Noodles are quite the popular food in Australia, instant and authentic alike. And if you think only students and bachelor’s gorge on these little death traps, think again. Noodles are a favorite among many regardless the age or gender.
What’s so good about noodles anyway?
If you’ve never tried instant noodles, best to keep away from them because they’ll turn you into an addict faster than chocolate. Noodles are good, there’s no argument here. Chewy and fluffy, flavorful and tasty, they come at a price though, and it’s not money concerned. They are very unhealthy due to being made of low-quality flour and containing an extremely high amount of salt.
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Also, they are very fatty. Wait, this was supposed to be about the good in noodles.
Well, they’re good in that it takes just about the same amount of time to cook noodles as to boil an egg. They cook in an instant. It’s why they’re called instant noodles.
See, instant noodles are precooked before packaging. The raw noodles go through a steaming process followed by deep frying before being tossed into packets, cups or bowls.
Usually, cheap oil is used for frying. Why do you think instant noodles cost so little? They’re not all that expensive to make in the first place.
So apart from being really tasty, really cheap, and really quick to prepare there isn’t so much good about noodles. In fact, you can’t eat noodles twice a week and claim healthy dieting.
But…
There are healthier options to instant noodles. Not as cheap and you can’t find them everywhere, but they will lower the risk of a heart attack – Japanese noodles, the type of noodles you can even find at Aldi sometimes. But it’s more the likes of ethnic stores that you’ll be able to find a greater variety.
So Japanese noodles are not the flavored noodles but the ones usually sold in bigger packages and without any soup base. They are healthier because they’re most often made with good flour and have none of the chemicals that instant noodles carry. And they are different in texture to instant noodles too.
How you can vary your noodles meal
There’s more than just one way to cook noodles. Noodle soups are extremely popular, but did you know you can also make a salad using noodles?
You can sometimes find pre-made salad mixes if you want a more convenient food option, but you can also make noodles salad at home. Crunchy noodle salad is pretty much a staple in Asian cuisine, although of course if you like to experiment you can also update the recipe with your own choices.
To make crispy noodle salad you need only a few ingredients:
- Chinese or savoy cabbage finely shredded or coleslaw mix
- Sliced green onion
- About 100 grams of roasted almonds
- And a serving size of crunchy noodles crumbled
The dressing is 4 to 5 ingredients depending on whether you want sesame oil or not. Dressing requires:
- ¼ vinegar – rice wine vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/3 cup honey or ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
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Pour all ingredients in a roomy bowl, add the dressing and give a good toss. You can serve the salad as a meal if you add some barbecue chicken, and don’t forget you can add your own ingredients to it, like avocado or mango.