Remember the spicy Korean ramen challenge in 2016? This internet craze might have scared you from trying ramyeon—the Korean version of ramen noodles—thanks to the literally “flaming” feedback from vloggers who tried it out.
While it’s true that spicy food is essential in Korean cuisine—as seen in various popular dishes like kimchi, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and buldak (fire chicken), it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to endure the burning flavor for every meal. In fact, the noodles used for the spicy ramyeon challenge had varying levels of spiciness—from mild, moderate to extreme.
However, if you’re still scared of these “tongue-scalding noodles” but desperately want to try it out because of all the Korean dramas you’ve been binge-watching recently, there’s an easy hack for turning ramyeon from spicy to creamy in an instant which you could try.
You’ve probably heard about how drinking milk after eating spicy food can help take away the burning sensation. Now, what if we tell you that adding milk to Korean ramen while you cook it can actually help reduce the noodles’ spiciness?
Although it is an unlikely ingredient for any type of ramen, milk is found to blend well with the noodles and tone down its spiciness while producing an enjoyable creamy texture. Just simply add milk in the saucepan along with the seasoning and other extra ingredients like hot pepper powder and vegetables after cooking the noodles in boiling water, and stir over low heat.
This hack, which went viral in Korea, has also been tried and tested in local cooking variety shows, including tvN’s “Homemade Food Master Baek” with celebrity chef Baek Jong Won.
Other food vloggers have also shared their variations of this ramyeon hack, including a version that also includes cheese alongside milk.
Header photo by Syed Muhammad Afifi from Pexels
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Writer: YANN MAGCAMIT
