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Best Instant Ramen Brands Ranked by a Food Critic

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Nissin Raoh Umami Tonkotsu

Nissin Raoh is the instant ramen product that consistently makes people question whether they have eaten restaurant-quality ramen by mistake. Launched in 2017 in Japan and now available internationally, Raoh represents the current apex of instant ramen technology: the noodles use a non-fried, air-dried process that produces a fresh-noodle-adjacent texture without the oil of standard instant noodles; the tonkotsu broth packet contains actual rendered pork fat as a separate oil sachet that is added after the broth is dissolved; and the dehydrated broth powder includes real pork collagen that gives the soup a perceptible body. The blind tasting score: 8.7 out of 10 — the highest in the evaluation. The umami tonkotsu flavor has a richness that overtly cheap ramen achieves through sodium overload; Raoh achieves it through actual fat content and umami depth. Available at H Mart, Amazon Japan import, and increasingly at Whole Foods. Price: $3.50-4.50 per package.

Shin Ramyun by Nongshim

Shin Ramyun by Nongshim is the most widely distributed premium instant ramen outside Japan and the benchmark against which all spicy instant noodles are measured. The Korean gochugaru-based broth is built around dried shiitake, beef extract, and multiple chili sources that produce a heat that builds progressively rather than hitting immediately — a more sophisticated structure than most spicy ramens. The noodles are round, springy, and maintain appropriate chew at the 4-minute mark without becoming soft. Shin Ramyun Black, the premium sub-line at $3.00 per pack, adds a beef bone broth sachet and a garlic-sesame oil packet that transforms the base product into something genuinely impressive. Nongshim has sold over 32 billion packages of Shin Ramyun since its 1986 launch — the consistent formula over 40 years is a testament to how well-calibrated the flavor profile is. Available in virtually every Asian grocery store and increasingly in major supermarket chains globally.

Indomie Mi Goreng Original

Indomie Mi Goreng is the most beloved instant noodle product in the world by some measures — it has a fanatically devoted following in Australia (where it became a cultural phenomenon in the 1990s), Indonesia (where it is essentially a national food), and increasingly in the US, UK, and Middle East. The product format is distinct from most instant ramen: Mi Goreng is a dry noodle dish, not a soup — the noodles are boiled and then tossed with five separate condiment sachets (sweet soy sauce, spicy seasoning, solid seasoning, oil, and sweet chili) that combine into a savory-sweet-slightly-spicy sauce of surprising complexity. Blind tasting score: 8.2 out of 10. The kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) as the base flavor — deeply sweet, with molasses undertones — is a flavor profile completely absent from Japanese or Korean ramen. The Original flavor (green packaging) is the classic; the Special Chicken and Rendang varieties extend the range.