Instant Noodle 101
Since I ventured a little into instant noodles on my last post, I thought I might as well deliver the whole enchilada while my "noodle" is still in "oo-dle" gear. In my last post, I gave Mr. Yi from China his props for the concept of the instant noodle. But it was a Japanese company called Nissin that kicked it up a notch and gave birth to the colorful plastic-wrapped rectangular 4" by 6" bricks of dried "instant ramen" noodles that we are more familiar with today. Today, instant noodles aren't just about quick-fix meals for rat-racers or low-budget meals for starving students anymore. They are balanced with meat and vegetables and served as proper meals not only at home, but also at many Oriental restaurants, especially in Hong Kong-style cafes.
My favorite brand of instant noodles is "Maggi". I've tried many different brands that get all mushy after cooking but Maggi noodles retain that chewy, springy texture that is the first thing I look for. Not to mention their soup seasonings come in all the flavors I enjoy. From Asam Laksa to Curry and Tom Yum, or even Mee Goreng for dry noodle lovers. I believe Maggi is also the most popular brand of instant noodles in Malaysia and Singapore. Growing up, I can remember many a good time spent shooting the breeze with my buddies over "roti canai" and Maggi noodles at my favorite "mamak" stall back home. It might be the company, but even instant noodles taste better when someone else is doing the cooking :)
My favorite brand of instant noodles is "Maggi". I've tried many different brands that get all mushy after cooking but Maggi noodles retain that chewy, springy texture that is the first thing I look for. Not to mention their soup seasonings come in all the flavors I enjoy. From Asam Laksa to Curry and Tom Yum, or even Mee Goreng for dry noodle lovers. I believe Maggi is also the most popular brand of instant noodles in Malaysia and Singapore. Growing up, I can remember many a good time spent shooting the breeze with my buddies over "roti canai" and Maggi noodles at my favorite "mamak" stall back home. It might be the company, but even instant noodles taste better when someone else is doing the cooking :)
Okay.. on to my instant noodling for the day. I'm going to go with Maggi Asam Laksa flavor. For those who are unfamiliar with "Asam Laksa", it is a popular Malaysian noodle dish served in a sour tamarind-based fish soup. I'm also going to "de-instant-ize" my noodles with an egg, some fresh cut green beans and some stir-fried fish fillet.Maggi instant noodles - USD$0.29
Ingredients - USD$1.00
Taste - Priceless.. For everything else, there is Master Card ? :P
Ingredients - USD$1.00
Taste - Priceless.. For everything else, there is Master Card ? :P
Instant Noodle Soup with Sambal Green Bean and Fish Stir-Fry Recipe
Ingredients :
1 pack Maggi Asam Laksa Instant Noodle ( OR your favorite instant Ramen )
8 oz fresh cut green beans
8 oz sole fish fillet sliced
2 tsp minced shallots
1 tbsp chili paste
1 tsp toasted shrimp paste powder ( belacan )
2 tsp dried shrimps ( soaked and minced )
a pinch of turmeric spice
2 tsp cooking oil
1 tsp tamarind paste
salt and sugar to taste
water for cooking noodles
1 boiled egg
Method :
1) Marinate fish fillet with turmeric spice, cooking oil, and roasted shrimp powder. Set aside.
1) Stir-fry minced shallots and dried shrimp until fragrant. Add fish fillet slices and pan-fry on both sides until slightly browned.
2) Add green beans and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add chili paste, tamarind paste, salt and sugar to taste, and splash in some water. Continue to stir-fry for 2 more minutes and set aside.
3) Cook instant noodles according to instructions on package. Add boiled egg, prepared green beans and fish to your noodle soup.
1) Stir-fry minced shallots and dried shrimp until fragrant. Add fish fillet slices and pan-fry on both sides until slightly browned.
2) Add green beans and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add chili paste, tamarind paste, salt and sugar to taste, and splash in some water. Continue to stir-fry for 2 more minutes and set aside.
3) Cook instant noodles according to instructions on package. Add boiled egg, prepared green beans and fish to your noodle soup.
P/S : If you have a favorite brand of instant noodles that you really like, do share it with me as I'm always on the look-out for good instant noodles for those lazy cooking days.
