Here's What You're Eating In A Packet Of Ramen Seasoning

Ever wonder what you're eating in a packet of instant ramen seasoning? While it tastes like magic dust, it includes ingredients that may already be in your pantry: dehydrated aromatics, vegetables, and herbs, umami powder or stock granules, salt, spices, sugar, soy sauce powder, and monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer that is not bad for you.

These ingredients are not just randomly added to a packet of ramen seasoning — they work together in harmony to add flavor and umami to your instant noodles, making them constantly craveable and satisfying. The herbs, aromatics, and vegetables can include dried shallots, garlic, onion, chives, scallions, cilantro, carrots, and corn. And the umami powder can be made from chicken or mushroom.

MSG, which is also found in Doritos, Pringles, and fast food like Chick-fil-A and KFC, amplifies all of the umami from the soy sauce powder and stock granules, leaving a lingering pleasant savoriness on the tongue as you enjoy your instant noodles. As for the addition of sugar, the sweetness helps balance the savoriness and salinity. So while instant noodles are sodium-heavy, the broth won't taste overpoweringly salty. As for the spices found in the seasoning packets (like cumin and coriander), they add complexity and depth to the noodles and broth.

It's important to note that the exact ingredients in the seasoning packets will vary between instant ramen brands and from flavor to flavor. Take, for example, our favorite spicy ramen: the SamYang Buldak spicy chicken noodle (carbonara flavored). Ingredients in the seasoning packet include red pepper powder, chili extract and powder, curry powder, and black pepper along with the usual ingredients such as chicken powder, sugar, and soy sauce. This brand and type of instant ramen is known to pack heat, enough to make one sweat and fan their fanny the next day.

Another one of our favorite instant ramens, the Nissin Demae black garlic oil instant ramen noodles, is not spicy but wonderfully savory. Its seasoning packet includes MSG, sugar, soy sauce powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and something interesting: milk powder. Since the ingredients in seasoning packets vary, it is good to always check the labels, in case there are ingredients one can't eat or are curious about.

Finally, while we can agree that instant noodles are great straight out of the packaging, you can always elevate them. This week, try our spruced up instant ramen and fixings recipe by Tasting Table recipe developer Michelle McGlinn. You can use any instant ramen brand and turn a snack into a hearty meal.