While I do eat instant noodles, I prefer the other kind, the ones that are sometimes called egg noodles (at least here in India).
Not particularly for the egg content (which is low), but because, while instant noodles are tasty (somewhat, and more so when you add spices and veggies to them, which I do), I feel they do not satisfy hunger for long.
But the other (egg) kind both seems to be tastier (all other things being the same) and satiates you for somewhat longer.
Maybe it is due to the egg kind being made with atta (whole-wheat flour), or something close to it.
At least Maggi, Top Ramen and such instant noodle brands are made with maida (refined wheat flour).
People in India often think and say that atta is both tastier and better for health (due to more nutrients and fiber). More so in the villages.
I used to do some farming long back, and have heard many villagers say that they prefer to eat only chapatis / rotis made of atta (particularly in Maharashtra and central Indian states like Madhya Pradesh), and I agree with that.
I only make a rare exception if I want to eat chole bhature at a restaurant, where the bhaturas (deep-fried) are usually made with maida. And I still have to finish them fast, because they get tougher and difficult to eat within seconds.
Just my opinion and 2c. Interested to know if others have noticed any such difference.
Where can you buy these atta ramen? In Canada, any wheat flour that isn't atta, has various "enrichments" added in, such as ferrous sulfate and B vitamin complexes which mess with your appetite and inflame your intestines.
To the downvoters: please review e.g. Ch. 6: "Flour Technology and Dough Conditioners" of Michel Suas' classic textbook "Advanced Bread and Pastry". Or check the Technical Data Sheet of your local flour producer, you will find i.a. niacin, iron in some complex, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin and folic acid additives.
This DanBC has poor comprehension, I specified that IN CANADA, whole wheat flour is free of enrichments. By law. Any grain product that isn't whole grain, is enriched. By law. I reached out to CFIA (Canada Food Inspection Agency) which is in charge of such things, and they told me what the regulations are.
People aren't downvoting for the contents of the flour, but for i) the claim that these "inflame your intestines" and ii) the claim that whole wheat noodles don't contain these same additives.
In Canada, whole wheat flour doesn't contain these additives. I spoke to the CFIA (Canada Food Inspection Agency) and they told me their rules and regulations. Whole wheat doesn't have additives, anything else does. America may be a different story, but I don't live there.
This reminds me of a YouTube show i watched recently where "French guy Alex" ultimately makes his own instant noodles.
Turns out, most of the one you purchase are deep fried to quickly get the water out as part of the manufacturing. This means you can technically make them a lot less calorie dense if you dry them in hot air.
I can very much recommended his channel, especially the ramen series. I find his series, where he does a longer running project, to be very entertaining and informative.
The omelettes, oh my. Even though I enjoy making omelettes and have been practicing for a decade, the ones those guys can magic up make mine look like a 7-year-old's attempt
That guy has some fantastic videos. I particularly loved the episodes where he cooks fries, and also omelettes. Good mix of entertaining with a bit of knowledge.
I went to the Cup Noodles museum in Japan a few months ago. I thought it was extremely interesting. They had all the things I would expect to see at a Cup Noodles museum; e.g. history, products, biographies, company troubles followed by towering success. On top of all that, they let you make your own personalized Cup Noodles and also have a restaurant that sells Cup Noodles from the Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean markets (it seems India was in there too, but I don't remember for sure). The best part was the Cup Noodles ice cream. It was curry flavored ice cream, served in a styrofoam cup, and contained all the freeze-dried Cup Noodles meats and vegetables as crunchy toppings. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but it wasn't half bad either.
Yep, one day realized I could make Top Ramen in the espresso machine and it was game over for those times I run out of food money but am way too unmotivated to go back to work -- always have some quarters laying around for the laundry and they're so cheap I can survive for a week on something like $3.
Here in Japan we frequently eat ramen noodles for dinner, although not the instant kind (well, sometimes even the instant ones). There are some fancier ramen that you add all sorts of fresh toppings to (wakame, pork, eggs etc..) and it tastes awesome.
I'd really enjoy a deep dive into the different types of instant noodles. Obviously the ones that come in a styrofoam cup are one type, add water, get soggy mess, but there are quite a few types of instant noodles that are fancier, with multiple steps, added oils, separately packaged ingredients, and so forth.
The mistakes people make with Maruchan are cooking it too long and using the whole seasoning packet. Keep those noodles springy and supplement some small portion of the seasoning with condiments you already have.