Labels: belacan, green bean, Herbs And Spices, instant noodle, maggi, Malaysian Cuisine, ramen, Rice And Noodles, sole fillet, Stir Frys, Vegetables
Posted by Melting Wok
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29 Comments:
It's usually Maggi for me too because it's always almost the cheapest :)
MUAHAHAHAHAH I LOVE MAGGIE MEEEEEEEE!!!! Esp asam laksa.
Thanks for the suggesting a specific brand. I'm always trying new brands but have yet to find a winner. Perhaps this is it!
I love instant noodles and my favourite kind came in a little plastic bowl with a sachet of very spicy chillis. You can only get these in the US though, not in Britain!
My current favorite is the Nong Shim brand (Korean?) Kimchee flavor which comes in a bowl and is very spicy.
Also, about a year ago, the food writer at the Seattle Post Intelligencer did a small taste test of various ramen brands. Interesting story. The flavors they picked were new to me.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/267105_ramen19.html?source=mypi
If only I could cook like you in college, then I'd have me some instant ramen that would be the envy of my roommates.
I didn't realize Maggi made noodles. I associate Maggi with that liquid MSG seasoning that makes everything taste goooood.
My favorite instant noodles of all time is called IndoMie. It's not a soup, but a dry noodle, mixed up with a packet of oil and kecap manis and of course a packet of MSG-ladened seasoning.
Bloody hell...Now I'm all hungry. hehe Make mine maggi.
By the way, loved your char siu recipe so much, I'm going to go try it as a bbq sauce on slow grilled baby back ribs. Am going to do the char siu again too and do it right this time. ;-) Overnight.
I love to, as you say, 'de-instantize' my ramen noodles too. Sometimes, I'll take a pass on the seasoning packet and use homemade chicken broth instead, then poach an egg and add frozen peas. I like Nissan and Sapporo Ichiban the best, but I'll be sure to try the Maggie next time! If you happen to find the Nissan 'Sesame Chicken' flavor, try that - it's so good. It's a dry noodle, so there's sauce but no soup. Yummy.
I've seen the Maggi noodles in Asian groceries, but I've never picked them up. Maggi is owned by Nestle, and Nestle can't even manage to make a decent chocolate bar. I was dubious about the quality of Maggi noodle.
However, since you've given them such a strong recommendation, I'll have to try them out.
My college age son is the champion of ramen cuisine...I will pass this on!
Wow, what a transformation!! :) Oh yes, I miss Maggi's Assam Laksa! Grrrr, I managed to forget it for years, and now you reminded me of what I left behind! :)
As for my favourite brand, Maggi is No. 1 followed closely by Koka. I like the texture of Koka noodles, but they don't come in such adventurous flavours, cheh!
I can't get Maggi here, but there's one more that I like - Zam Zam, which is a Thai brand, and pre-fried. :)
I used to buy Myojo or Tung-yi...but when I came here I got myself Nissin because I buy them in Costco(don't have Maggi there..hee heee).
Do you still use the seasoning mix in the Assam Laksa since you cooked the fish which apparently is seasoned as well?
*running over with bells on*. like u said, even instant noodles taste better when someone else is doing the cooking!
i don't know if i've tried maggie. i'll check out the asian market! :D
Wahh....normally people cook instant noodle when they don't have time to cook for proper meal. But your version look very very nice!
I tend to use Maggi instant noodles as well - they seem to be available anywhere in the world!
I think blogger swallowed some of my comments, so if you see duplicates in other posts you can delete them. I get Nissan instant noodles shrimp flavor. I love eating it for breakfast! There's another one from the Philippines with a "bulalo" flavor, I forgot the brand. I stopped getting it over here because the seasoning packets had glass in them. That was scary!
Hi Covina! guess what?? I just made Laksa noodles for my family today, it was a laksa premix I bought when I was in London & brought back home. My Singaporean & Malaysian friends introduced me to it & I HAD to share it with my family. too bad they don't sell it here. I'll follow your recipe as a substitute to the premix;)
maggie instant noodle is the best! my fav is curry flavour tho i can eat all flavours. when i miss msian food but too lazy to do all the work required to prepare them, il settle for maggie mee. ;)
Korean Ramyun* Rules!
My all time fav. is "Champong noodle" by Nongshim.
It's very spicy and smells throughout the neighborhood, but there's nothing else better.
Check it out.
http://eng.nongshim.com/eng/pro/prod_product_idx.jsp
*In Korean, it's spell as Ramyun.
