Tribal People Try Ramen

Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup — wheat noodles in a long-simmered broth — but the videos are usually about the instant, packet kind, and very often the Korean Samyang Buldak 'fire noodles' that started a worldwide spice challenge.

Instant ramen is slippery, chewy and, in the Buldak version, hot in a sharp, sweet, lingering way that builds with every bite. People who eat green chillies daily still get caught out because the heat sits in a sticky sauce rather than a wet curry.

Everyone in the village knows Maggi-style noodles from the shop, so the format is familiar; it is the flavour that is foreign. The usual verdict is that the heat is fine but the sweetness is strange.

If you cook it: Drain most of the water, keep two spoons, and toss the sauce through over the flame so it coats rather than pools.