I admit I eat 라면 ramyeon (ramen) once in a while. I’ve even made a ramyeon dessert once, but I’ve never reviewed ramyeon before.
When I saw packages of Ottogi Kiss-myun aka Kiss noodles at my local Korean grocery store, I was drawn more by the name than the contents. I asked the grocer if the name were some kind of double-entendre or play on 뽀뽀 bbo-bbo (kiss)?
He assured me that Ottogi is not promising one will become a better kisser after eating this ramyeon. He said it’s a Chinese-style ramyeon with milder spiciness, not Korean heat.
Hans from The Ramen Raterreviewed this ramyeon in April and gave it 3.75 out of 5 stars:
The broth is pretty good stuff — has a nice, spicy jalapeno heat to it and had a good chicken flavor.
The label said it was “Spicy Chicken Flavor.” The yellow-tinged broth and the yellow package color seemed to reinforce the chicken flavor meme, so I brought a five-pack home.
Then I read the small print and was quite surprised to discover the packet of “powder soup” — it makes the broth — had powdered extracts of oyster, mussel and cuttlefish listed before that of chicken. The powder also had extracts of bonito and kelp.
The packet of dehydrated vegetables even had freeze-dried cuttlefish in the ingredients. Where’s the chicken?! There’s not even “chicken of the sea” in there.
Predictably, the broth tasted like slightly spicy seafood but not chicken.
If you’re in the mood for a pleasantly spicy, fish broth ramyeon, this Kiss-myun might work for you. Look elsewhere for chicken ramyeon.
This is a product that came out about a year or so ago. Convenience store food has been leaning towards fresher, healthier, and more filling options. And they’ve been getting more Korean. You may be wondering how a Korean convenience store can get more Korean. Yet I remember reading when this bibmbap and celebrity chef branded dosirak (bento boxes) entered the market. It was a new awareness and respect for Hansik, Korea’s homegrown cuisine. The bibimbaps are not really everywhere yet. When I do see them I’m usually not in the market for them. But since I have the office in Yeouido, and Yeouido continually proves to be a culinary wasteland, this was a perfect opportunity to try this out.
This bibimbap is of the sanchae variety, meaning “mountain vegetables.”
Here are the components. Rice in the big paper bowl. The plastic tray has all the little trimmings, including some sauteed carrots, zucchini, bean sprouds, mushrooms, mountain herbs, and shredded egg. Included are a packet of seasoned gochujang, a little packet of sesame oil, and a spoon to mix and eat with.
According to the instructions, you add everything but the sesame oil to the rice. Then heat it in the microwave for 90 seconds.
Add the sesame oil. To me, bibimbap is empty without the sesame oil.
Then mix, mix, mix thoroughly.
Let me just say that this may be the best and freshest food I’ve ever had in my long around-the-world career of convenience store dining. Even better than Osaka 7-Eleven sushi. The gochujang was much spicier than I was expecting. It was a little sweet and had sesame seeds in it.
The bibimbap sells for W3,000. Not bad for a filling, tasty, and (OMG) healthy lunch.
Annie Chun's noodles are not currently available in the ROK. After Annie Chun's Gochujang sparked controversy in the Korean blogosphere, I decided I'd check out one of her other Korean food offerings to get a sneak preview of things to come.
The Korean blogosphere has been spinning recently over how to introduce Korean cuisine to American markets and, particularly, what should be role of the South Korean government in this popularization. However, Korean food companies on both sides of the Pacific aren’t waiting for Seoul to tell them what to do.
Until Annie Chun's merger with CJ Foods in 2005, Annie Chun's line did not feature any Korean style foods. Since that time, she has introduced Korean noodles, Kimchi soup, and Korean seaweed wraps to her line.
Annie Chun is a Korean-born developer of one of the most popular lines of prepared Asian foods in the United States. After the merger with CJ Foods in 2005, Annie Chun’s started going back to her Korean roots with food items such as the Korean Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl. I found it in a local San Francisco Bay–area supermarket, which was not selling her newly released bottled gochujang (spicy red pepper paste) yet.
I tested the dish by preparing it according to label instructions and without modifications. What’s required is just scalding-hot water — heated in a kettle, bottle dispenser or microwave — to warm the noodles and reconstitute the dehydrated vegetables and spices.
The sauce is very sweet. A number of hanshik lovers may cringe at sweet and spicy Korean noodle dish, but the name of the dish does include the word sweet.
The label also says the spiciness level is “medium,” and that’s an accurate comparison with other spicy Korean foods. But it might be a bit mild for Koreaphiles.
The combination of spiciness and sweetness reminded my husband of the American Chinese food favorite orange chicken, with a Korean flair of sesame oil.
Pros
100 percent natural. For example, the sweetener is cane sugar juice instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
Vegan. That’s rare for prepared Korean foods.
Fresh noodles, not deep fried or dried.
No MSG or preservatives.
Quick to make. It takes about two minutes from heat to eat.
Cons
High in calories. A bowl supposedly has two servings, totaling 640 calories for one bowl.
Too sweet. Traditional Korean food items such as dakkalbi (spicy grilled chicken) and dwejikalbi (spicy grilled pork) have a balance of salty, sweet, spicy and bitter.
One of the reviewers for this product on Amazon.com posted her recipe for what you might call stir-fried Korean sweet chili noodles with shrimp.
So first you saute some veggies, say, in some peanut oil in a skillet or small wok, and then you add some scallops, say, or maybe shrimp, and then you turn off the heat and follow the directions on the box (using the microwave). Then you add the noodles, flavor pack and the UNBELIEVABLY fantastic Sweet Korean Chili sauce to the skillet and toss to heat through. Maybe you add some almonds or peanuts, say, after you add it all either to a bowl or a plate, and then you consume with some moderately sweet wine, like White Zinfandel, say. An absolutely fantastic meal.
That’s certainly a good option to stretch this 600-plus-calorie bowl between two to four people.
On its own, Annie Chun’s Korean Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl is a slightly healthier alternative for a quick lunch at work than greasy fast food or a bowl of deep-fried ramen. But if your sweet tooth is reserved for dessert only, you might want to leave this noodle bowl on the shelf.
Opening the box revealed (clockwise from top left) Bibimbap Sauce, Sesame Oil, a container of Rice, a package of vegetables and a small spoon.
Here’s the microwave part. I nuked the rice for two minutes. I didn’t have to put water in there. It just cooked by itself with whatever contents were already in the bowl.
Next I pooped out the package of vegetables. Don’t they look appetizing? I think there’s some carrot, mushroom and bean sprout in there. The last time I puked looked sorta like this.
Squeeze out the Sesame Oil and Bibimbap Sauce.
Stir.
Taste.
Actually, it didn’t taste so bad. The Sesame Oil and Bibimbap Sauce carried most of the flavor.
