Been watching some Korean spicy noodle mukbangs? The burning question in your minds must be: How spicy is the Samyang 2x Hot Chicken Ramen exactly? In this post, we’ve compared the Samyang 2x Spicy Noodles Scoville Heat Unit vs. other Samyang noodles and give you tips on making the Spicy Noodle Challenge more delicious and enjoyable!
How Spicy is the Samyang 2x Hot Chicken Ramen Exactly?
A Spicy History
If you haven't heard of the Spicy Noodle Challenge, you must be living under a rock. Also known as the Fire Noodle Challenge, this food phenomenon has been making rounds in the online sphere since 2014. Up to this day, it continues to bring foodies from all over the world for a sweat-inducing and tongue-numbing ramen experience.
What some might not know is that one of Samyang's spiciest noodles, the 2x Haek Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen, was only meant to be a limited edition in celebration of the year of the Fire Rooster last January 2017.
The name “haek” roughly translates to “nuclear” or “very extreme”, while "buldak" means "fire chicken". Despite selling 8 million packets in Korean market, it was discontinued after 4 months.
But due to popular demand, it wasn’t long before the spicy noodle brand found its way back to the Asian grocery markets online and in store.
What is Samyang 2x Spicy Noodles’ Scoville Heat Unit?
The original Samyang 2x Spicy Noodles' Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) was at 8,808 SHU but the renewed version is at 10,000 SHU. That’s 2,000 SHU more than their first limited edition release in 2017!
To put this heat level into perspective, jalapeno’s SHU measures somewhere between 2,000 - 8,000 SHU. Meanwhile, Tabasco Sauce ranges from 7,000 - 8,000 SHU. It's as if eating these noodles is like eating a whole chili pepper or chugging hot sauce straight from the bottle.
Featured Products
HOT FACT
The updated
Samyang 2x Haek Spicy Buldak Chicken Noodles’ Scoville Heat Unit is 10,000 SHU.
What's in Samyang Spicy Noodles?
The noodles are primarily made from wheat flour, tapioca starch, gluten, and soybean oil while the soup is made from artificial chicken powder, red pepper powder, chili powder, and other powdered spices. The packed flakes include roast sesame and roasted laver.
One unique thing about the Samyang Spicy Noodles is that apart from the dried seasoning packet, it comes with the sauce packet: a dark red liquid stir-fry sauce that contains all the "nuclear" flavors that spice up the noodles.
If you want to see what’s inside a pack of Samyang 2x Spicy Ramen, watch our full review where we unpack a bag, go through the nutritional facts, and prepare a bowl:
Read more of our Samyang Spicy Noodle Reviews and choose your pick:
Preparing 2x Spicy Samyang Noodles
It will be hard to achieve the spice level of Bulddak Chicken if you cook it the proper way. Don’t underestimate the difference in flavor when you ace your water-to-noodle ratio!
To prepare your 2x Samyang Noodles correctly, here’s what you should do:
1. Boil your noodles for 5 minutes. You want to cook your noodles for exactly five minutes in 600 millileters of boiling water. The goal is to get stringy and chewy textured noodles, not sad and soggy.
2. Save eight spoonfuls of water (or 120 milliliters of water) before draining your cooked noodles completely. You will use this leftover water with your liquid nuclear seasoning in the next step.
3. Stir-fry, season, and serve. Stir-fry your noodles and gradually add your preferred amount of nuclear sauce over it for a subtle crisp and a spicy taste that you can tolerate.
Doing it this way will prevent you from diluting the nuclear sauce and decrease the challenging spiciness that you’re looking for. Don't forget to put in the flakes before serving!
Serving your Spicy Samyang Noodles
We all know how straightforward instant noodles are. That’s their appeal. You follow the packaging instructions and you're done!
However, if you want to explore other ways to enjoy samyang ramen, you can add a square of cheese for added richness and attempt to bring down the heat.
For added protein, you can add fried egg, chicken bites, or pulled pork. Or if you want to supplement what’s included in your dry seasoning packet, you can include shallots, carrots, beansprouts, bokchoy, mushrooms, or other vegetables you deem fit.
On the side, you can have a wedge of lime to add a hint of zest to your noodles.
You can also use Samyang Spicy Noodles for budae jiggae army stew and hot pots!
As it is, these noodles are vegan and considered halal food. Although, there is an allergy information that it's manufactured in a facility that processes fish, eggs, milk, and shellfish, so best be informed.
And a final tip from us: The Spicy Noodle Challenge prohibits you from having a drink of water or milk to temper the heat. However, that doesn’t mean you can leave it out by your side. It’s okay to take a step back when you can’t handle the heat. You wouldn’t want to have any regrets with an instant noodle dish!
A Heated Battle: Samyang 2x Spicy Nuclear Ramen vs. other Samyang noodles
As of writing, Samyang has released a total of 10 instant Korean noodle varieties. These have varying heat levels and special flavors.
Based on available information, here's a Samyang Spicy Buldak Ramen compares vs other Samyang flavors comparison based on heat level:
- Samyang 2x Spicy Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen- 8,808 SHU (original) / 10,000 SHU (2018 re-release)
- Samyang Original Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen- 4,404 SHU
- Samyang Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Curry - 3,810 SHU
- Samyang Hot Chicken Carbo Flavor Ramen- 2,400 SHU
- Samyang Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Cheese - 2,323 SHU
- Samyang Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Jjajang– 1920 SHU
The numbers look excruciating to the taste buds. But, there is very little to fear! These fire noodles wouldn’t be in the market and our pages if they weren’t tolerable nor delicious!
It might not be for the faint-hearted and it most definitely is a challenge to finish. Yet, the burning sensation is oddly worth experience, sweat, and good memories with friends!
Bring on the heat!
The Samyang 2x Spicy Noodles Scoville Heat Unit might seem out of this world for instant noodles but it’s perfect for gastronomic thrill-seekers and fun-loving foodies alike. Take the challenge with your friends, give your family members a bite, or host your own Samyang mukbang! Buy Samyang 2x Spicy Chicken Ramen and other Asian groceries at Karman Foods!
Related Articles
Do you want to try the spicy noodle challenge? Check out these different Samyang Hot Chicken Stir-Fried Noodle Flavors that will blow your mind. READ MORE
Prepare a hearty Beef Pho dish in less than 2 hours. Check out our simplified Vietnamese pho recipe and the best pho sauces to go with it. READ MORE