The new product, named ‘Yeolgwang Rabokki’, boasts a Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) rating of 5,856. (Image courtesy of Ottogi)
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean food company Ottogi has launched a new instant noodle product that pushes the boundaries of spiciness in the competitive Korean instant noodle market.
The new product, named ‘Yeolgwang Rabokki’, boasts a Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) rating of 5,856, matching the company’s notoriously spicy ‘Yeol Ramen’ and surpassing the heat level of Samyang Food’s original ‘Buldak Bokkeum Myeon’ (Fire Noodles), which registers at 4,404 SHU.
This launch comes amid a continuing trend of consumers seeking out extremely spicy foods as a form of stress relief and social media challenge. The phenomenon has even spawned a new Korean portmanteau: ‘map-pamine’, combining the words for ‘spicy’ and ‘dopamine’.
Responding to this trend, Ottogi developed the stir-fried style noodle product to cater to the growing demand for intensely spicy instant noodles. The company uses ghost pepper and other potent chili powders to achieve the fiery flavor profile.
The product comes with a liquid seasoning packet designed to emulate the rich, spicy taste of tteokbokki, a popular Korean street food. The noodles themselves are described as chewy yet soft, and the package includes fish cake flakes for added texture.
Yeolgwang Rabokki is being released exclusively through convenience stores in a cup noodle format for easy preparation. It utilizes Ottogi’s ‘bokjak-bokjak’ (bubbling) cooking method, which allows consumers to prepare the noodles in a microwave without draining the water, resulting in a saucy finish.
An Ottogi representative stated, “As the culture of eating and sharing experiences of spicy foods on social media has become a form of entertainment, we’re seeing an increasing number of consumers who are enthusiastic about intensely spicy ramen.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
