Samyang Tangle Garlic Oil Pasta

High Protein

I picked up the Samyang Tangle Garlic Oil Pasta at an HMart in Los Angeles. It’s not really a ramen. It’s a Korean instant pasta and the macros are surprisingly good. 15g of protein, 7g of fiber, and about half the sodium of a typical instant noodle.

Produced in South Korea by Samyang Foods Co., Ltd.

What’s in the Package

Inside the packaging, you’ll find a round block of air-dried noodles and three numbered sachets. The beige sachet is the Flake (Step 1), the small transparent packet is the Oil (Step 2), and the large orange sachet is the Powder (Step 3).

How to Cook Samyang Tangle Garlic Oil Pasta

1. Put the noodles and the Flake (Step 1) sachet into about 1⅓ cups (10.8 oz / 320ml) of boiling water.
2. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t drain; the small amount of water is what becomes the sauce.
3. Remove from heat and add the Oil (Step 2) and Powder (Step 3) sachets.
4. Stir until the noodles have absorbed the sauce evenly, then serve. If it’s still watery or the noodles are firm, cook for up to another minute.

How Does It Taste

It looks good right out of the pot. You get green and red flecks and big chunks of dried garlic. You can taste the garlic oil, and it’s the best part of the bowl. There are dried bits of garlic in the seasoning that I really like.

What we weren’t expecting was the powdered milk taste. It tastes like dairy creamer, and it’s all over the sauce. If artificial dairy flavors bother you, this will be an issue.

We both agreed the garlic was good. The powdered milk taste was a big deal for one of us. The other didn’t notice it as much. It’s better than I thought it would be, but that dairy taste is hard to ignore.

The noodles are thick and pasta-like, a 3 out of 5. One cooking note: the package says four minutes, but check it at 3.5 depending on how hot your stove is. Our water was almost all gone by then.

How Does It Compare

In the Samyang Tangle lineup, we’ve tried the Garlic Oil and the Chunky Tomato. The Tomato is simpler. The Garlic Oil has more flavor, but you have to deal with the powdered dairy taste. If you want a Korean instant noodle with good garlic and no dairy taste, try the Samyang Potato Ramen Soup.

How to Level Up Samyang Tangle Garlic Oil Pasta

Treat it like pasta. Add Italian meatballs and some jarred marinara sauce and stir it together. The tomato with the creamy sauce makes it almost like a vodka sauce. Top it with Parmesan. That’s what makes this bowl work for me.

Final Verdict

It’s better than I thought it would be. The garlic is good and 15g of protein is pretty solid. The powdered dairy taste is the problem. Add marinara and meatballs and you’ve got a good bowl.

Tasting Notes

How do I rate my ramen? Check out the Ramen Rating Guide.

Related Instant Ramen

• Samyang Tangle Chunky Tomato Pasta
• Samyang Buldak Carbonara Chicken Stir-Fried Ramen
• Samyang Potato Ramen Soup
• Boiling Point Sesame Peanut Noodle
• Ajinomoto Oyakata Yakisoba Classic Soya Sauce

Where to buy Samyang Tangle Garlic Oil Pasta

• Amazon
• Hmart
• Walmart
• Yami
• Weee!

Here’s another flavor of the Tangle line that we tried: Samyang Tangle Chunky Tomato Pasta