The Korean Fire Noodle Challenge
Does this packaging look familiar? If it does, you’ve probably seen it somewhere across the internet as the famous “Fire Noodle Challenge.” This ramen is Samyang’s Hot Stir Fry Chicken noodles. This fire noodles is 4,044 scovilles, making it one of the spiciest instant ramens. Because of its painfully spicy yet addicting taste, this instant noodle became part of the “Korean fire noodle challenge”.
The viral Korean Fire Noodle Challenge actually started in February of 2014, when Youtuber “영국남자 Korean Englishman” challenged his friends to eat the “Fire Chicken Noodles” that was sent to him by his fans. The premise of this challenge was simple: all they had to do is finish the noodles. After video of his friends’ reactions to eating these deathly spicy noodles was released on YouTube, the challenge exploded all over the internet. There are now over millions of google searches and over 100,000 uploads of different people trying the now infamous “fire noodle challenge.” Nowadays, people altered the challenge with things like making a time limit, eating more than one package, or even daring to try the ramen was was TWICE as spicy as the original.
The Korean Fire Noodle challenge has since then evolved. Rather than using the noodles as a challenge, some people would use them for a mukbang. A mukbang is a broadcast where the host eats large amounts of food and interacts with his or her audience. Other people use these noodles for food ASMR. In addition, the immediate popularity of the ramen had the brand, Samyang, create even many other flavors: cheese, curry, mala, carbonara, ice and jjang. You can find these noodles in almost any Asian supermarkets. In Korea, these noodles are available at any local convenience store for a very cheap price, even for less than a dollar. Samyang has even created tteokbokki chips from the flavor of the noodles. Furthermore, the spread of this challenge and the popularity of the noodles even recently allowed the Korean fire noodles to team up with Tony Moly to create a makeup line!
Overall, the Korean Fire Noodle Challenge was and still is a very popular trend. The craze for these noodles has still yet to die down, and now, many people simply enjoy the noodles as a meal or snack. Thanks to the “Fire Noodle Challenge,” the instant ramen has become an iconic snack and continues to take the internet by a storm.
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