When was the last time you had instant ramen noodles? Yesterday you say? Or was it perhaps last week? If you eat instant noodles regularly, say at least once a week, you are hereby officially diagnosed with instant noodles syndrome, a serious condition that affects people all over the world.
The thing about it is that those pretty looking packages that pack those little tasty foods come with a big dose of health problems if you think long-term.
The Washington Post published an article in 2014 and in the article there is information that reveals the danger of eating instant noodles often, information based on a study conducted by Harvard and Baylor University.
So does that mean that you should give up noodles? Well yes, but only the instant ramen noodles. If you like the food that much, there are options available. You can choose real noodles. Either make them yourself or buy the authentic type.
Authentic noodles – different to instant noodles
Instant noodles that come in the cup or pre-packaged with various flavors are made of refined flour, which is highly processed flour that retains few if any nutrients at all. Moreover, they are often deep fried in various unhealthy fats before being dried, making them two times unhealthy.
Authentic noodles are usually made with good quality wheat flour. In villages across Vietnam, Japan, and China, people make rice-paper noodles from scratch using mostly rice flour, although wheat is also used.
But the chances of finding homemade like noodles in supermarkets are scarce. You will, however, be able to find them at Japanese markets or Asian supermarkets. They are packaged differently to instant noodles, typically sold in packages of up to 20 bundles of noodles. Most often, they will not include any flavor.
Making ramen noodles at home
If you are that much into noodles, then you could invest in a pasta maker to ease the process of making noodles at home. Of course, you can always make the dough and cut noodles by hand, but the result may not be as satisfying. However, practice always makes better.
The recipe for noodles is fairly simple. Ingredients are all-purpose flour, salt, and water. If you want to make egg noodles, eggs usually replace the water. Another ingredient for ramen noodles is kansui, an alkaline solution of sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, meant to regulate acidity in dough.
Because Kansui is only available in Asian stores and sometimes hard to find in America, people use baking soda instead.
A step-by-step process of making noodles from scratch is available here. The recipe is for noodles made with baking soda, and it explains the process of baking the soda, a technique popularized by Harold McGee, writer on the chemistry of food and cooking.
Also, remember that when you don’t feel like cooking very much and making noodles seems a bit discouraging, a third option to enjoy good ramen is Asian restaurants. Nobody cooks ramen better than the authentic chefs.