
The Eternal Life of the Instant Noodle - discreteevent
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_instant_noodle
======
vram22
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.

~~~
rrrazdan
Egg noodles are mostly flour or maida based. Atta noodles will be marketed as
whole wheat noodles.

~~~
MycroftJones
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.

~~~
semi-extrinsic
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.

~~~
DanBC
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.

~~~
MycroftJones
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.

------
algesten
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.

[https://youtu.be/JyZjoJcvHvE](https://youtu.be/JyZjoJcvHvE)

~~~
anon49124
Yes, yes! @FrenchGuyCooking. Jacques Pépin and him had some back-and-forth YT
response videos.

~~~
semi-extrinsic
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

------
innocentoldguy
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.

------
UncleEntity
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.

Food of the (bad, spiteful) gods I tell you...

------
woogiewonka
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.

------
com2kid
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.

Does anyone know of such a comparison?

~~~
krapp
I'm kind of addicted to Nongshim spicy ramen, it's pretty good.

It may not count as top shelf, but Nongshim's products aren't bottom shelf
(that honor goes to Maruchan.)

~~~
jessaustin
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.

~~~
nonamenoslogan
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.

------
dmurray
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.

~~~
dba7dba
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

[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/02/16/national/sons-r...](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/02/16/national/sons-
rags-to-riches-career-impresses-by-the-numbers/#.W68akhNKhGo)

 _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._

------
jiggunjer
They are quite common in asian restaurant dishes too, I notice Korean in
particular. I also know people who eat them dry like a crisp.

I think a lot of the weight lost in the "noodle me" experiment was muscle
mass. It it's not uncommon to add an egg to instant noodles.

------
andybak
Indomie Hot and Spicy...

Or Mama brand Tom Yum... With a fried egg and spring onion...

------
MycroftJones
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.

HOW FOOD ENRICHMENT MADE US FAT, DIABETIC, AND CHRONICALLY DISEASED
[http://freetheanimal.com/2015/05/enrichment-diabetic-
chronic...](http://freetheanimal.com/2015/05/enrichment-diabetic-
chronically.html)

IRON, FOOD ENRICHMENT AND THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
[http://freetheanimal.com/2015/06/enrichment-theory-
everythin...](http://freetheanimal.com/2015/06/enrichment-theory-
everything.html)

HOW FOOD ENRICHMENT PROMOTES OBESITY (“THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING” WIDER AND
DEEPER) [http://freetheanimal.com/2016/05/enrichment-promotes-
everyth...](http://freetheanimal.com/2016/05/enrichment-promotes-
everything.html)

~~~
ash663
Try to find an Indian grocery store nearby. Maggi sells atta noodles which is
whole wheat. You can also buy them off of Amazon

~~~
MycroftJones
Thank you, I'll take a look. I thought they were cooked in oil, how would I
find out if they were air or oil fried?

