Top pick
One of our favorite chili-crisp brands delivers unctuous, oily noodles nestled with bits of chewy, crunchy flavor bombs.
Fly By Jing’s chili crisp has many fans, and very few would be disappointed with a pack of the Fly By Jing Chili Crisp Noodles. It comes with four seasoning packets: dried scallions, chili oil, shallot oil, and a soy-vinegar blend. Together, the combination of spice, umami, and vinegar is nice, though I found myself wishing for a little more acid to balance out the (generous) chili oil.
The sun-dried (read: not deep-fried), knife-cut–style noodles are wide, with frilly edges that offer a fun, chewy-soft textural contrast. (Real knife-cut, or “dao xiao,” noodles are produced by repeatedly slicing a blade through a giant block of dough, and they’re one of my favorite noodle shapes.)
These chili crisp noodles also happen to be vegan, so they’re a great option for households with varied diets.
Fly By Jing also makes Sweet & Spicy Noodles, based on the company’s Zhong Sauce (a sweet, soy-based black-bean sauce that’s popular for dipping dumplings). We preferred the Chili Crisp Noodles because many of our tasters find Zhong Sauce a little on the sweet side. But we also mixed the two flavors together, and that was the ultimate move—the sweetness and the salt, chili oil, black bean, shallot, and vinegar all came together in perfect harmony. If that combo interests you, the company sells the two flavors together, bundled with jars of Xtra Spicy Chili Crisp and Chengdu Crunch.
Top pick
The addition of a milky bone broth evens out the original Shin ramen’s spicy beef broth, and the beef and mushroom pieces feel more authentic, too. This is a rich, creamy, satisfying bowl.
If Shin ramen is the crisp cotton button-up of the instant-noodle world (a classic, always in style), then Shin Black Noodle Soup is the silk version—premium and worth the upgrade. (And sometimes, you might want to have both on hand.)
Shin Black has the same spicy beef broth base as the classic Shin Ramyun, but it includes an additional sul-lung-tang (ox bone) seasoning packet, which adds a creamy richness and tempers the spice. The dried flake packet is also a notch above, with real chunks of freeze-dried beef, mushroom, and scallion, all of which rehydrate nicely.
As with most Nongshim products, these noodles are bulky and plentiful, and they still retain a nice toothsomeness after the recommended 4 to 5 minutes of cooking.
Many have debated which Shin reigns supreme, but it really comes down to preference or even mood. We think the added touches in Shin Black make it a more well-rounded experience, and its spice level is accessible to more people. But some prefer the punchy spice (and the price) of the classic Shin offering. Go ahead, order them both, we won’t judge.
Top pick
Don’t let the “light” label throw you off: This package delivers a beautifully clean, well-rounded spicy beef broth with silky non-fried noodles.
I’ll admit that growing up in the 1990s—with “light” (and often inferior) versions of beloved foods invading our pantries—I became a little biased against the label. Being a Shin Ramyun stalwart for decades, I had balked at spending more money for Shin Light. Yet I was pleasantly surprised when I dipped into this bowl and found that I not only liked it but loved it. And so did many of our testers.
The noodles are air-dried. And when they’re cooked, they are silkier, more slippery, and a little less chewy than their deep-fried cousins. But perhaps because the noodles don’t carry a lot of oil, the broth retains a clarity that I haven’t found with other Shin soups. This offering also has a more-nuanced flavor, with beef backing up a little to let mushroom, onion, and garlic shine too.
Unlike most other Shin soups we’ve tried, this one comes with a spicy seasoning oil packet. This allows you to further adjust the spice level (the base soup will already be somewhat spicy), and it leaves agreeable little constellations of oil on top of the rusty-clear broth.
