During a long year of lockdown, we have all been cooking at home like never before. It’s been a delight to be able to spend all evening stirring a pot of risotto with no social plans to feel guilty about missing. But these stretched-out times, be they languorous or languid, are coming to an end. The social diary is filling up, and I for one don’t plan on missing a long-awaited reunion with mates because I need to be around to check on the roasties. Sometimes we all need something quick and easy for dinner. That’s when I turn to instant noodles.
For a self-avowed ‘foodie’, this is quite an admission. But for those days where speed is everything, and the alternative is therefore UberEats, there are far worse things. They are dirt cheap (generally 50p or less a portion), hot and filling.
Pot Noodles – along with Red Bull and essay crises – belong to a period of your life you have left behind. Instead go for one of the garish packets with Japanese symbols. If you pick right, you will find something without excessive fat and sugar and the other gunk that you might expect. Excessive salt and a few e-numbers are, sadly, all but unavoidable. But that is not a bad compromise for what is, after all, fast food.
I have a favourite brand – Nissin’s Demae Ramen. Nissin is in fact the original, founded by Momofuku Ando who in 1958 invented the instant noodle. Good old Ando has done more for the plight of poor students than any Education Secretary has managed (leaving aside, of course, the historic achievements of Gavin Williamson).
It is worth chewing your way through the product comparison blogs online. A legion of noodle-lovers have reviewed their ramen with all the studiousness of the most serious vinophiles. But for me it has to be Nissin’s Demae, the sesame or spicy flavour to be precise. Both come not just with a packet of dry powder flavouring but a little sachet of sesame oil to drizzle on top. It makes a world of difference.
There is nothing wrong with eating these cooked straight out the packet, but it is amazing how little effort is required to turn instant noodles into something resembling a nutritious and delicious meal. Assemble it like you would a Vietnamese pho, the fresh ingredients placed raw in a large bowl; pouring on top the noodles in boiling broth is all that’s required to cook the ingredients through.
First, veggies: throw in a handful of spinach, or if you have bok choi or other Chinese greens all the better. Some mushrooms should go in too: enoki, torn-up oyster, or wafer-thin slices of chestnut. Then some protein: a little handful of raw prawns, or even sea bass cut into sashimi-style slices (use a skinless fillet). Or, for vegetarians, some cubes of silken bean curd. To really elevate your humble noodles into a satisfying solo supper, or indeed to impress guests (for I judge no-one who decides to serve this at a dinner party) add a few final flourishes. Lots of fresh herbs – coriander, Thai basil, or now while it’s in season wild garlic – leaves picked and left whole. Then pour over the boiling hot broth containing your cooked noodles (most of the decent brands require simmering your noodles for 2-3 minutes to cook). To finish, garnish with some spring onions, cut into tiny wispy shreds, and julienned ginger – again, the matchsticks as thin as you can make them. Scatter over some sesame seeds, and a few drops of toasted sesame oil.
This is a dangerously addictive meal. It will also make you question the £12 you used to spend on a ramen from Wagamama. No bad thing. Instant noodles, however expertly upgraded, are not one for every day. But when the fridge is a little bare, work manically busy, or you have social plans to get to, then dig in – and don’t feel guilty.
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