Went to the 99 Ranch Market near us a few weeks ago and my son Andy picked this as something he would like to try. Well, today is the day to try it out! The first time I tried this one, I made it completely wrong. Here it is in review #68! Not good!
Back of the package (click to enlarge). Check out the instructions – this isn’t a single bowl of noodles, but rather a bowl of broth and a bowl of noodles that are enjoyed separately.
The noodle block.
The smaller packet, which seasons the broth.
Not a whole lot in this one.
The soybean paste which will coat the noodles.
This makes the noodles end up kind of like Jjajangmen but this is a Taiwanese version.
Here, Andy shows the proper technique: eat some noodles, slurp some soup!
Finished (click image to enlarge). Excellent! The noodles are nice – kind of stick together but that’s not a bad thing really. They have a slightly spicy and salty taste that is really nice. The broth cools the heat (Andy noticed that right away) and has a nice rich flavor. Good stuff – if you haven’t tried it, this is something unique people have really enjoyed. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars! UPC bar code 4710199050484 .
Here’s a Wei Lih commercial!
The paste is also quite popular on its own – get it here.
Thanks to Moon Hee Wi of the JoongAng Ilbo for sending me these! She wrote this article about me. So I’ve reviewed the Chapagetti that’s available here in the US, but this is the Korean version so it gets its own review. I’ve always done this and now I’ve got more reason to. I was talking to a manufacturer of instant noodles from Korea and they said that they use chicken in their instant noodles. The only problem is that the Food & Drug Administration doesn’t like Korean chicken for some reason. So they have to import chicken from a big poultry supplier in the USA into Korea, process it and package their product and then ship it back to the US for the blessing of the FDA. Not sure if that’s the case here, but regardless, it’s interesting to think that this kind of this has to happen to bring instant noodles to us from abroad.
Back of the packaging.
The noodle block. Wide noodles and lots of ’em.
The soup base – more precisely the sauce base.
This is different; more of a granulated kind of thing.
The vegetable packet.
A neat looking little smorgasbord.
A packet of olive oil.
Your standard olive oil here.
Hey look – a new plate! The President of Nongshim America kindly sent some bowls and this interesting plate recently. Thanks!
Finished. Added broccoli, re bell pepper, onion and some roast beef. The noodles are thick and hearty. I would go so far as to say that once everything is combined, the noodles and sauce are kind of meaty. It’s a really hearty and heavy meal – very tasty! The veggies are pretty good too – this is a fusion dish; spaghetti and Chajang, a black bean dish from China. Here’s a Wikipedia entry on it. I like it! 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 8801043015226 – get the version available in the United States here.
A Chapagetti commercial from the late 90’s – looks like they’re huddled around a monitor checking out the then-new Internet, but the Internet isn’t as awesome as Chapagetti!
Here’s another interesting one – Jjajangmen. The last time I reviewed this, I had mixed it in like it mentions on the back. This time, I’m going to put it on top like in the picture!
Back of the package.
Looks like a big block of thick noodles.
A big packet of sauce. This isn’t a soup base – it’s a sauce.
Finished. Noodles are very chewy and the sauce is awesome; it seems like it’s beef laden but there’s no beef here. A very hearty and tasty meal! 4.0 out of 5.0 stars.UPC bar code 648436100590 .
Here’s another well-known Nongshim pack – Chapagetti. Basically, you take spaghetti and combine it with Chajang, which is a black bean sauce – now you have Chapagetti!
Here’s the back of the package.
These noodles are of a wide gauge and mention on Nongshim America’s website says there’s 12% more of them than in other varieties of theirs.
Here’s the stuff that makes the sauce.
Different than most of the seasonings I’ve seen – this is very granular.
Vegetable oil? Usually I’ve seen seasoned oil, but this is straight.
Yeah that looks like vegetable oil!
Finally, the vegetable packet.
An interesting looks little mixture! I looked in the ingredients and as it turns out, there’s potato and pork in here!
Finished. Added some veggies. I distictly remember this being very dry the last time I had this and dry isn’t something that comes to mind here. The noodles are nice and thick and the sauce coats them nicely. The sauce is rich; nice black bean flavor. The veggies and pork are great – the pork bits especially were enjoyable with a nice bit of chewy freshness. This was good – something I’d eat again. 4.0 our of 5.0 stars! UPC bar code 031146155736 – get it here.
Nongshim Chapagetti commercial
Ancient Korean Traditional Music – Hwang Byeonggi – Kayagum Sanjo Variation (Filmed in 1966)
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