This post is a review of Nongshim Chapagetti The Black.
It seems like a premium version of my favorite jjajang ramen, Chapagetti, has come out, so let’s dive into a review.
The phrase, “Today, I’m a Chapagetti chef,” from the advertisement automatically comes to mind.
With a bit of red pepper powder sprinkled on top, a fried egg, and some green onion kimchi on the side, it always tastes amazing.
Introduction to Nongshim Chapagetti The Black, Contents
Chapagetti The Black is a new product released in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the original Chapagetti, much like Shin Ramyun The Red.
Actor Son Suk-ku appears in the commercial, asking how something that’s already delicious can be made even more so, and then confidently declares that they did it.
To be honest… he’s right, at least about the beginning part of the commercial.
For 40 years, many challengers have tried, but Chapagetti remains Chapagetti…
It’s never lost its throne—not even once.
The sales numbers prove it.
Even if it’s a new contender under the Chapagetti name, it’s still a tough act to follow. !
Even if it’s a new contender under the Chapagetti name, it’s still a tough act to follow. !
The contents include dried noodles, powdered jjajang sauce, flakes, and jjajang seasoning oil.
The components are not very different from the original Chapagetti.
The noodles are similar to the original version—thick and chewy—but they are dried noodles.
A long time ago, Chapagetti’s seasoning oil was changed to olive oil, but here it’s listed as jjajang seasoning oil.
Thinking about it, Chinese-style jjajangmyeon isn’t made with fried noodles, so it might actually be better this way.
Although they say it’s healthier… honestly, who are we kidding?
Sure, dried noodles might be a little better than fried ones, but it’s more about the image.
That “high calcium” label on the package offers no real comfort.
Come on… we can get calcium from other sources, can’t we? !
The powdered sauce doesn’t look particularly different to the eye.
If I remember correctly, the Chapagetti powder has a coarse texture, almost like instant coffee granules.
The flakes include some decent-sized soy meat chunks and pieces of cabbage.
The soy meat flakes are probably the biggest I’ve seen in any instant noodle.
Flavor and Aroma
Following the cooking instructions, I added the noodles and flakes to 600ml of boiling water and cooked them for 5 minutes.
Getting the amount of leftover water just right is the key to perfect Chapagetti.
Personally, I like to drain about half a beer glass (roughly 90ml) of water when the noodles are still a bit undercooked, then discard the rest.
Add the powdered sauce and the seasoning oil, mix well, then turn the heat back on and cook until the sauce thickens up a bit.
If you drain too much water, it’ll evaporate too quickly with the heat of the pot, and if you overcook the noodles, they’ll swell while mixing with the sauce. !
It had been a while since I last made it, but I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out.
There was about half a shot glass of sauce left at the bottom, just enough to mix the noodles nicely.
I was too lazy to fry an egg, so I used a boiled egg instead, and ate it with some green onion kimchi.
The aroma is a bit sweeter compared to the original version.
Honestly, the original Chapagetti is already quite rich, so it’s hard to tell if this one is actually richer.
Tasting it, there’s definitely more sweetness.
It doesn’t taste like sugar sweetness—it’s more like they added extra onion, giving it a subtly lingering sweetness towards the end.
It feels like they actually did what everyone says: “Add more onions when making jjajang sauce.”
The texture of the noodles feels less plump but more chewy compared to the original.
As for the sauce, if you ask whether it’s richer, you might squint and think, “Is it really?”—maybe just a bit.
If the original is a 1, this one would be a 1.1 or 1.2—not a dramatic difference.
Even though they’re dried noodles, they still had enough gloss and stickiness once mixed with the sauce.
The large soy meat chunks are a plus, if that’s what you’re into.
Nongshim Chapagetti The Black Ingredients and Nutritional Facts
If I had to pick out unique ingredients, I’d say sticky corn starch, bone marrow flavoring oil, and rice bran oil are the notable ones.
I remember that a long time ago, rice bran oil got a lot of criticism because of a scare over carcinogens.
Honestly, back then, it seemed like they were just writing articles about how no oil was safe from producing carcinogens when heated.
In my opinion, using rice bran oil definitely makes the fried elements and flavoring oil taste better.
I also like that it’s not olive oil this time.
Thinking about it, they probably added olive oil to the original for the “healthy” image, but really… olive oil in jjajang ramen?
I definitely felt that the sauce was richer than the original, yet it surprisingly has less sodium.
Most ramen tends to have over 1500mg of sodium, but this one has only 1120mg.
Not much different from the original Chapagetti.
In terms of calories, the original Chapagetti has over 600 kcal, while Chapagetti The Black is just 465 kcal.
This is likely due to the dried noodles.
Conclusion
A tasty sidegrade of Chapagetti.
If you like jjajangmyeon with a bit more sweetness, this could be a good choice for you.
It’s definitely well-made, but I wouldn’t say it surpasses the original.
If anything, it just makes me appreciate how well-crafted the original Chapagetti is.
It’s still not healthy if you’re looking out for your health.
That said, looking at the changes, it does seem like they put some thought into this product.
I was ready to say it wasn’t good if it wasn’t—but it’s tasty, so there’s not much else to say.
That’s it for the review!
Bye-bye ~