Story of Buldak: How a very spicy Korean noodle landed in a soup in Denmark

An adorable fat chicken appears on the glossy and graphic packaging of Buldak ramen noodles. Also known as Hochi, this animated chicken is the mascot of the famous Buldak ramen. Spicy Buldak ramen noodles have been all over social media trends ever since mukbangs and asmr food videos made them popular. Then came the ‘spicy noodle challenge’ that made people slurp extra spicy noodles just for the sake of testing their spice tolerance. The aftermath of eating them was not really merry. While some ended up panting for water, others had to gulp down milk to stop the heat. In another viral Instagram video, a young American girl is seen crying with happy tears on being gifted carbonara buldak on her birthday. Later Buldak sent her a lifetime delivery of the instant noodles. On the other edge of this hype was Denmark withdrawing three Buldak noodle products which were assessed to have dangerous levels of capsaicin, the active component of chilli peppers.

Hochi, the animated chicken is the mascot of the famous Buldak ramen.
(Photo: Samyang foods)

Buldak, however, came in news recently over Denmark withdrawing three of their products which were assessed to have dangerous levels of capsaicin, a potential neurotoxin and an active component of chilli peppers. Buldak 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken, and Hot Chicken Stew are three products in the Buldak line that Denmark has asked to be removed. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration revealed that the noodles were very so spicy that they could lead to acute poisoning. The body asked parents to either discard or return the packets to stores. This is the first time that these products have been recalled.

Launched by Samyang Foods in April 2012, Buldak, which originally means ‘fire chicken’, is the brainchild of Kim Jung-soo, the daughter-in-law of the Samyang Foods’s founder, Chun Joong-yoon. In the spring of 2010, she saw people in a fried rice restaurant relish the ramen in both pain and pleasure, drenched in their own sweat with a fiery tongue, and yet, they seemed to enjoy it. Presently, an average Korean consumes about 77 servings of instant ramen in a year and people globally consume around 100 billion servings annually, according to the World Instant Noodle Association.

Samyang Foods was founded in 1961 by Chung Joong-yoon in the aftermath of the Korean war. This former insurance executive witnessed his country struggling with postwar food shortages. He realised instant ramen could be the solution. Their first product, a chicken flavoured noodle, quickly became an alternative to rice. However, a major blow came to the company in January 1998, when they declared bankruptcy. Kim overtook the company and the rest is history.

She shared in a Washington Post interview that the Samyang food development team went through 1,200 chickens and two tons of sauce to find the right flavour for an ultra-spicy ramen product. Employees in her company who boasted of a high spice tolerance became taste testers. Kim, however, did not have the tolerance and only recently shared that she likes to add cheese, mayonnaise and corn to her ramen. This recipe has also garnered a lot of attention on social media.

 

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A post shared by 불닭 공식 인스타그램 | Buldak Official (@buldak_global)

However, the roots of instant ramen noodles are not purely Korean. In fact, Momofuku Ando, a Japanese man invented the chicken ramen in 1958 as a pocket-friendly food product to cater to the palatial requirements of Japan after the second World War. Ando, who owns the Nissin group later also invented the iconic cup noodles. He was inspired by the American supermarket managers who broke the ramen blocks and ate them in a cup.

Ramen, which has a long shelf life and a spicy-umami taste is not just some junk food on supermarket shelves, it is also the most convenient emergency food to be supplied to disaster hit areas. Before it became food that could send people to the hospital, it was the most adaptable instant food source-serving all the sections of society in Korea and Japan.

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