Presenting our best instant ramen hack yet: a bed of hot, crunchy, gooey Korean corn cheese over instant noodles.
The bed of melted cheddar, the crunch of sweet corn, the pull of gooey mozzarella with every slurp of noodle. Once you try it, you'll tell all your friends to combine instant noodles with Korean corn cheese. It's life-changing levels of good.
This recipe uses Samyang Buldak ramen, the South Korean instant noodles of fire noodle challenge fame, to bring an appetizing heat to the dish. Grab the Quattro Cheese variant, if you can.
Cook noodles: Add water to a pot and bring to a boil. Cook noodles until al dente, about 1—2 minute less than the suggested cooking time. Remove extra water by pouring it off or scooping it out with a ladle. You want enough water to make a sauce, not soup!
Make corn cheese: Add seasoning packets, corn, butter, Kewpie mayo, and sugar. Stir quickly until combined. Place two slices of cheddar cheese over the noodles, followed by grated mozzarella. Cover pot to melt the cheese, about 1 minute.
Serve: Uncover pan and pour noodles into a low bowl, keeping the melted cheese as intact as possible. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve hot while the cheese is melty.
Any brand and flavor could benefit from added corn cheese, but this recipe works especially well with Korean cheese-flavored instant noodles.
We recommend using Samyang Buldak Quattro Cheese (not to be confused with regular Samyang Buldak Cheese) for its spicy and extremely cheesy flavor.
If you'd like something non-spicy, you can check out Ottogi's and Paldo's cheese-flavored noodles.
You want to use quick-melting cheese for these corn cheese noodles. Save your fancy cheeses for next time—cheap grocery cheddar and mozzarella will work great here, since they're designed (or processed!) to melt pretty quickly.
If you can't find cheddar singles, you can use American cheese.
Because Kewpie mayo is the best mayo ever!
But seriously: it has a better flavor and texture than regular mayo. It includes rice vinegar, which gives it a sweet tang. It has a velvety texture that gives your noodles a creamy, saucy mouthfeel.
If you think regular mayo is gross, Kewpie might change your mind!