In my recent review of Korean-Style Sweet & Spicy Chili Ruffles, I whined and pined for more snacks with flavors inspired by the Far East. Well, not two weeks later, the good folks over at Frito Lay obliged.
Now, I’m not saying they saw the review, called the folks over at Maruchan, brainstormed, decided to collab on new Hot & Spicy Chicken Ramen Funyuns, and then went into a fast-tracked production process that put bags on shelves in world record timing, but… that’s exactly what I’m saying. That’s clearly what happened. The Impulsive Buy has that much pull in the snack industry.
The pairing was surprising, especially coming from a snack line that rarely remixes the original recipe, but I’m glad these two brands linked up because this is really good. It also made me ponder why we haven’t been sprinkling ramen flavor packets on things other than ramen all this time?
I have a little bit of a love-only relationship with Funyuns, but I’m happy to say these scratched the flavor itch I was yearning for, as well as the roof of my mouth (more on that later).
When I opened the bag of what looked like seasoned curly fries, I got a big whiff of poultry seasoning, but it somehow also smelled “hot,” so they were off to an accurate start.
That accuracy rolled on because, yeah, these taste like crispy Funyuns coated in a packet of spicy chicken ramen seasoning. Mission accomplished.
There’s a dryness to them that I always get from chicken-flavored snacks. For some reason, I associate that with chicken flavor. These could have easily just been “Spicy Chicken” flavored, but there is a little of that fabled “Asian flare” that I can’t articulate to make it resemble the flavors of a bowl of ramen – a cheap bowl of ramen, but I still like the cheap stuff.
Since reviewing Spicy Queso Funyuns, I was a little worried that these would also completely swallow up the traditional onion flavor of the Funyuns. But it actually managed to come through a bit on the finish. Maybe it was just a little onion powder in the spice concoction, but I tasted it nevertheless.
As for the heat level, I’d put these at about two-thirds of the way to “Flamin’ Hot,” which is more than tolerable. You won’t have any problem eating a small bag in one sitting… but you’re gonna tear your mouth up. I somehow avoided that on the Spicy Queso, but the dreaded “savory Cap’n’ Crunch” Funyuns got me this time. That, coupled with the salt and spice, dried my mouth out for hours, but whatever, it was kinda worth it.
Honestly, this is probably the best Funyuns offshoot I’ve had, and while I think this flavor would have been even better on a chip, I’d love to see a few more ramen-inspired releases.
That’s back-to-back really tasty Asian-inspired products from Frito Lay. I hope they keep ’em comin’.
Purchased Price: $2.69
Size: 2 1/8 oz bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (About 13 pieces) 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of total sugars, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of protein.
“That’s clearly what happened. The Impulsive Buy has that much pull in the snack industry.” If only that were true! I am always amazed when snack companies or cereal companies, or candy companies – yes, I am talking to you Mondel?z International, and you Pepsi Co, Kellogg’s, and to you too, Archer Daniels Midland, Utz and Kraft Heinz, as to why you don’t partner with sites like TIB? There cannot be a better focus group to ask if your next novel idea is something we would be interested in, or to get ideas on what missing from the grocery store that we have been craving. It’s really mind boggling to me, your company may have food scientist on the payroll, but TIB readers and reviewers are the actual purchasers of the product 🙂
Has anyone found these anywhere besides 7-Eleven?
I found them at Dollar General!
I saw them at Walmart and BigLots this week.
I love these, these are not sold in the town I live in. I bought them when I was working the next town over, I can’t believe that these are not sold at in every town why are they not being sold at Walmart? I give them 9 out of 10 !