So you’ve seen Parasite, the surprise blockbuster of the year, and you came out lusting for noodles. You’re not alone. The bad news is that you won’t find any Korean restaurants serving the dish (perhaps even in Korea, let alone London). The good news is that it’s inexpensive and easy to make at home—if you know where to find the ingredients. Here’s a (spoiler free) guide on where to buy Chapaguri, AKA Ramdon in London.
The origins of “Ramdon”
Chapaguri (sometimes Jjapaguri) started life as an inexpensive student junk food. The dish is far from rocket science. In fact, it’s pretty much just a mixture of two kinds of instant noodle, Chapagetti and Neoguri—hence the name. The word Ramdon was apparently chosen by the movie’s English translator, since foreign audiences are likely unfamiliar with Chapaguri. It’s a portmanteau of ramen and udon—two words audiences were more likely to known already. The dish itself is salty, savoury, spicy and a little bit earthy—a perfect all-weather comfort food for rich and poor alike.
What you’ll need to make Ramdon
As far as ingredients go, all you’ll need is one pack of Chapagetti and one pack of Neoguri spicy seafood flavour (pictured). There’s a mild seafood variety of Neoguri too if you really can’t handle the heat. Add a medium pan, some water and a stove and you’re in business. For toppings, if you’re looking for the full Parasite experience, you can add a slab of sirloin steak. As cheapos, we went with a decidedly more humble egg.
Buying Chapagetti and Neoguri
Many Asian grocery stores have at least a small section for Korean foods—so Chinatown in Soho is your best bet for making Ramdon in London. We’ve found Chapagetti slightly easier to find than Neoguri, but several stores in central London stock both at reasonable prices. The cheapest spot we’ve seen by far is Loon Fung (£0.69) We’ve put together a handy list of stores that stock both below.
Ramdon recipe
- Bring a litre of water to the boil and set to a medium heat
- Add both blocks of noodles, as well as the dried veggies from each pack and cook for four minutes
- When cooked, pour or ladle out most of the water, leaving around 150ml
- Add the Chapagetti soup base, half of the Neoguri soup base and the seasoning oil packet
- Stir well while simmering for 30 seconds or so
- Add your toppings and enjoy!
Note: You won’t need all of the Neoguri soup base. But leftover seasoning powder from instant noodles works surprisingly well as a flavouring for popcorn!
London shops stocking Chapaghetti and Neoguri
Loon Fung, Soho/Stratford | stocks spicy & mild Neoguri and Chapagetti £0.69
New Loon Moon Supermarket | Stocks spicy & mild Neoguri and Chapagetti £0.79
Japan Centre, Panton Street | Stocks mild Neoguri and Chapagetti £0.99
Oseyo, Soho | Stocks Spicy & mild Neoguri and Chapagetti £0.99
Lodos Food Centre, Old Street | Stocks spicy & mild Neoguri and Chapagetti £1.29
Bound together by our love of noodles
Hungry for more noodles? Check out the illustrated guide to ramen on our sister site, Tokyo Cheapo.