Wow, even yr instant noodles look so good. I prefer Indomie or even a brand called Vewong which we use in KL. When you're back, you shld try the A1 BKT noodles - strong smell of BKT which tastes so good esp on a cold night.
yr far away version definitely looks different !
Let us taste first can ah ?
I agree, Maggi is the best $0.29 meal ever! :D
Woman, I ran out of Maggie Assam Laksa liao, buy one box for me okay next time you give it to me. :)
i lyk maggi as well, and nissin too, specially the exotic flavored ones they have. In the phils, there is also called LuckyMe brand of ramens, they have really good ramens as well!
u hero la!!! A simple maggi mee also can cooked until become an awesome meal!
i like myojo mee when i was younger.
now i like the korean ones. nong shim brand. oooo. makes me wanna have one now...
maggi also has mini packs now. haha...
boys & girls, thx for all the suggestions :)
My round-up for best instant noodles, IMHO :
1) Maggi - Asam Laksa & Curry.
Pablo, teckie, alan, nigel, shilpa, RM, MK, wok&spoon, jackson, PE, Maggi's the best isn't it :)
2) Indomie - Mee Goreng Pedas ( Spicy Stir-fried Noodles ) Thx Elmo, I totally forgot about it, use to cook tt in my teens haha, mee goreng and fried eggs..yummmys :)
3) Nong Shim - Seafood & Kimchi, anyone ? By the way, the Seafood flavor taste 90% like Malaysian Prawn Mee, especially after adding some fried shallots to the soup :)
4) Mamee - tom yum, you guys gotta try tt, the noodles are pre-fried, tasted really good once it hit the soup. Reminds me of this child hood snack Mamee instant pre-fried noodles, just pop open the bag, sprinkle some chicken flavored seasonings and eat it just like tt, no cooking required.
5) tung-1 - onion and beef stew flavor is really good, thx for the reminder, tiger :)
keropok, I never had myojo b4, I don't think I see it here though :(
jaze, I've tried Nissin (HK), its immitation of Maggi, more on the mild side - and they've got most of the Maggi flavors, and Malaysian flavored noodles ie. curry laksa (curry with coconut milk). I have not seen lucky brand here either :(
PE, its 45cents now for tt tiny pack :(
toni, would love to trade places w/u :PP Just wait, don't tease me yet, going home soon, will sapu all the noodles back buahahaha :P
boo, thx for the reco !:) I've never tried A1 BKT, but, why would u wanna have instant BKT when you can get the real thing har ? hehe, oh, I've seen vewong, Vietnamese brand, I think, will check tt out soon, thx :)
Albert, I've always eat seafood and kimchi from nong shim, haven't seen or heard of champong ?? Have to check tt out too, thx :)
valentina, yes, that would be even better, next best to the real Asam Laksa, you gonna luv it :) Add some fresh mint leaves as it will enhance the flavor of the soup nicely :)
Veron, ohh, I heard of the popular Bulalo flavor, will give tt a shot, since you like it, thx :)
PP, 1 pack not enough, 2 pack is bit too much carb, what to do, add this and tt, and got maself a one bowl meal hehe :)
budding, you'll definitely like it :)
tummy, ditto :)
sandi, hahahaha, I'm glad you find this useful, thx !:)
CP, I think they were probably bz making Italian pasta sauce in a jar - v/popular in the Europe, I think its labeled differently..hm, think its call Buttoni or something. Forget about the damn chocolate bar , 'k ? btw, am eating madagascar 65% cocoa mild dark X-tra fine chocolate now, by Lindt buahahahaha :P
eat4fun, wow, thx for the link, interesting read. ah..champion is good, yup, they got this sichuan flavored fiery hot beef noodle soup, oh, I gotta get tt, thx !:)
maria, I've tried most of Nissin brand, mostly M'sian flavored noodle soup,I should be on a look out for Sesame Chicken instead, I've always luv the dry-variant type as well, just like the Indomie brand, thx !! :)
freya & paul, plastic bowl ones r convenient, so, which brand did u guys prefer ?
susan, this is it, along with all the suggestions above, you can't go wrong, hope you like it :)
Maggi company should pay you for pimping out their ride. :-)
I love Maggi 2-minit mee but they leave my mouth dry all night long. Too much MSG, I think. So I stop eating them or any instand noodles.
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