Hello everyone,
Today, we’re diving into the spicy world of Samyang again, as I’m reviewing one of their three new spicy ramyeon releases: MaepTaeng Black Pepper Beef Ramyeon.
Samyang, well-known for their Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen, also popularly called Buldak Bokkeum Myun, recently launched three new spicy ramyeon varieties.
With the incredible success of Buldak overseas, they decided to expand their lineup for those who crave intense flavors.
Alongside this, I heard that the classic Samyang Ramyeon, which comes in an orange package, is being renewed with both a mild and a spicy version.
Today, I’ll start with MaepTaeng Black Pepper Beef Ramyeon.
Let’s take a closer look and see how it tastes.
Introducing Samyang MaepTaeng Black Pepper Beef Ramyeon
There’s not too much to explain about the ramyeon itself, so I thought I’d share a little backstory.
Samyang is a brand with quite the history.
They were the pioneers of instant ramyeon in Korea, but they faced a significant crisis at one point in their journey.
The problem was related to the use of lower-grade industrial beef tallow, but ironically, back then, beef tallow (called “uji”) was actually of higher quality than the palm oil used now.
This controversy caused Samyang to lose its number one spot to Nongshim and eventually fall behind Ottogi, dropping to third place.
It wasn’t until the massive success of Buldak Stir-Fried Noodles that Samyang found its way back.
It must have been a challenging time for the company.
Despite their struggles, Samyang didn’t release as many varieties of cooked ramyeon compared to other brands.
But with the success of Buldak, it seems they’re now aiming for a spicy niche, releasing three different types of ramyeon under the name “MaepTaeng,” which translates to “spicy kick.”
It feels like they’re saying, “We prepared a little of everything because we didn’t know which one you’d like.”
And today, I’m introducing MaepTaeng Black Pepper Beef Ramyeon, which is one of those three.
One of the unique aspects of the MaepTaeng series is the pentagon-shaped diagram on the package, which indicates flavor aspects like mildness, fieriness, tanginess, sharpness, and cleanliness.
The name itself gives a pretty straightforward hint of what the flavor might be—beef and black pepper.
The diagram shows that the ramyeon scores 4 out of 5 in mildness, fieriness, and tanginess, while sharpness is at level 2 and cleanliness at level 1.
I must say, it’s interesting that they even rate “mildness” on a scale.
Inside the package, it’s quite simple—no extra attached spice packets. Just the noodles, a powder seasoning, and a flake seasoning packet.
The noodles themselves are a bit on the thicker side.
The seasoning packets are also fairly standard. One contains the powdered soup base, and the other is the dried flake mix.
There wasn’t anything visually special compared to other ramyeon seasoning packets. Even the smell from the powder didn’t seem particularly spicier or unique.
Cooking Instructions, Nutrition Information, and Ingredients
The cooking instructions are straightforward: Boil 500 ml of water, add the noodles, powdered seasoning, and flakes, and cook for 4 minutes.
I noticed a lot of ramyeon brands recommend 550 ml of water, but for this one, it’s supposed to be a bit thicker in consistency, hence the 500 ml.
Nutritional Information
Total Weight: 110 g / 465 kcal
- Sodium: 1770 mg
- Carbohydrates: 75 g
- Sugars: 2 g
- Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Protein: 8 g
Ingredients
Noodles: Wheat flour (USA), modified starch 1, palm oil (Malaysia), modified starch 2, refined salt (Korea), Migam SU, alkaline agent for noodles (potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, disodium phosphate), onion extract, guar gum, green tea flavor oil, vitamin B2, citric acid.
Powder Seasoning: Refined salt (Korea), umami base S, refined sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, spicy chili base powder, beef flavor powder, vegetable soy sauce powder, mixed seasoning powder, spicy seasoning powder S, stir-fried onion powder, yukgaejang seasoning powder (beef: Australia), grilled beef powder, deep flavor powder, hot pepper powder (oleoresin black pepper from India, black pepper from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia), flavor enhancer 1, red chili powder, fermented soy sauce base, stir-fried chili seasoning powder, beef flavor powder, paprika extract, soy sauce seasoning, yeast extract, citric acid, garlic flavor oil, flavor enhancer 2, ginger powder, chili extract, black pepper powder (Vietnam).
Flake Seasoning: Dried green onion, seasoned dried red chili, dried bok choy flake.
With so many different ingredients, it’s hard not to get excited about the flavor. So how does it taste?
Smell and Taste of Samyang MaepTaeng Black Pepper Beef Ramyeon
I recently reviewed Nongshim Shin Ramyun The Red and Ottogi Mayeol Ramyeon, both of which are known for their spiciness.
But when it comes to the smell while cooking, Samyang MaepTaeng Black Pepper Beef Ramyeon was the strongest of them all.
I sneezed three times while it was boiling.
I measured exactly 500 ml of water as instructed, brought it to a boil, then added the powder seasoning, flakes, and noodles, cooking for exactly 4 minutes.
Once cooked, I noticed the noodles were indeed a bit thicker. Not as thick as Nongshim Neoguri, but still on the thicker side.
Interestingly, the smell of beef and black pepper wasn’t as strong as I expected.
It felt more like a beefed-up version of Samyang Beef Ramyeon with added pepper and spiciness.
Upon tasting the broth, there was a decent umami flavor with a hint of sweetness—not from sugar, but more from the beef and vegetable flavors.
The spice level felt just slightly hotter than Shin Ramyeon, but it wasn’t overwhelming.
There was a faint black pepper taste as an afternote, but it wasn’t overpowering.
The Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) for this ramyeon is around 6000 SHU, but it didn’t feel as spicy as I expected based on the smell.
The spice level hits you warmly but doesn’t linger too long—it’s a clean, pleasant heat.
Creating a tasty spiciness is now a baseline expectation in the well-developed Korean ramyeon market, and this ramyeon delivers that basic yet enjoyable spiciness well.
As a consumer, I appreciate it.
Conclusion
So that wraps up my review of Samyang MaepTaeng Black Pepper Beef Ramyeon.
Overall, it’s a straightforward and clean-tasting ramyeon.
After finishing the ramyeon, I realized that the pentagon diagram on the front of the package, which indicates different flavor characteristics, was impressively accurate.
Since Samyang is also renewing their original ramyeon, I expected something a bit more unique or special from their spicy line.
But this one turned out to be a very mild and approachable spicy ramyeon, which was a little surprising.
Upon reflection, I think that the original Samyang Ramyeon is quite defined by whether or not it has that ham-like flavor.
So if they are releasing a version with that ham flavor, it makes sense to have a beef-flavored yukgaejang-style ramyeon with a bit of spice as part of the lineup.
It might be a bit less stimulating compared to some spicier options, but perhaps it was designed to be a ramyeon that can stick around for the long term without people getting tired of it.
If you’re looking for a ramyeon that’s spicier than average but not overwhelming, and you like a clear beef broth flavor without too many intense spices, I’d recommend giving this a try.
Next time, I’ll review another MaepTaeng ramyeon. Until then, that’s all for today.
Bye-bye!