The Asian-Inspired Baked Potato Makeover That Unlocks Serious Flavor

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Baked potatoes are a belly-warming blank canvas of a food. Just salt and butter is enough to turn them into a humble snack, but toppings are only really limited by the imagination. And in the last few years, Buldak noodles have been taking social media by storm. It's only natural to combine the two in loaded ramen baked potatoes.

Buldak ramen is a notoriously spicy instant noodle created by the Korean brand Samyang Foods. Rather than being a soupy ramen like most brands, Buldak noodles have most of the liquids drained after being cooked and are finished with the provided sauce. You can find a multitude of different flavors such as kimchi or curry, and some of the spicy chicken flavors were even briefly recalled in Denmark for being too hot. Adding Buldak to a humble baked potato elevates them to a mouthwatering Korean spice explosion. The spuds cut some of the masochistic spice, and the blend of noodles with creamy potato makes for a textural delight.

The most simple version of this dish would be to bake a potato and top it with ramen cooked per the package instructions. But you can better integrate the two ingredients by first scooping out the fluffy potato insides and mixing them with Buldak flavor packets to create a thick, spicy sauce. After coating the noodles in the sauce, you can then put them into the leftover potato skins and place it all into the oven once more, creating your own ramen-loaded baked potatoes.

From there, the ramen-loaded potatoes can be eaten as-is or elevated with any number of condiments and toppings. There's the classic sour cream, green onion, and bacon, but the potato could also take an Asian twist with a shoyu tamago eggs or furikake. You can also upgrade the potato with any variety of Buldak flavors. The carbonara flavor is extra creamy, while the Quatro Cheese gives a satisfying umami bite.

If the Buldak still proves too spicy, it can be toned down with any number of ingredients such as sesame oil, mayo, cheese, or sour cream. Getting the perfect baked potato with fluffy insides and a crunchy shell can also be hard to master. We recommend steaming the spud first to ensure a soft and airy center, and to use beef tallow to crisp the skin.