Buldak Ramen Is Bringing Its Sauce to Fried Chicken

South Korean instant noodle brand Buldak Ramen — owned by parent company Samyang Foods — has earned a global following thanks to its extra spicy noodles and bold flavors, and now, Buldak is bringing its signature heat to an entirely new dish. 

Starting on November 10, fried chicken chain bb.q Chicken is teaming up with the noodle brand to offer a new, limited-time menu item titled Buldak on Cheesling, which pairs the famous Buldak hot sauce with the chain’s “cheesling” fried chicken. 

The South Korea-based restaurant brand is known for its crispy, fried traditional or boneless wings that come tossed in a sauce or seasoning of your choice, like honey garlic, galbi, gangnam-style, hot mala, or cheesling. The latter features chicken coated in a medley of savory, salty powdered cheeses, and for a limited time, you can enjoy it with the additional fiery kick of Samyang’s Buldak sauce.

By partnering up with the noodle brand, bb.q Chicken has developed a fried chicken that delivers two popular flavor profiles in one dish: rich dairy and fiery heat. (This flavor combination is reminiscent of Buldak’s famous carbonara ramen, which combines a creamy sauce with plenty of spice.)

The new release is well timed for the restaurant chain, as it’s working to expand its presence in North America, where it currently operates more than 200 locations. The dish will be available at participating restaurants in the United States through December 10, while supplies last.

Samyang’s Buldak line has become a pantry staple in many households over the past decade, and social media has only fueled its popularity. TikTok users have encouraged each other to try increasingly spicy versions of the instant noodles to rack up video views, but it’s more than just the novelty of intense heat that has kept this easy meal on everyone’s radar. 

The umami-packed sauce that coats the ramen is concentrated and pepper-forward — it features soy sauce and red pepper as key seasonings — cutting through and pairing well with richer ingredients like cheese, butter, eggs, or, in this case, fried chicken. 

Spicy foods have become increasingly popular in the U.S., so it’s no surprise that Buldak and bb.q Chicken have chosen to release the collaboration in North America. Datassential reports that more than 95% of restaurant menus nationwide now include at least one spicy item, up from about 92% a decade ago.

This demand for heat may be part of what’s driving Buldak’s growth in Korea and abroad. As The Korea Times reported in September, Samyang Foods sold eight billion units of its spicy Buldak noodles in just the first six months of 2025, and sales have been steadily increasing over the past few years.

The new partnership pairs two recognizable Korean food exports — Korean fried chicken and instant ramen — in an accessible format that works for delivery, takeout, or group ordering. A piece of cheesy, spicy, crispy fried chicken also sounds like the kind of warming bite we want as the weather cools down, so this might be the perfect time to try it.