Bulguri: BTS Jungkook’s Buldak Neoguri Ramen
Bulguri brings together two completely different sides of Korean ramyeon culture: the fiery, sauce-coated intensity of Buldak and the savory seafood character of Neoguri. The result is chewy, glossy, aggressively spicy, and surprisingly aromatic once a final drizzle of perilla oil hits the hot noodles.
Cooking Order
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Neoguri Ramen1 pack
Buldak Bokkeummyeon1 pack
Water650 ml
Perilla oil1 tablespoon
Step 1: Make the Spicy Broth
Pour 650 ml of water into a pot. Add the Neoguri vegetable flakes, half of the Neoguri seasoning powder, and the entire Buldak sauce packet. Bring to a boil.
Step 2: Add the Noodles
Once the broth comes to a boil, add both the Neoguri and Buldak noodles.
Step 3: Reduce the Broth
Cook the noodles while allowing the broth to reduce. Stir occasionally and adjust the cooking time depending on the noodle texture you prefer.
Step 4: Finish with Perilla Oil
When the noodles are fully cooked and the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of perilla oil and sprinkle the Buldak flakes on top.
Editor's Detail
Bulguri (불그리) is a spicy Korean instant-noodle mashup combining Buldak Bokkeummyeon with Neoguri. BTS’s Jungkook helped popularize the combination after sharing his version with fans, using a frying pan to reduce the sauce around both noodles and finishing the bowl with sesame seeds and fragrant perilla oil.
Bulguri is a Korean ramyeon mashup that combines Buldak Bokkeummyeon’s intensely spicy stir-fry sauce with Neoguri’s thick noodles and seafood-forward seasoning. Jungkook’s version is distinguished by cooking the noodles as the liquid reduces rather than simply boiling and draining them, then finishing with aromatic perilla oil.
- What Makes Bulguri Special
- The Hero Ingredients
- The Technique: Reduce, Don’t Drain
- Bulguri in Korean Ramyeon Culture
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
| Prep | Cook | Total | Servings | Difficulty | Cuisine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 min | 8–10 min | 10–15 min | About 2 | Easy | Korean fusion |
Why This Recipe Works
Bulguri succeeds because the two ramyeon styles solve each other’s weaknesses. Buldak supplies concentrated chili heat and sweetness, while Neoguri brings thicker noodles, kelp-driven umami, and seafood depth. Cooking both together in a wide frying pan encourages faster evaporation, allowing the sauce to concentrate around the noodles instead of being drained away. Perilla oil added at the end softens the sharp edges with deep, earthy nuttiness without making the dish creamy or heavy.
What Makes Bulguri Special
Bulguri (불그리) belongs to Korea’s long-running culture of combining packaged ramyeon into entirely new dishes. The name itself blends Buldak (불닭) with Neoguri (너구리), much like Chapaguri combines Chapagetti and Neoguri.
BTS member Jungkook shared his Bulguri combination with fans in 2023, and the Korea Tourism Organization later featured Bulguri among Hallyu celebrity ramyeon recipes. His version emphasizes a frying pan, strong heat, sauce reduction, sesame seeds, and a finishing pour of perilla oil rather than treating the noodles as an ordinary soup ramyeon.
That distinction matters: Bulguri should finish closer to saucy stir-fried noodles than a full bowl of broth.
The Hero Ingredients
Buldak Bokkeummyeon (불닭볶음면)
Buldak Bokkeummyeon (불닭볶음면, “bool-dahk bo-kkeum-myun”) means roughly “fire chicken stir-fried noodles.” Its liquid seasoning provides Bulguri’s dominant red color, sweetness, garlic-forward savory flavor, and intense chili heat.
Unlike soup-style ramyeon, Buldak is designed for sauce to cling directly to the noodle surface. That concentrated character is why it remains recognizable even after being mixed with another strongly seasoned noodle.
For a broader look at how Buldak fits into Korea’s instant-noodle landscape, see the complete guide to Korean ramyeon. For a creamier interpretation of the same fire-noodle concept, compare it with Rosé Carbonara Buldak Ramen.
Neoguri (너구리)
Neoguri (너구리, “nuh-goo-ree”) is a thick-noodle Korean ramyeon known for its spicy seafood-style broth and dried kelp. Its noodles are noticeably broader and chewier than many instant noodles, giving Bulguri more bite and helping the finished dish withstand aggressive sauce reduction.
Neoguri seasoning should support the Buldak rather than dominate it. Too much seasoning can push Bulguri from intensely savory into simply salty, which is why balance matters more than maximum seasoning strength.
