If the desert heat wasn’t hot enough for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Buldak has something even hotter in store for this year’s foodies.
Samyang Foods’ Buldak returned as the official ramen and hot sauce partner of this year’s festival for the second year, bringing its signature spicy identity, which has gone viral for its Fire Noodle Challenge and contributed to the rise of mukbang, a popular online video trend originating from South Korea, where a host consumes large amounts of food while interacting with viewers.
This year’s on-site activation at the festival featured a “Buldak Crawl,” inviting festivalgoers to embark on a multi-stop, spicy-challenge trek and to participate in a sweepstakes for a chance to win $1,000.
Fans attending the festival on both weekends can enter the contest by snapping a photo or a 30-second video of their favorite hot food reaction or favorite food picture, then posting it on Instagram or TikTok with the #buldakcrawlsweepstakes and tagging @Buldak_Global. Each qualifying post gets participants one entry, and everyone is allowed five.
Buldak collaborated with some of the festival’s food stands, including Prince St. Pizza, Rokstar Chicken, Sumo Dog, Birrieria San Marcos, and Sidekicks. Each booth offered its own twist on Buldak’s bold, spicy profile — delivering diverse pairings to create spicy concoctions.
“Our return as the Official Ramen and Hot Sauce Partner reflects the continued growth of Buldak as a brand that connects food, culture, and community,” said Youngsik Shin, regional director, in a press statement. “This year, we are focused on creating inclusive, flavor-first experiences that invite fans to discover, share, and engage with Buldak in ways that feel natural to the spirit of festival week.”
We went on the spicy Buldak Crawl to sample some of this year’s special collaborations, and if you weren’t sweating from the heat, you will be after a few bites of these dishes. A word of advice: make sure you pick up some water or another beverage for this crawl, or you won’t make it.
Here are five dishes to sample at the Buldak Crawl, rated on a spicy scale ranging from one-star (not that spicy and bearable) to five-star (extremely hot).
Prince St. Pizza’s “Spicy Buldak Not Ranch” Slice
Prince St. Pizza at the 12 Peaks VIP, Beer Barn and Indio Central Market is serving its signature Sicilian-style squares with a thick, crisp and fluffy crust, heated to a warm, inviting finish. On its own, the pizza at Coachella is a solid choice, but when paired with “Spicy Buldak Not Ranch” drizzle, it is another experience. This collaboration is one of the more doable ones for folks who like a little bit of spice in their pie but don’t want an overbearing experience because the ranch mixed in helps dilute the Buldak sauce.
Spicy rating: ★★
Rokstar Chicken’s World’s Spiciest Buldak Tenders and Honey Butter Fries
Another item with a bearable level of spice was Rokstar Chicken’s World’s Spiciest Buldak Tenders and Honey Butter Fries, served at Terrace North. Don’t let the name scare you too much. The Republic of Korea’s fried chicken was drizzled with hot sauce and served with dusted honey-butter fries and a King’s Hawaiian roll on the side, which helps make the chicken feel more approachable when the sauce starts to get to you. The extra sauce dripping over to the sides is also a tasty mix.
Spicy rating: ★★★
Birrieria San Marcos’s Buldak Bomb
This dish from Birrieria San Marcos combines the rich tradition of Mexican birria de res with Asian spiciness to create the Buldak bomb. If that title sounds explosive, that’s because it is. The buldak bomb is a quesabirria made with a toasted flour tortilla filled with melty jack cheese and beef, drenched in consomé and drizzled with red Buldak sauce. If you want a really spicy experience, you can eat the dish hot, which will intensify the heat; if you do, it’s perhaps one of the hottest dishes on this crawl. This meal is only available at 12 Peaks VIP and Outdoor Theatre VIP.
Spicy rating: ★★★★
Sumo Dog’s Buldak Hotzilla Dog
Sumo Dog’s Buldak Hotzilla Dog, located at Streetfood Alley, does not mess around. The Japanese-inspired foot-long dog is made with miso beef chili, togarashi cheese sauce, wasabi relish, pickled peppers, spicy mayo, teriyaki sauce, furikake, jalapeños and nori. This is one HOT dog and probably the spiciest savory item on the crawl, but it’s also delicious, which feels like a double-edged sword. You want to stop because it’s hot, but you also want to keep eating because of the finger-licking flavor profile.
Spicy rating: ★★★★★
Sidekicks’ Buldak Spicy Banana Funnel Cake
For a spicy dessert, crawlers can visit Sidekicks for their Buldak Spicy Banana Funnel Cake at the food booths and activations near the Sahara, but be warned, this sweet treat packs an unexpected punch. On the outside, the funnel cake looks like your average fair food, with whipped cream, powdered sugar and bananas. The bright red Buldak sauce could also easily pass as a strawberry drizzle, which may give pranksters at the fest some ideas. The funnel cake at first bite tastes as you’d expect, but the next few bites are so hot your mouth goes numb. However, the spiciness works surprisingly well with the dish.
Spicy rating: ★★★★★