Agreed, 3 minutes makes soggy noodles. I like the bar to just be broken up so the noodles still have some texture and I usually toss out the included seasoning packet and toss in a packet of the red-pepper flakes that come with delivery pizza. The parmesan of the same variety works pretty well too, as does a couple dashes of wasabi, soy, fish sauce, siriacha, the list goes on and on.
Not for the instant noodles! The ones commonly for sale are so cheap and bad I’m sure you are getting some kind of industrial poisoning. Real actual noodles are just a round the corner in a restaurant and are cheap.
I was surprised to learn that instant noodles were created by an immigrant to Japan. I always thought Japan doesn't have many immigrants, and makes it hard for them to achieve anything within Japanese culture.
I looked up and Ando moved to Japan in 1933. Taiwan was under Japanese rule between 1895 and 1945. So in a strict sense, he wasn't an immigrant. Many Koreans also moved to Japan when Korea was under Japanese rule.
Many returned to Korea after Korea gained independence. But many also stayed. One of the descendants of these Korean-Japanese is Masayoshi Son, founder of Softbank.
I've read some interview of him when he discussed his early years. He recalls riding in the back of a hand cart pulled by his parents (or grandparents) who were going around town in Japan, picking up discarded food trash from trashcans outside homes/restaurants to feed to the pigs. Remember, there was no disposal unit in kitchen sinks, so food trash was thrown into trash. This was early 1960s, as he was born in 1957. It was probably one of the worst ways to make a living, but as a Korean-Japanese, that was about what they could do.
Many were blocked from getting a job in the Japanese corporations, which is one of the reasons many Pachinkos in Japan are owned by Korean-Japanese, or so I heard.
Masayoshi Son specifically recalled having a hard time getting a business loan, until a sympathetic Japanese banker gave him that loan.
Certain irony for sure. Coming from Korean-Japanese family who was considered lowest, to be 2nd richest Japanese citizen.
Btw, while looking up facts, I just discovered another Korean-Japanese who is one of top 20 richest individuals, Chang-Woo Han. Never knew that.
Ahh, the wonders of internet.
EDIT:
Clicked on of the links in the wiki and found this article
Son was born in 1957 to Korean parents in a flood-prone area of Saga Prefecture, where poor Korean immigrants lived in a cluster of shacks, many by keeping pigs in the house and making bootleg alcohol, according to “Ampon,” a biography of Son by journalist Shinichi Sano.
In the book, interviews with Son’s relatives shed light on his upbringing. His cousin recounts how he often caught a preschool-age Son “studying like nobody’s business while he was soaked up to his knees in a shack full of floodwater smelling of feces.”
His early dwelling was miserable, and his Korean descent made him a target for discrimination, overshadowing his early years. But Son’s determination probably surfaced in his early teens, his biographers say.
Sano, for example, describes interesting episodes in which Son transferred, in the middle of his first semester in junior high school, to a more reputable school at his own wish and did all the paperwork himself. In another episode, a 15-year-old Son, now in high school, asked his third-year homeroom teacher from junior high to a restaurant and begged him to become the president of a cram school he planned to set up. The teacher turned him down.
If there are any brands of whole wheat (unenriched), air fried ramen noodles available in Canada or North America, please post here. Been wanting them for 3 years now. Enriched flour has been linked to diabetes and obesity by some pretty dramatic studies. These links below are not the studies themselves, but summaries of current knowledge and research, put in context.
Not particularly for the egg content (which is low), but because, while instant noodles are tasty (somewhat, and more so when you add spices and veggies to them, which I do), I feel they do not satisfy hunger for long.
But the other (egg) kind both seems to be tastier (all other things being the same) and satiates you for somewhat longer.
Maybe it is due to the egg kind being made with atta (whole-wheat flour), or something close to it.
At least Maggi, Top Ramen and such instant noodle brands are made with maida (refined wheat flour).
People in India often think and say that atta is both tastier and better for health (due to more nutrients and fiber). More so in the villages.
I used to do some farming long back, and have heard many villagers say that they prefer to eat only chapatis / rotis made of atta (particularly in Maharashtra and central Indian states like Madhya Pradesh), and I agree with that.
I only make a rare exception if I want to eat chole bhature at a restaurant, where the bhaturas (deep-fried) are usually made with maida. And I still have to finish them fast, because they get tougher and difficult to eat within seconds.
Just my opinion and 2c. Interested to know if others have noticed any such difference.