Developed and Published By: Nongshim
Category: Soup
Price: $1.79 (Varies)

Everybody loves soup. But finding the right one can be a hassle because of how many options there are to choose from. You have instant soup, canned soup, and all sorts of fancy ones too. That’s where I come in, I’m here to tell you all about the amazing Nongshim Hot and Spicy instant soup bowl. 

It’s a very cost-efficient soup, generally costing around $1.60 per bowl, but what makes it infinitely better than its competition? To figure that out, we need to compare it to a similar soup.

The one I chose to compare it to is the Nissin Hot and Spicy soup. It’s a very similar soup that tends to cost a few cents less per bowl. At first glance, you’d expect the differences to be minimal, but you’d be horribly wrong.

The first big difference between the two is the quality of the noodles. Nongshim noodles are similar to the Nissin ones in how they look and taste, but they don’t break apart easily and they stay compact after being microwaved. This means the noodles clump together nicely and you get way more noodles per bite. 

On the other hand, Nissin and other similar soup brands have noodles that fall apart very easily and there’s way less clumping. This results in fewer noodles per bite and forces you to fish for noodles in the broth. Not only that, but the texture isn’t that great when there are fewer noodles in a bite.

The next big difference is the flavor. The Nissin soup includes two flavor packets, one for seasoning and one that contains the spice sauce. The Nongshim only contains one seasoning packet, but it does its job ten times better.

The problem with Nissin and other soups is that the “spice” is just heat, independent of the actual flavor. It’s like when someone opts to add hot sauce to something bland instead of a variety of spices and seasoning. It’s heat for the sake of heat. 

Some people like that, but there’s a better way. Nongshim integrates the spice and heat directly into the flavor itself, creating a powerful combo. The flavor is strong too, strong enough that it allows for the liquid to retain a delicious and rich taste once all the noodles are gone

With Nissin and most other cheap soups, you might find yourself needing to add extra ingredients to boost the taste. But Nongshim already comes with all the flavor you could ask for. Sometimes I even prefer a Nongshim bowl over a more expensive option like Ocean’s Halo.

Don’t get me wrong, Nissin and the others aren’t bad soups at all. They’re all standard for how sub-$2 soups should taste. If you’re on a budget or need a quick bite, they’re perfect. But Nongshim goes above and beyond with both the quality and taste for their hot and spicy soup.

5/5