From a dorm room snack to lunch on the go, instant ramen has been satisfying stomachs and saving wallets across the U.S. since Top Ramen hit the market in the 1970s. Nothing, however, compares to the instant noodle empires of countries like South Korea and Japan.
As an undergraduate student in Korea, convenience stores were my go-to choice for a quick, cheap meal. Most of Korea's 55,000+ convenience stores have a whole wall dedicated to instant ramen. From the viral "nuclear" spicy noodles to the more common Shin Ramyun, there's any flavor your tastebuds desire.
No need to wait to cook your instant ramen at home, or even settle for a cup noodle version. Korean convenience stores also have a few instant ramen cookers so customers can perfectly prepare their noodles and throw some fresh ingredients into the mix like eggs and cheese.
Now, diners who've yearned to try this unique fast food experience can make their own zhuzhed-up instant ramen at Hot Pot Ramen House in Rathdrum, Idaho, which opened at the start of the new year.
You may have seen the concept on social media. First-person TikToks of people creating their own instant ramen variations in Korean convenience stores have blown up Americans' algorithms. One of these videos landed on Lisa Maxwell's screen while scrolling in the bath. She was sucked into the K-food rabbit hole, and when she came out on the other side, she had a business idea in mind.
Maxwell and her husband, Jimmy, run a Rathdrum-based food truck called Rodeo Dogs, which roves across North Idaho and the Spokane area. But the couple thought a restaurant emulating the Korean convenience store ramen experience is just what their small town needed.
"When we started the restaurant, we wanted to bring something unique to Rathdrum, some culture, some diversity," Maxwell says.
It took just eight weeks from when she had the spark of an idea to when Hot Pot Ramen House celebrated its grand opening on New Year's Day.
The impressive timeline had only one hiccup: navigating the complicated world of global exports and imports. While some Asian instant ramens brands are easily found in American grocery stores (like Maruchan, Cup Noodles, Top Ramen and Nongshim), the Maxwells had to find Korean and Japanese distributors to directly import more niche ramen and snacks from Asia.
"We're so unique that Korean distributors — there's a Korean distributor in Seattle — they have no customers this side of Seattle. We're the only customers, so they won't even deliver to us," Maxwell says. "We have to go every two weeks to Seattle to pick up the product and bring it back."
Customers heading to Hot Pot Ramen House can explore a wall of more than 65 instant ramen varieties to the left of the entrance. A helpful 2-minute video about the cooking process plays on a large tablet.
First, scour the ramen selection. There are lists of staff favorites, too, if the choice is overwhelming, as well as spice warnings for those who can't take the heat.
Next, place your dried noodle packet ($7) into a metal bowl if you're eating in, or a paper bowl if you're taking it to-go. There are also gluten-free noodles and fresh udon noodles.
Place your bowl on a wooden tray, and stop by the mini fridge to the right of the ramen wall that holds mostly premium toppings. Here, you can add things like spam ($2), sausage ($2), cheese ($0.50-$1), kimchi ($1), rice cakes ($1.50) and tofu ($1.50).
Next, follow the arrows to more fridges holding other premium toppings like eggs ($1), as well as free toppings like green onions, bean sprouts, pickled radish, onions, mushrooms, limes, jalapeños and edamame.
Customers need to check out before cooking their meal, which is also a great opportunity to check out the boba menu, ice cream and coolers full of various drinks.
Finally, take your tray of goodies over to one of five instant ramen cookers. In addition to an informational sheet by each machine, TVs overhead explain and demonstrate the cooking process.
"Even though it's a do-it-yourself process, we're still there hand-in-hand guiding people, giving them recommendations," Maxwell says.
After placing most of the ingredients in your bowl, and depending on the type of noodles, next choose one of the three settings: soup base, stir fry, or udon/thick. Within a five-minute countdown, with attentive stirring and some mouthwatering anticipation, you have yourself a bowl of deluxe instant ramen for usually less than $10. Hot Pot Ramen House also has a punch card reward program, so after buying nine bowls, you'll get one free.
For more customization options or gluten-free seasonings, the eatery has a large condiment station with sesame seeds, wasabi, red pepper flakes and more.
It wouldn't be true to an Asian convenience store experience without onigiri ($3.50-$4.25). The triangle-shaped, Japanese-style rice balls come with three filling options: tuna mayo, Cali roll and veggie/kimchi. Though tasty when eaten cold, Maxwell recommends dipping them into the ramen broth.
Maxwell's grandmother immigrated to the U.S. from Japan and imparted some of her knowledge of Asian cuisine.
"Because of my Japanese culture, my grandma had made kimchi even though it's a Korean thing, they kind of all play on each other. So we did kimchi but out of cucumber, so I was very familiar with a lot of it," she says.
A few times a month, Maxwell makes 80-pound batches of Hot Pot Ramen House's kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage) by hand, right down to the red pepper paste.
If you love spice but need something to cool down your palate, the restaurant's boba ($6) is also made fresh daily, with flavors like classic milk tea, taro and Thai tea, with an added cinnamon-vanilla twist. It was the Maxwells' 11-year-old daughter's idea to include a boba bar; she helps run it once a week.
There's also a large selection of Korean convenience store "pouch" drinks ($3) that you can add to a cup of ice ($1), and a fridge filled with flavored Korean milks ($3), aloe drinks ($4) and sodas ($4).
So far, the surrounding community has welcomed Hot Pot Ramen House with excitement.
The Maxwells soft-launched the business during Rathdrum's Christmas lighting ceremony along Main Street. They made a huge batch of chicken Top Ramen and another of authentic Asian instant ramen for people to compare side-by-side. People were blown away by the difference in taste, preferring the rich umami flavor in the imported varieties.
"You can eat with us 1,000 times and not have the same ramen twice," Maxwell says.
Next time you're hankering for some good ol' instant ramen, maybe ditch those Cup Noodles for a trip to Hot Pot Ramen House.
Hot Pot Ramen House • 8052 Main St. #101, Rathdrum • Open Tue-Sat 11 am-7 pm • hotpotramenhouse.com 208-981-8620
