The discourse on instant noodles can get as spicy as a serve of Shin Ramyun. After chefs shared their instant noodle hacks, which included tips of the crustacean – just add prawns – and incarcerated – see prison burrito – kind: Guardian readers have come in hot with their tips, recipes and serving suggestions.
From one packet of dehydrated, squiggled, convenient and affordable carbohydrates, comes a multiverse of possibilities.
A word of warning
There were some sage words of advice from RobertFX, who warned readers not to underestimate the firepower of Korean instant noodles. “Even if they say ‘mild’ they probably will be spicy,” they wrote, suggesting noodle newcomers begin with only half of the powder mix.
As for cooking times, these should be taken with a grain of salt. “Packet instructions are only a rough guide, as soon as they turn translucent they are ready.”
Just add sauce (and spice)
Sesame oil and soy sauce were readers condiments of choice, while variations on a chilli theme included sriracha, rayu – a Japanese chilli oil – and sweet chilli sauce.
For lunch most days, reader ElleWoods has noodles with broccoli, tofu, and a DIY sauce featuring sweet soy sauce, tahini and sweet chilli. “If I’m feeling exotic I’ll grate in some ginger,” they wrote. The combination, they say, is “magic”.
For reader PellicanoSolitudinis, instant noodles are an excellent school lunch. “I buy the multi-packs of unflavoured instant noodle blocks … and put them in Thermos flasks with my own flavourings – a spoon of miso, a bit [of] ginger/garlic/chilli paste, some dried vegie pieces or seaweed, some snipped-up herbs.” At lunchtime, kids old enough to be trusted with hot liquids just fill their flasks with boiling water for a near-instant hot meal.
Butter makes it better
In case you missed Nigella Lawson’s memo, peanut butter is a revelation. And according to reader saolsdad, it deserves to be stirred through your soupy instant noodles for creamy, extra-savoury results.
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And if mantecare is the Italian technique of whipping butter through risotto, then what is the word for adding a pat of butter to your instant noodles? Maggi-beurre? Buldak Yellow? Whatever the name, we have commenter Not_Always_A_Moron to thank for the suggestion of finishing your instant noodles with a knob of butter, plus “a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and a tin of sardines or mackerel”.
The noodle butty
Instant noodles have only one downside: they require cutlery. Occasionally, even a bowl. Commenter MadriMaraff dispenses with eating accessories by turning the cooked noodles – curry-flavoured – into a sandwich filling. It’s a spin-off from the classic chip butties. They write: “Take two thick-cut slices of fresh white bread. Spread thickly with butter. Then fork out the [instant noodles] onto one slice, and put the other slice on top. Eat with your hands.”
And now, for something completely different
In a stroke of accidental brilliance, and in shades of mole – the Mexican chilli-chocolate sauce – reader LucyLuc recalled a recent culinary mix up. “I got my sachets muddled up once and added instant hot chocolate to my bowl of spiced noodles,” they wrote. “They were pretty good actually.”
