The Korean instant ramen known as Buldak, which translates literally to "fire chicken," has become well known not just for its simplicity and taste but for its nearly unbearable levels of spice.
Made by Samyang, a South Korean food company, Buldak is so hot that it became its own challenge in the wider world of online spicy-food-eating trends in the late 2010s.
That was a happy accident, The Wall Street Journal reported. But the spice and flavor? Months of development and a personal too-hot-to-handle food-eating experience, Samyang CEO Kim Jung-soo told the Journal.
Kim, who took the company's helm in September, told the publication that the idea for Buldak came around the spring of 2010 when she and her daughter ate at a fried-rice restaurant popular for its hot dishes.
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The two couldn't handle the spiciness, but Kim still believed there was a market for a spicier ramen, she told the Journal.
"We have to do a ramen version of this," she recalled saying.
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Samyang's food-development team took months to perfect the flavor, going through 1,200 chickens and two tons of sauce, the report said.
Kim herself initially couldn't handle the spiciness of Buldak — its original flavor rated at about 4,000 Scoville heat units. But the product took off in Korea and, soon, in the US.
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Walmart told the Journal that Buldak was one of the top-selling premium ramen on its shelves. Samyang said Costco had also been selling Buldak at some West Coast locations and was considering expanding the ramen's availability throughout the US.
Online, adventurous eaters have challenged themselves to see how quickly they can eat a package of Buldak or how many packages of Buldak they can eat before they tap out. Many can be seen breaking out in sweat and tears.
Since Buldak's debut in 2012, Samyang has introduced different flavors, including a carbonara flavor and a hotter version of the original Buldak, making it one of the spiciest instant ramen on the market.
