I got a couple of these family packs sent as samples from Nongshim America the other day…
I’ve had tons of the version that they sell in Korea, but now they’re making it in the United States – specifically in Rancho Cucamonga, California! Today I’ll give this stuff a try and see if it’s as good as what I’ve tried from Korea.
The back of the package (click to enlarge).
The noodle block.
The powder seasoning packet.
Spicy powder!
Nutty seasoning!
Tastes like peanuts and has black sesame seeds in there.
The veggie packet.
Here are all the seasonings hanging out together.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added some sweet onion. The noodles are great – plentiful and of a nice gauge. The slurp up just the right amount of broth and arrive at a very good consistency and chew. The broth is great – the peanut and spicy elements all combine to make a really fiery as well as hearty combination that is quite enjoyable. The veggies are plentiful and there’s a nice variety of them. This stuff is excellent, just like its Korean counterpart. Nice to see that everyone will get to try this stuff in the USA! 5.0 out of 5.0 stars – wonderful stuff! UPC bar code 031146019526.
Here’s the Korean TV commercial for Jinjja Jinjja. These guys are known as Cultwo.
You’re probably wonder ‘gee, he sure reviews that Jinjja Jinjja quite a lot – what gives?’ Well, they sent me a lot of it and since I really like it, I want to enjoy it before it expires. Well, actually it expired in September, but I’m just about out of it. Here’s the last full review of it.
Finished (click image to enlarge). Added a slice of processed cheese, a little peanut butter, kimchi and Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake. Peanut butter – good stuff! Still calling it a 5.0 – great stuff! UPC bar code 8801043017916 – get it here.
This guy is brave – he’s pounding this stuff down!
Good news and bad news. Bad news: no reviews for about a week (we’re going on vacation). The good news: I will leave you with the first ever bacon monstrosity!
Since Jinjja Jinjja has a pork base, I thought that it would be a great match for bacon!
If you would like to see my last review of Jinjja Jinjja, check it out here. With that, let’s get things going!
I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now and last week, got some butcher block bacon at a local grocery store. Well, you know how bacon is cured and pretty much will stay fine in the fridge forever? Yeah – a single week and it was green. Crapulent. Our vacation begins with a 14+ hour drive and so we’re trying to get to bed early. Well, some bum decided to do all of their laundry, pushing our scheduled crashout time up at least an hour. As a result, we went to a different grocery store and got some new bacon. Kimchi’s a no-brainer here as It’s perfect with South Korean ramyun. The cheese is great too. But the peanut butter will be a new one for me – people have mentioned it many times before. Again, Jinjja Jinjja seemed a good fit with the peanut powder packet.
Whoa. Okay so I added a huge spoonful of peanut butter and used less water than is called for (to keep it spicy). Two slices of cheese, a good amount of kimchi and of course, the bacon. The peanut butter coats everything really well and I liked that a lot. I think if you’ve not tried bacon and peanut butter in your noodles, go out on a limb and give it a try – hey it’s good! Bacon for the win! See you in a week!
Since my last review of this product, I found out that I made it wrong! Yup… I suppose if I could read Korean I would’ve made it right. It turns out that the red packet goes in first with the noodles and cooks, and the peanut and veggies go in last after everything’s cooked! I’m hungry – gonna do it exactly as I’m supposed to this time! Here’s the old review.
Yeah I should learn to read Korean! Ah well… It was really good made incorrectly so we’ll see how it is made the right way.
The noodle block! Roar! Again, I read that the flour used to make these particular noodle blocks have a little chili pepper added to make the noodles spicier!
The fiery red powder that brings the heat!
Plenty of fire! Hooray!
Peanut powder!
This is a truly unique component – I really like it.
The vegetables.
Add them last!
Finished. Added some onions. Again, the noodles are wonderful and just right. The broth was absolutely great – hot,and spicy and a great flavor that not only was enchanting to the tongue but to the nose as well, most notably by the peanut fragrance. This time, I tried it by putting the vegetables on top at the very end and they definitely were better – in retrospect, I remember I thought it was interesting that the R&D people at Nongshim did it this was when I tried it the very first time there in California. Since I tried Jinjja Jinjja on the 17th of May, I’ve had it a total of four times. This is pretty uncommon for me; I don’t usually crave the same noodles so soon after having them. I would have to say this is quite a good product and one deserving of a perfect score of 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. By my own words in the How I Review section, a 5.0 is one that I will call up my friends and tell them to try. Well, this one and the new Shin Black Onion cup are both ones that would fall into that category. The flavor, the uniqueness and the sheer pleasure of a bowl of noodles that makes me sweat are all at hand, and I couldn’t be happier. UPC bar code 8801043017916 – get it here.
This guy is brave – he’s pounding this stuff down!
Some dry powder, some goopy stuff which I figure is soybean paste.
And yes – it was soybean paste and sesame oil. I must admit it was one of the harder packets of goop that I’ve dispensed.
The noodles were decent and had some characteristic firmness I enjoy. The broth was delightful – full of complexities I would describe as deep. Some sesame seeds, sesame oil beads dancing atop the soup and the soybean paste flavor rounding it out. Tasted like some kind of meal I would expect to have in a nice place by the water. I’m giving this one 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. It was pretty great stuff! Get it here.
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