The Best Instant Ramen Brands You Can Buy Online
2024-12-02 · 7 min read
Instant ramen has evolved far beyond the 25-cent brick of noodles you survived on in college. The premium instant ramen market has exploded, offering products that taste closer to restaurant ramen than to the sodium bombs of your youth. These are legitimate meals, not just survival food, and the best ones are available online with a few clicks.
Nongshim Shin Ramyun Black is the gateway drug. The South Korean brand's premium version of their classic spicy noodle adds a beef bone broth packet that gives the soup a richness the original lacks. The noodles are thicker and chewier, and the spice level is aggressive without being punishing. It has been a bestseller in Asia for years and deserves its reputation.
Ichiran's take-home ramen kit brings the Fukuoka tonkotsu experience to your kitchen. The kit includes thin straight noodles, concentrated pork bone soup base, and their signature red pepper paste. It costs more than most instant ramen, around $8 per serving, but the result is closer to the restaurant experience than any other instant product available.
Indomie Mi Goreng is the Indonesian fried noodle that has cult status across Southeast Asia, Australia, and increasingly the world. The combination of sweet soy sauce, chili, and fried shallots creates a flavor profile that is addictive from the first bite. At around 50 cents per pack, it is also the best value in the instant noodle world by a wide margin.
Samyang Buldak, the Korean fire noodle brand, created a spice challenge that went viral globally. The original is genuinely painful for most people, but the carbonara and cheese flavors offer the same excellent chewy noodle with more manageable heat levels. The 2x Spicy version is for masochists only and comes with our sincere concern for your digestive system.
Other recommendations include Nissin Raoh for a refined Japanese option, A-Sha noodles from Taiwan for exceptional noodle texture, and Mama Tom Yum from Thailand for the best hot and sour instant soup. Stock your pantry with a variety and add a soft-boiled egg, sliced scallions, and a drizzle of sesame oil to elevate any instant ramen from snack to meal.