Deulgireum (들기름) — Perilla Oil
Deulgireum (들기름, “deul-gee-reum”) is Korean perilla oil pressed from perilla seeds. It tastes deeper and more herbal than sesame oil, with the distinctive nutty quality Koreans describe as gosohan mat (고소한 맛).
In Bulguri, it functions primarily as a finishing aroma. Adding it at the end preserves more of that fragrance and prevents the delicate oil from disappearing into the aggressive chili seasoning.
The Korean perilla oil guide explains why deulgireum and sesame oil are not interchangeable, while the history of perilla oil in Korean food culture explores its wider role in Korean cooking.
After opening, keep perilla oil refrigerated and protected from light because its high unsaturated-fat content makes it relatively prone to oxidation.
The Technique: Reduce, Don’t Drain
The most important Bulguri technique is controlling evaporation.
Jungkook’s version uses a wide frying pan rather than a narrow pot. A wider surface allows more water to evaporate while the noodles cook, gradually changing the liquid from seasoned cooking water into a concentrated sauce.
Keep the liquid around a strong simmer, near 212°F / 100°C, while watching the noodle texture closely. The goal is chewy noodles surrounded by glossy sauce with a small amount of moisture remaining—not dry noodles stuck to the pan.
If the sauce becomes overly salty before the noodles soften, additional water can restore the balance. If it remains soupy, slightly more reduction concentrates it.
Perilla oil belongs at the finish rather than during prolonged high-heat cooking.
Bulguri in Korean Ramyeon Culture
Ramyeon (라면) in Korea is more than an inexpensive emergency meal. VisitKorea describes ramyeon as one of Korea’s prominent modern “soul foods”, and customizing packaged noodles with eggs, cheese, rice cakes, vegetables, or another ramyeon variety has become part of everyday home and convenience-store food culture.
Bulguri fits directly into that tradition. It takes familiar packaged products and changes their flavor through proportion, texture, and technique rather than expensive ingredients.
Travelers can see the sheer scale of modern Korean instant-noodle culture at places such as Seoul’s CU Hongdae Ramyun Library, where shelves turn ordinary packaged ramyeon into a food experience of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes this recipe authentically Korean?
Bulguri is authentically Korean because it comes directly from Korea’s ramyeon-mixing culture and uses two iconic Korean instant noodles rather than recreating their flavors from generic ramen. Jungkook’s frying-pan reduction technique, controlled seasoning, sesame garnish, and final perilla-oil aroma also reflect the way Korean cooks customize packaged noodles at home.
What if I can’t find perilla oil?
Toasted sesame oil is the easiest substitute, but it changes Bulguri noticeably. Sesame oil tastes sweeter and more roasted, while perilla oil is earthier and slightly herbal. Use sesame oil sparingly rather than trying to match the flavor exactly. Korean supermarkets usually stock deulgireum beside sesame oil and other Korean cooking oils.
How do I know when this dish is properly cooked?
Properly finished Bulguri should have chewy noodles coated in glossy red sauce rather than sitting in a full bowl of broth. A small amount of concentrated liquid can remain because the noodles continue absorbing moisture after cooking. If the pan looks completely dry before the noodles are tender, the sauce has reduced too far.
What should I serve with this dish?
Because Bulguri is intensely spicy, salty, and savory, simple Korean sides work best. Mild kimchi, yellow pickled radish, cucumber salad, or a soft-cooked egg can provide contrast without competing with the sauce. Cold water or barley tea also works better than adding another heavily seasoned dish alongside the noodles.
How spicy is Bulguri?
Bulguri is firmly on the hot end of Korean instant noodles because Buldak sauce remains its dominant source of heat. Neoguri adds savory broth flavor but does not neutralize that spice. For a milder bowl, controlling the Buldak sauce has a much greater effect than reducing the Neoguri seasoning.
🩺 Dr.’s Nutritional Insight
Perilla oil gives Bulguri more than its distinctive nutty finish. In a 2026 randomized, double-blind human trial, 4.8 g of perilla oil daily for eight weeks increased blood omega-3 levels and reduced TNF-α gene expression, an inflammatory marker (Food & Function, 2026 — PubMed). A drizzle on Bulguri should still be viewed as food, not a therapeutic dose; the evidence and limitations are explored further in our surgeon-reviewed guide to perilla and skin health.
Beauty Benefit: Recovery 💪
Nutritional insight provided by Dr. James Lee, Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon
Bulguri works because it is more than two ramyeon packets thrown into the same pan. Buldak provides concentrated fire, Neoguri supplies thick noodles and seafood-forward umami, and controlled reduction turns both seasonings into one glossy sauce. The final perilla oil is the detail that gives Jungkook’s version its unmistakably nutty finish.
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