Winding Spiral Case: Ramen Roundup: 4 Favourite Instant Noodles

You already know that I'm a closet fan of America's Next Top Model...so what's the harm in letting on about one more guilty secret? Specifically, my enthusiasm for ramen.

I was a noodle slurping, bowl licking, ramen monster as a child, and my mom's MSG-wary quota of one bowl a week only elevated instant noodle meals to special weekend treats. During university, a new interest in health inspired a five-year ramen dry spell, but somehow during residency ramen has found its way back into my cupboards. I hold responsible the amazing noodle bowls of my recent Southeast Asia trip for inciting this ramen relapse. One thing that (partially) satisfies my cravings for Malaysian asam laksa or Vietnamese mi quang is ramen.

mi quang noodles in Hoi An, Vietnam

koey teow th'ng in Penang, Malaysia

If you're going to subject yourself to the salt load and empty calories that is ramen, you may as well make sure you're selecting a worthwhile product. And by worthwhile, I purely mean tasty. Here's a run-down of my favourite ramen varieties:

Number 1. At the top of the list comes Mama tom yum noodles, which are readily available at places like Superstore for only $0.33 a packet. They're also labelled as "shrimp" flavour, but don't be deterred, these noodles boast an authentic tom yum flavour with all its lemon-grassy goodness. The noodles don't get mushy as they absorb the soup and you can add as much water as you would like without compromising the flavour. I usually add in an egg, vegetables, or meat to fancy these up (and increase the number of food groups in my meal!).

Mama tom yum (shrimp)

Mama tom yum with okra, carrots, imitation crab meat, & egg

Number 2. Though it's a lot trickier to find these in Canada, Maggi's Malaysian ramen flavours, specifically asam laksa and curry (kari), are the closest you can get to hawker fare outside of Malaysia.

Maggi asam laksa & curry (http://www.tradewindsorientalshop.co.uk/)

hawker stall asam laksa in Penang Malaysia

Number 3. Something Southeast Asian that you can find fairly easily in North America, usually for around $0.40 a packet, is the Indonesian brand Indomie mi goreng. These are my favourite dry noodles; mildly spicy from their chili seasoning, they are so flavourful and delicious.

IndoMie mi goreng
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/id/1/10/Indomie_2010.png)

Number 4. Mama rice vermicelli clear soup instant noodles, a childhood favourite of mine, is a delicate change from the usual instant noodles (and just because the soup is clear doesn't mean it's any less flavourful than the fiery red eye-watering variety).

Mama rice vermicelli clear soup
(http://www.thai-united.com/brands/mama)

Other. I'm not going to number these ones, as I wouldn't particularly recommend them, but both are ones I tried this month (and why not, at only $0.25 a package). I had high expectations for Maggi's Authentic Indian series and picked up both curry and chatpata flavours. Unfortunately neither of these dry noodles was anything special, with the Maggi Malaysian curry flavour far surpassing its Indian counterpart.

Maggi Authentic Indian Flavours -- curry

Maggi Authentic Indian Flavours -- chatpata

Other. Finally, while looking to recreate the pho of my Vietnam travels, I purchased two kinds of pho flavouring cubes...both of which were unfortunately saltier than they were flavourful.