Cheese ramen is a distinctively Korean contribution to the instant-noodle category, where cheese powder or processed-cheese sachets are added on top of an otherwise conventional broth (typically chicken or beef) to produce a creamy, salty-umami finish. Ottogi Cheese Ramen (치즈라면) is the category defining product, launched in the 2000s and popularising the format.
Cheese variants have since spread across the Korean-ramyun shelf: Samyang Buldak Cheese (the cheese Buldak variant is one of Samyang's international best-sellers), Nongshim Neoguri Cheese, and smaller brand permutations. Japanese and Southeast Asian brands have followed with cheese-flavoured cup noodles — Nissin Cup Noodles XO Sauce & Cheese, and Yum Yum Cheese in Thailand, for instance.
Cheese ramen is strongly associated with Korean "cheese chicken" (dak-galbi) restaurant culture — the practice of adding melted mozzarella on top of hot spicy dishes. In instant form the cheese typically comes as a powder that dissolves into the cooked broth, producing a creamy-orange soup that sits between carbonara and tomato-cream pasta in mouthfeel.
