When you think of Buldak Ramen, you probably just picture a really quick and easy lunch alternative when the money is a little tight. This doesn't mean that packaged ramen shouldn't taste immaculate, and this 'cheap meal' can be turned into something which you will choose even over something less inexpensive.

Making the best Buldak Ramen is dependent on personal preference, but there's definitely a way to cook it right. Ensuring that the noodles are soft, creamy, and delicious requires a step-by-step guide on how to make your Buldak lunch snack the most perfect as possible.

To make a top-tier Buldak Ramen, it's up to you to decide primarily on what flavour of ramen is best suited. Do you prefer spicier foods? Are you wanting a more cheesy taste to them? The one you find objectively tastiest should be the package you should stick to (this doesn't necessarily mean it's the only flavour you should try, but you should, more often than not, stick to the flavour you're used to, especially if you aren't used to it).

Korean brand Samyang offers a huge diversity of instant ramen out there, with a total of eleven to choose from. The most popular choices are Spicy Chicken Flavour Ramen, Carbonara Ramen, and Habanero Lime. Deciding on the flavour of your ramen will affect the end result of your ramen dish.

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Steps To Make The Best Buldak Ramen

1. To make your Buldak Ramen the best it can be, you must start with boiling water in a hot pan. Putting some heat on your pan before adding water makes the noodles feel less heavy at the end, so make sure the pan feels a little warm before filling it with water.

Once water is in the pan (around 600ml), boil the water until it reaches a boiling point. This is usually when you see large bubbles at the surface, so around three or four minutes.

Placing a lid on top of your pan can help the water boil quicker, but even without a lid, it shouldn't take long at all!

2. Once the water is boiled, only then can you add your noodles. People often put the noodles in as the water is boiling, but that's where they are going all wrong, because that only makes the noodles feel overcooked and almost sticky-like.

3. After adding the noodles to boiling water, simmer for around 5 minutes. You can leave it in a little longer if you want your ramen a little softer, but don't take it out too early unless you want a really hard ramen, which is too hard to bite into.

4. This is probably the most important step; drain most of the cooking water! This depends on how you like your noodles, but please, if you can, don't just pour your noodles and water into a bowl and call it a day. You'll be left with way too much broth, which now looks more like a hotpot than a ramen dish.

Personally, I prefer a dry ramen dish, and I usually drain most of the water, only leaving about 2 or 3 tablespoons to savour the flavours a little more.

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5. In a bowl, take your drained noodles, a little bit of the water you left over, and the Buldak sauce packet and powder packet, and mix them all together. People with lower spice tolerance might prefer to use only three-quarters of the sauce packet, especially if you choose a flavour like Spicy Chicken.

6. If you choose to do so, to add an extra flavour, you can enhance your ramen dish with some milk for creaminess, cheese for that gooey texture, or a fried egg for protein. You can experiment with different toppings, from sugar to sliced steak, to corn, kimchi, or onions. It's your ramen, your toppings.

Take the Quiz: What Ramen Are You?

There are sooo many pre-packaged Ramen brands out there. Which one should you try/best fits your personality?

Summary of Tips

When making your ramen, don't use too much water! Anything over 600ml can be far too much. Let your noodles absorb in the water, but don't oversaturate them and let them drown!

Sure, you can drain the water, but you're just wasting water either way. Use less water, and you'll be doing yourself a lot of favours!

Adding a slice of melted cheese or shredded chicken is beloved among many ramen enjoyers, as it really boosts the wow-factor and diversifies the way you'd usually make your ramen.

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Weird Ways to Make Ramen

People have shared online the strange ways they choose to make their ramen. Some users on social media choose to cook their ramen with milk rather than water since it gives less of a spicy taste. Weird? Probably.

There's a small minority of people who choose to abandon the sauce and powder altogether and just use the noodles. Whether they make their own sauce is entirely dependent on whoever is cooking the ramen, but some people don't find the Buldak sauces very tasty, or perhaps too spicy.

Adding an egg yolk has become a practice for many people who make Buldak Ramen, especially when the yolk is runny, which makes the combination of the ramen, powder, and sauce that extra delicious. I don't see much point in using milk and egg in the Carbonara Flavour Ramen, since it's set out to be a creamy dish in the first place.

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No matter how you cook your ramen, make sure to follow these three steps to achieve a tasty, flavourful dish of Buldak Ramen that you can enjoy as a quick lunch snack or your next meal.

1. Don't put too much water in your pan (600ml should be adequate).

2. Drain most of the water from your noodles, leaving a little to savour the wonderful Buldak flavours.

3. Be wary of how much Buldak sauce you put in your bowl, especially if you're spice tolerance is lower.

Conclusive Thoughts

Making the top Buldak noodle recipe requires techniques that involve perfecting all the ins and outs of the process, from the water drainage to the quantity of sauce that's placed. You can enjoy a Buldak ramen dish with toppings of your requirements, and you can choose to have this dish either as a quick instant lunch or a hearty meal.