Soup or stir-fry? Choose your Korean ramen by how you cook it

Published Oct 31, 2026 · Gatgooun

Written with AI assistance and reviewed by the Gatgooun editor. We have not cooked these noodles; the directions are the brands' own.

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Korean instant ramen comes in two broad styles, and the difference is what happens to the water. A soup ramen keeps it: the seasoning goes into the pot and you eat the noodles in broth. A stir-fry style ramen like Buldak drains most of it away, then mixes the noodles with a thick sauce. Decide which bowl you want tonight before you pick a brand.

This guide compares three noodles in our shop using each brand's own cooking directions, read on October 30, 2026. We haven't cooked them ourselves, and we don't list prices or promise how anything tastes.

The two styles, and soup ramen first

The table below sums up what each brand's page says. Where a page doesn't give a number, we say so rather than fill one in from memory or from another country's package.

Shin Ramyun is the classic soup ramen. Nongshim's US page describes springy noodles in a savory beef broth with beef bone extract, mushrooms and vegetables. The page itself doesn't list water or cooking time, so use the directions printed on your bag.

Jin Ramen Spicy works the same way. Ottogi's English page for the 120 g bag, the same size as the 4.23 oz bags in our shop, says to add the vegetable mix to about 2 cups (500 ml) of water, bring it to a boil, add the soup base and noodles, and cook for 4 minutes. Nothing is drained; the broth is the point. Ottogi's page is the global English one, so if the US bag you receive says something different, follow the bag.

Both are sold here as big multipacks: 20 bags of Shin Ramyun and 18 of Jin Ramen. Neither is a mixed sampler, so pick the one you'd be happy eating many times.

Stir-fry style: Buldak Carbonara

Buldak Carbonara takes a different route. Samyang America's directions: boil 2 1/2 cups (20 oz) of water and cook the noodles for 5 minutes, keep 1/2 cup (4 oz) of the water and drain the rest, then mix in the sauce and the cheese powder.

The half cup you keep matters. Drain it all and the sauce has nothing to loosen into; keep it all and you're making soup. Despite the stir-fry label, the brand's steps don't include a separate frying stage, so there's no need to add one.

Buldak is known for heat, and Carbonara is one flavor in the line; the name doesn't tell you it's mild. If you aren't used to spicy food, start with a portion you can share.

What you need in the kitchen

Not much, but the tools are slightly different for each style. For a soup ramen you need one pot that holds a little over 2 cups of water with room to boil, plus the bowl you'll eat from. The brands give the water in cups and milliliters, so a measuring cup is the easiest way to follow them, at least the first few times.

For Buldak Carbonara you need the same pot, a measuring cup to set aside the 1/2 cup of cooking water, and a colander or the pot lid to drain the rest. Because you mix the sauce in at the end, a wide bowl or the pot itself makes stirring easier. A timer helps for both: 4 minutes for Jin, 5 for the Carbonara, and whatever your Shin bag says.

How to choose

Think about the bowl you want on an ordinary night. If you want something warm to sip, go with a soup ramen and choose between Shin and Jin by the brand you'd rather try. If you want noodles coated in sauce, go with Buldak Carbonara and plan to measure the water twice: once to boil, once to keep.

Either way, check the bag count before you order, since these are multipacks, and read the directions on the bag you actually receive. For quick ways to dress these noodles up, see our three quick Korean dinners from the brands' own recipes.

Sources

• Nongshim USA: Shin Ramyun Original
• Ottogi (global English site): Jin Ramen Spicy, bag
• Samyang America: Buldak Carbonara