How to Cook Shin Ramyun: 4½ Minutes on the Stove or 7 in the Microwave

신라면sillamyeon

Short answer

Stovetop: Boil 550 ml (about 2⅓ cups) of water, add the noodles, soup base and flakes, and cook 4½ minutes, stirring now and then.
Microwave (US bag): Put the soup base and flakes in a microwave-safe bowl with the noodles on top, add 500 ml (about 2 cups) of room-temperature water and microwave 7 minutes (4 minutes if you start with hot water).

From the maker’s directions. Full steps and sources below.

Ramyeon (라면), Korean instant noodle soup: the dish in general, not necessarily Shin Ramyun. Photo: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Shin Ramyun (신라면) is Nongshim’s spicy instant noodle soup. Each bag holds 120 g (4.23 oz): the noodles, a soup base and a packet of vegetable flakes.[3][2][11][12] Bags sold in US stores are made in the USA, and some US grocers list them as “Gourmet Spicy Shin Noodles”.[5][3] Bags sold in the UK and EU are made in Korea.[7][9][8][10]

The recipe isn’t the same in every country. US and Canadian bags list beef in the soup,[1][2][6] the Korean bag declares pork, egg and beef,[11][12] and the UK and EU bags we checked list no meat at all.[7][10] On US bags the “Contains” line names only wheat and soy, so the beef shows up only in the ingredient list.[1][4] If you avoid any of these, read the ingredients on your own bag.

How to cook it

Stovetop 4½ min[2][3]

Bring 550 ml (about 2⅓ US cups) of water to a boil.
Add the noodles, the soup base and the flakes.
Cook for 4½ minutes, stirring occasionally.
Take it off the heat and serve.

The Korean bag gives the same 550 ml and 4 minutes 30 seconds.[11][13] Morrisons (UK) and Nikan Kitchen (EU) give 550 ml and 4–5 minutes.[7][8] Some shops print their own versions, such as 4 minutes on the stove or about 500 ml in the microwave, so go by your bag.[10][9]

Microwave (US bag) 7 min (4 min with hot water)[2][3]

Put the soup base and flakes into a microwave-safe bowl, then put the noodles on top.
Pour in 500 ml (about 2 cups) of room-temperature water.
Microwave for 7 minutes. If you use hot water, microwave for 4 minutes. Times vary between microwaves.
Never microwave it without water. The bowl and soup are very hot afterwards.

The US listings don’t give a wattage. The Canadian bag gives the same water and times for a 1000 W microwave.[6] For a weaker microwave, see the time converter.

What the Korean bag says

On a bag printed in Korean, the directions under 조리법 (how to cook) read:[11]

On the bag	In English
물 550ml(3컵 정도)를 끓입니다.	Boil 550 ml of water (about 3 cups).
면과 분말스프, 후레이크를 함께 넣고 4분 30초간 더 끓입니다.	Add the noodles, the soup powder and the flakes together, and boil 4 minutes 30 seconds more.

Measure the water in millilitres. The same 550 ml is printed as about 2⅓ cups on US bags, about 2¼ cups on the Canadian bag and about 3 cups on the Korean bag.[2][6][11]

Shin Ramyun Cup

The US cup holds 75 g (2.64 oz), one serving.[15][16][17] Its “Contains” line is wheat, soy and sesame, while the bag’s doesn’t name sesame.[15][17][1] Nongshim’s page lists 300 kcal and 1,200 mg sodium per cup; Food Lion and H-E-B show 330 kcal and 1,310 mg, so check your cup.[15][16][17]

Food Lion’s copy of the US cup’s pack text says: open the lid halfway, add the soup base, pour hot water up to the inside line (275 ml), close the lid for 3 minutes, then stir. To microwave it, take the lid off completely, add the soup base, fill to the line with room-temperature water and microwave for 3 minutes, never without water.[16] We found these cup directions in one place only, so follow your cup.

The small Korean cup (65 g) may be different: Costco Korea’s listing for it says 전자레인지 조리불가, “can’t be cooked in a microwave”.[18] We found that in one place only.

Label facts

Shin Ramyun bag, US label영양정보·표시사항

Bag: 120 g (4.23 oz) [3][2][11][12]
Serving (US): ½ bag (60 g); 2 servings per bag [1][3][2]
Calories (US): 260 per serving [1][3][2][4]
Sodium (US): 810 mg per serving on Nongshim’s page, 980 mg on three store listings. Two label versions may be in stores, so check your bag. [1][2][4][3]
Contains (US): Wheat, soy. The ingredients also list beef bone extract, beef extract and beef fat. [1][2][4]
Same facility (US): Also processes milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts and peanuts. Nongshim’s page adds sesame; store copies of the label don’t. [1][2][4]
Made in: USA (US bags); Korea (UK and EU bags) [5][3][7][9][8][10]
Storage: SSG’s copy of the Korean bag: away from direct sunlight, in a cool, dry place. Morrisons (UK): store dry. We found no storage line for US bags. [11][7]
Korean bag: Per 120 g bag: 500 kcal, 1,790 mg sodium. Contains wheat, soybean, pork, egg, beef. Food type: 유탕면 (fried noodles). [11][12]
UK/EU bag: Contains wheat and soy; may contain barley, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, milk, celery, mustard, sesame and molluscs. No meat in the ingredients. [7][10][9]

Morrisons’ UK listing tags the bag “Suitable for vegans” and “Halal”.[7] Those are the shop’s tags, and we couldn’t confirm either from Nongshim for UK bags, so look for a mark on your bag. Nongshim does make a halal Shin Ramyun, on a halal-only line at its Busan factory that Korean news reports date to 2011.[19][20] US bags are made in the USA and the Korean bag declares pork, so neither is that version.[5][11] In the US, Nongshim’s vegan option is a separate product, Shin Ramyun Green.[14]

Korean words on Shin Ramyun packs

Tap the speaker to hear each word. More in the label words list.

조리법joribeophow to cook (the directions heading)
물mulwater
끓는 물kkeulleun mulboiling water
면myeonnoodles
분말스프bunmal seupeusoup powder packet
후레이크hureikeudried topping flakes
더deomore, further (e.g. 2분 더 = 2 more minutes)
함유hamyucontains
돼지고기dwaejigogipork
쇠고기soegogibeef
유탕면yutangmyeonfried noodles (a food type)
전자레인지 조리불가jeonjareinji jori bulgacan’t be cooked in a microwave

Ways to serve it

Crack in an egg for the last minute or so, or add sliced green onion.
Serve it with kimchi on the side.

These are serving ideas, not part of the pack’s directions.

Sources

Checked October 26, 2026. If your pack differs, follow your pack, and tell us so we can update this page.