07-01). "Samyang's bestselling spicy chicken ramen sales top W1tr". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  13. ^ Shin, Jeana (16 January 2015). "Samgyang Food's "Fire Noodles" Become Popular Overseas". Business Korea. Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  14. ^ Yu, ji seung. "[기업분석] 삼양식품, 불닭볶음면 수출로 고성장…해외서 뛴다" MTN, Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  15. ^ Yoon, HeeHoon. "'불닭볶음면' 히트친 삼양식품 '1억불 수출의 탑' 수상" ChosunBiz, Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Hochi and Friends". Samyang. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  17. ^ "Foodies across the globe are taking part in the 'fire noodle challenge'". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  18. ^ "Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen". Samyang. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  19. ^ "Extreme Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen". Samyang. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  20. ^ "Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Cheese". Samyang. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  21. ^ "Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Ice". Samyang. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  22. ^ "Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Stew type". Samyang. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  23. ^ "Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Curry". Samyang. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  24. ^ "마라불닭볶음면" [Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Mala]. Samyang (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  25. ^ "제품 전체보기 | 브랜드 | 삼양식품". www.samyangfoods.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  26. ^ "제품 전체보기 | 브랜드 | 삼양식품". www.samyangfoods.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  27. ^ "#3047: Samyang Foods 10,000 SHU Hek Buldak Bokkeummyun (Nuclear Fire Noodle/2x) – South Korea". The Ramen Rater. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  28. ^ "제품 전체보기 | 브랜드 | 삼양식품". 127.0.0.1 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-06-03.
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