Instant noodles are ubiquitous around the world these days. Nowadays they are often regarded as a staple in students’ pantries. Given their ease of preparation and reasonable prices this is easy to explain. Though I try to refrain from eating too many of them the fact that they come in so many flavours and how those flavours change from one country to another still amazes me to this day. That is why I decided to lower my lifespan a bit by trying a lot of “Russian” instant noodles in an effort to figure out which ones are worth getting and which are not. Read on to find out all about this not so healthy journey of mine!
Doshirak (by Paldo/South Korea)
Doshirak is part of the Russian pop culture at this point, found and eaten all around the country. Its many different flavours are sold in all markets, and even by some babushkas in street stalls. It functions as a subsidiary of Paldo, which is a rather decent South Korean instant noodle manufacturer. To be perfectly fair, it is alright, but it is not great. Given how Russians are not necessarily fans of spicing up their food, I am pretty sure that Paldo works with a “watered down” version of some of their Korean flavour sachets when they license products for the Russian market. In short, since it is such a household name, it cannot hurt to try a flavour or two that Doshirak offers, just know that they will be somewhat bland and artificial tasting.
Big Bon (by Mareven/Ukraine)
South Korea is not the only country that exports its instant noodles to Russia, Ukraine does the same as well. Big Bon, a subsidiary of Mareven, offers a lot of products to choose from to those that want a quick and unhealthy lunch. Interestingly, they also offer one of the very few dry noodles that I could find in Russia so far, which is what makes this brand so dear to me. Sure, steaming soupy instant noodles are fine for dark and cold winter nights, but for everything else, dry noodles are my go-to. Though its taste was not scrumptious enough for me, it did get the job done. I would appreciate a spicier version of this and perhaps one with a bit more noodles. To be fair, the noodles themselves were on the thicker and chewier side so that deserves some praise, but all the rest should be refined a bit more to come up with a truly decent product.
Beshbarmak Instant Noodles
Oh, good lord… I cannot even begin to explain just how hyped I felt when I first laid my eyes on this unique creation in an aisle. Even my landlady was surprised to see that “such stuff” were found in a normal supermarket. Well, this “stuff” turned out to be much worse than I expected I am afraid. It did not taste bad, per se, but it did not taste any good as well. The soup was a bit too gamey for my taste, and as someone who had the real thing in an actual Kazakh and later Kyrgyz restaurant, I can tell you that the original dish is not this gamey. This product had a liquid soup base too, which was quite oily. Certainly not a product for me.
Jajangmyeon (by Doshirak)
Paldo’s subsidiary, Doshirak, does not only produce a few admittedly boring soupy instant noodles, they also try to broaden the horizons of their customers’ palates by introducing a few unique recipes into the mix. This is where this jajangmyeon comes into the discussion. Full of rather delicious dried veggies, what I thought to be actual real meat, and chewy delicious noodles, this instant noodle has everything to be a star, almost. As an appreciator of a good jajangmyeon whenever I can visit a Korean restaurant myself, I must say that the sauce hardly resembles the real dish it is based on. It is not bad per se, but it is definitely not earthy enough. This is not a deal-breaker for sure, I can see myself eating a few more of these if I buy them later on but to be honest with everyone, I would rather pay the premium and buy the actual Korean versions if I have the chance.
Chan Ramen (by Doshirak)
This “Chan” ramen is an adaptation of “Shin” ramen (best soupy instant noodle out there), and a not so poor one at that. It comes in two varieties, a spicy version and a standard one. Both are tasty, and the spicy one is actually somewhat spicy. I tried the spicy version with some fake crabsticks and went for the standard version without any condiments to get the full taste profile. I can confidently say that decently rehydrated veggies, flavourful broth, and some good noodles are what awaits you if you buy a pack of Chan ramen.
After some consideration, I must say that the so-called Chan Ramen is likely your best bet if you want to enjoy some instant noodles as a visitor of Russia. There are, to be fair, plenty more products to choose from and this list can technically go on for many more pages if I wanted to taste test them all. However, I have certain expectations from a meal given how I get to have only two of those a day, and trying random instant noodles kind of does not cut it for me anymore… I tried my best to try a variety of unique and also some very well-known products to give you folks an overall impression of the Russian instant noodle market and I hope that this much testing is enough for that simple goal.