The Correct Way to Cook Instant Noodles

“No choice, but to eat instant noodle? Here’s the correct way to cook it without harming our health (that much..)”

Instant noodle is so flavorful… Taste so good that I wish I could have it as my regular meal, but no…. We don’t eat preservative food as regular meal. Please don’t do that. Once in awhile indulgence is fine, yet, we hope to minimize “the harm” as. I have as we could. One way is to cook it the right way!

This piece of cooking info was previously shared only on My Wok Life’s Face Book Page, but not on my blog post as I wanted to make it exclusive to my FB fans. However, I decided to post it here today, just to share  more widely. Well, you are still welcome to join and interact with me in my FB group, for more fun facts, exclusive info and notification to my new posts. :)

You may already know the common way to cook an instant noodle meal like this:
To put the noodle into a pot with water, empty the sachet of seasoning powder in the pot, and let it cook for around 3 minutes. Then it’s ready to eat!

However, that has been proven the incorrect method of cooking instant noodle. By doing this, we actually boil the chemical content in the powder mix, normally with MSG, and boiling on high heat will change the molecular structure of the MSG, causing it to be toxic.

The other thing that you may or may not realize is that, the noodles are coated with wax and it will take around 4 to 5 days for the body to excrete the “wax-like substance” in our body.

Hence, I’ll suggest cooking it this way instead….

CORRECT METHOD:
1. Boil the dried noodle (usually comes in a block) in a pot with enough water.

2. Once water boils, dried noodle will start to soften. You may use a fork or pair of chopsticks to help loosen up the noodles quicker. Drain noodles with a sieve/ strainer, and discard the water which contains wax.

3. Boil another pot of water. Once water boils, return the blanched noodles to boil for 1 – 2 minute, or until it’s al-dente (don’t over cook or it will be too soggy to taste). Heat off.

4. Only at this stage once the heat is turned off, immediately empty the seasoning powder sachet in the pot, give it a quick stir to combine. Cover pot with a lid to let the remaining heat to continue simmer for another 30secs. You may serve your noodle soup now. Eat it hot!

5. If you are cooking dry noodle, you add the powder mix on a serving dish instead. Drain the noodles after Step (3), add it onto the same serving dish with seasoning powder on it. Add 1-2 tablespoon of the liquid from the pot, to add some moist, if necessary. Toss the noodles to blend it with the seasoning. Your noodle dry is ready now!

Adopt this cooking habit for instant noodle meal, and it could be life saving. :)

Some “better” choices other than those normal instant noodles with 390-450kcal (depends on flavour) per serving:
Koka brand (Singapore) Non-fried instant noodles – *for lower calorie/ fat content;
Maggi brand (Nestlé) Low Fat instant noodles – *for lower fat content;
Koka brand instant noodles with NO MSG ADDED/ NO TRANS FAT: *for better health.

Tips: If your instant noodle choice comes with additional packet of seasoning oil, add it at the same time as seasoning powder mix. No exact sequence.
* If your instant noodle choice is so fanciful and premium that it comes with another packet of sides eg mini shrimps, diced crab meat, julienned spring onion and fried shallot, etc (usually in dried form, too). You may choose to add in in Step 3 for longer boiling as it takes longer time to hydrate and soften the dried meat/ seafood.

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