I did say that I'd eat it again... so here we are.
It's been nearly 3 years since I first reviewed 'Chicken Ramen in 0 seconds', and I honestly didn't think it would still exist by now.
Not only is it still going, the lineup's expanded. There was a curry version a while back, and then came this spicy version as a collab with Nissin's Karamucho range of hot snacks.
Regular readers will know... I don't handle spicy food well. So why the hell did I buy this?
Spoiler alert: it's because Karamucho likes to makes spicy promises it can't keep. Something I learned from eating Karamucho limited-edition potato chips is that they aren't normally as hot as they claim to be. They're definitely more enjoyable that way (as opposed to, y'know, totally inedible).
As always, Hiyoko-chan (the Chicken Ramen mascot) is front and centre on the pack.
This time, not such a calm staring face. That chick's feeling the heat!
These noodles aren't meant to be left in hot water for 3-5 minutes - there's a totally different prep method shown on the pack:
1. Take out the powder packet, and bite into the plain noodle block.
2. When you're ready to get spicy, crush up the remaining noodles inside the packet.
3. Pour in the Karamucho spice powder and give the bag a good shake.
4. When you think it's shaken up enough, give them a try.
Hang on a second. Start eating the plain noodles first? That's not what I signed up for! And isn't the whole 'add flavour powder and shake' thing ripping off McDonald's with their shaka shaka fries?
Anyway, this being Japan, I did as I was told...
The recommended time to add spice powder is when you've eaten about 1/4 of the noodles. I think you're meant to just measure that by eye. I didn't get the scales out, or a tape measure, or anything like that.
Smushing the bag until all the noodles are in tiny pieces would make a great form of stress relief. It's really satisfying hearing them crunch...
If you try this, be so careful when opening the spicy powder packet. I'm a clumsy human by nature, so it went all over my clothes and the floor. There is a lot of orange colouring, which you will notice if it lands on white fabrics. How do I know that? Well...
When the spicy noodle creation process is complete, time to eat.
The first bite wasn't that spicy. I knew it!
Okay, so the spice does kick in a bit later and I was eating some of my words (a perfect combo with freeze-dried Chicken Ramen, right?).
Not at the 'wow I can't physically eat this' spice level by a long shot. Nowhere near as spicy as they could be, if the noodles-to-powder ratio was even higher. Maybe that's my fault for not measuring it out?
Anyone who loves 'blow your damn head off' levels of spicy food is going to be really disappointed by these. But I think eating 1/3 or even 1/2 of the pack plain first would be too big an ask.
Verdict: 4/10. On the spicy side, sure, but takes much longer than 0 seconds to kick in.