I Tried Omsom’s New Saucy Noodles and Found My New 4-Minute Dinner

AAPI month is far tastier with a little Omsom — that’s what I like to say! This time last year, I was lucky enough to try the Spicy Mala Lobster Roll, the delicious collaboration between the loud and proud Asian-American sauce company and fast-casual lobster shack, Luke’s Lobster. The roll — doused in Omsom’s Chinese Spicy Mala Sauce and Kewpie mayo — was the brand’s first limited-time offering that built upon their packaged sauces. 

Now, Omsom has released Saucy Noodles, a line of four instant noodles inspired by classic Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese noodle dishes. The flavors include Soy Garlic, Chili Sesame, Garlic Black Pepper, and Coconut Lemongrass Curry — and all four come with the respective sauce packet and a block of air-dried, knife-cut noodles. The Saucy Noodles are also vegan and non-GMO certified. 

As an instant ramen enthusiast, I couldn’t be more ecstatic to give these a taste test. While I certainly have my starting lineup of favorites that always hit the spot when I’m in need of satisfaction and need it fast, I’m never against trying what’s new. So I tried all of the Saucy Noodles and here’s my honest review. 

I can never pass up dan dan noodles. Throw some minced pork or crumbly tofu and a mound of scallions on there, and I will lick that bowl clean. Chili Sesame, Omsom’s take on the Sichuan dish, was drier than most dan dan noodles I’ve tasted. On top of that, it was the driest of the four Saucy Noodles. That said, the oil present was sufficient enough to generously coat the noodles with nutty spiciness tempered out by a subtle sweetness. Culinary Producer, James Park, also tried a sample of this Saucy Noodle flavor. “Chili sesame is what your simple peanut butter noodles should taste like: flavorful and nutty with a hint of tingle from Sichuan peppers,” he proclaimed.

And about the texture of the noodles? If I tasted them blind, I easily could have been tricked into thinking they were made from scratch. They were thick, bouncy, chewy, cooked beautifully every time, and so satisfying to slurp across all four flavor tastings. 

This was hands-down my favorite and the one I plan to stock up on immediately. Garlic Black Pepper delivers on its promise: it’s a spot-on instant version of Vietnamese-American garlic noodles and personally, I loved how it invoked the comfort I felt eating Fettuccine Alfredo Pasta Roni when I was younger. It’s quite buttery with added depth (thanks to a splash of soy sauce), and I was shocked to find the sauce contains actual bits of garlic. 

You’ll want to pay close attention when preparing this flavor though. The sauce comes in the packet as a thick paste, so you need to squeeze it into a bowl and add two tablespoons of hot water to get it to be creamy and luscious enough to coat the noodles. I finished my noodles with steak and cilantro and it was the bougiest, bounciest 15-minute lunch. 

Soy Garlic had a pleasant soy sauce taste and was tangy and herbaceous, with pieces of real garlic studded throughout the sauce. I kept this one quite plain, adding nothing more than furikake and a small squeeze of lime. But because the flavors were on the tamer side, it would have done well as a great base for a loaded noodle bowl. I still loved the fact that the sauce, plus the noodles (which by the way, are uber-bouncy and I’m obsessed with them!), were very saucy and highly aromatic. 

While I personally did not get around to trying this Saucy Noodle variety, James sampled it and here’s what he had to say: “As a big fan of Thai coconut curry, the Coconut Lemongrass Curry sauce noodles were an instant standout! As soon as I opened the sauce packet, the fragrance of lemongrass greeted me immediately. Then, rich, slightly tangy, creamy coconut curry clings onto those knife-cut noodles so beautifully. Since this flavor is inspired by one of my favorite dishes, Khao Soi, it would be amazing to mix with some shredded chicken, a shower of fried shallots, with a squeeze of fresh lime.”

Buy: The Omsom Saucy Noodle Sampler, $49 for 10 boxes