Instant Ramen, the kitchen staple of college students worldwide. Originally a "luxury" food, re-invented by Taiwanese-Japanese inventor Momofuku Ando (吳百福 ) in 1957 to create a healthy way for people to eat surplus post war wheat flour, this is now considered an overly processed junk food.
Diets high in fats and refined starches tend to be unhealthy, and may affect your mental health. One study of 10,711 people in Korea found that the consumption of instant noodles was associated with increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome (combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity) in women, independent of major dietary patterns.
Removing excess oil:
After cooking your ramen, drain and rinse the noodles. I don't know how many times that ramen frying oil is reused, or what specific oil each brand uses. We can try to remove the oil by rinsing the ramen in hot water after boiling it, to wash away any excess oils. Some of the oil is absorbed by the noodles, but we do what we can. Alternatively, use pasta or noodles that were not dried by frying in oil.
Replacing the flavor packet
Lets first look at what's wrong with instant noodles.
- Fried in "vegetable oil" of unknown origin / quality.
- Flavor packet is salt and MSG
- Noodle is made of refined starch
Diets high in fats and refined starches tend to be unhealthy, and may affect your mental health. One study of 10,711 people in Korea found that the consumption of instant noodles was associated with increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome (combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity) in women, independent of major dietary patterns.
Removing excess oil:
After cooking your ramen, drain and rinse the noodles. I don't know how many times that ramen frying oil is reused, or what specific oil each brand uses. We can try to remove the oil by rinsing the ramen in hot water after boiling it, to wash away any excess oils. Some of the oil is absorbed by the noodles, but we do what we can. Alternatively, use pasta or noodles that were not dried by frying in oil.
Replacing the flavor packet
Salt and MSG aren't bad in themselves, in moderation. Some studies show that increased salt help fight depression. BUT we can replace the ramen packets with tastier and healthier alternatives. I suggest miso and/or soy sauce for something salty, umami packed, and full of probiotics. Add these after your food has cooled past 46c to avoid killing the probiotics. Miso paste with ramen seems very poetic.
Sesame 麻酱面 sauce / Peanut sauce / Shanghainese style.
Increasing resistant starches
The simple carbohydrates are a surprisingly mid range 47 on the glycemic index, similar to carrots or macaroni.
The simple carbohydrates are a surprisingly mid range 47 on the glycemic index, similar to carrots or macaroni.
Cooking one or two days before consumption, then putting it in the fridge will cause some of the starches to retrograde into a resistant starch. It can then be reheated later and stay a resistant starch. Resistant starches seem to act like fiber and don't spike blood sugar. Resistant starches seem to also have some effect on reducing the glycemic response on a meal.
BONUS: Reducing the glycemic response
Other factors that affect the glycemic response to starchy foods is the addition of proteins, lipids (fats), polysaccharides (dietary fiber) and polyphenols.
RECIPE NOTES
There are several Asian "cold noodle" recipes we can adapt to use instant ramen as a base, and using these techniques to try to create a more healthy dish.
PROCESSING THE NOODLES
Boil water and cook noodles al dente as usual, then rinse the noodles twice, first with fresh hot water, then once more with cold water. Shake off excess water (use a salad spinner if possible), then mix a little sesame or olive (or edible oil with better ω6:ω3 ratio) with the noodles. The noodles can then be put in the fridge for up to a week.
OTHER INGREDIENTS
Cold noodles are often served with some raw shredded carrots, julienned cucumbers, julienned ginger , bean sprouts, garlic, toasted peanuts, scallions, shredded cabbage and especially cold shredded chicken 涼拌手撕雞 (recipe coming). These dishes can be made concurrently, using the chicken boiling / steaming water to cook your noodles. It also goes very well with a cold cucumber salad.
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SAUCES
These are just guidelines, so I'm using rough measurements here. The ingredients you use will taste different from mine, and you will have different flavor preferences.
Nut Sauce
½ tablespoon sesame sauce
1 tablespoon peanut sauce*
Soy sauce***
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I like a blend of dark and light soy sauce).
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon chinkiang vinegar
Oils
½ tablespoon scallion oil** or neutral oil of your choice
½ tablespoon sesame oil
Toppings
1 clove garlic, minced
1 slice ginger, minced
1 sprinkle of sesame seeds
1 sprinkle of chopped scallions
1 sprinkle of fresh parsley / coriander
Whisk ingredients together, mix well with your noodles. If the sauce is too thick, add some water or chicken stock to thin it down. Add chili oil of your choice (or douban chili sauce) if you like it spicy.
*Some Shanghainese purists insist that sesame sauce and peanut sauces don't mix. You can substitute one sauce with the other if you like. It's ok to use peanut butter as peanut sauce, but try to choose a peanut butter that's only made of peanut and salt. Put a spoonful of the stuff on a frying pan to toast until it darkens in color for extra flavor.
**Get some neutral oil (or lard if you enjoy saturated fats in your diet), and fry some scallions in the oil. Store in the fridge for 2 weeks. Add the oil and scallion for all your noodle dishes.
***If you've recently made 糖醋排骨Sweet Vinegar Ribs, or it's sister dish 红烧肉 Soy Braised Ribs (the same dish without vinegar), SAVE THE SAUCE and use it with your noodles. It will elevate your noodles to culinary levels. Alternatively, switch in any rich stew sauce here.
There are many regional variations to this basic sauce, here are some:
Thai Style Cold noodles
Sesame Style sauce + Thai sweet chili sauce.
Szechuan Style Sauce
Sesame Style sauce - nut sauce + szechuan chili sauce of your choice.
Toppings
Chinese pickled mustard (Zha Cai- 榨菜)
Wuhan 热干面 style
Blanche your cold noodles first, then toss with Sesame style sauce + Pickled long beans (酸豆角), Zha Cai, minced garlic, scallions and coriander, chili oil and extra sesame paste.
Shaanxi style
Sesame Style sauce + Szechuan peppercorn (or other mala oils), cumin and chili oil.
Dan Dan Mian
Sesame Style sauce + fried minced meat with various sauces (recipes coming eventually).
Other Chinese regionally inspired variations -
Beijing Zhajiangmian Style / Korean ja jang myun
Zhajiangmian sauce (still figuring out how to make this) + sliced radish and cucumber.
Cantonese "Lo Mein" style
Oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger paste, scallions, topped with sliced shiitake, stirfried protein of choice, veg.
Other international cold noodles.
Indian Peanutty noodles.
Peanut Style sauce, with cumin and chili powder + veg
Japanese Style SOBA Sauce
Korea Style Sauce
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