The Joy of Instant Noodles

As much as I think there’s nothing more satisfying than planning and cooking an elaborate meal for my friends and family, there are days when I get by with the simplest, quickest meals constructed out of ingredients lurking in my fridge or cupboard. This month, there were two such dinners, both revolved around instant noodles.

A few mondays ago, I came home tired from work and needed a quick yet hearty meal end the day. Surveyed the fridge and found the big bowl of homemade tomato sauce left over from the Pittza Party I prepared for my family the night before, and a big pack of frozen mixed seafood. There’s half a dish right there! Checked the cupboards, and had a half pack of instant spaghetti left. Marinara anyone?

Assembly is easy. Big pot of water on the boil with a dash of olive oil and salt, cook noodles until al dente. In the meantime, saute a few cloves of sliced garlic followed by the mixed seafood. Add a splash of white wine, and the tomato sauce. Once pasta is cooked, drain and reserve a bit of the cooking water. Toss pasta through the seafood sauce and add a little of the reserve cooking liquid if it gets clumpy. Top with fresh basil if you have. Serve.

Tonight’s dinner was one of those nights. I had no idea what to cook, and once again searched the cupboards and fridge. I found a pack of pork sukiyaki meat, fish paste and golden mushrooms we stocked up for a steamboat which haven’t yet happened. Half a dish right there! Checked my cupboards and found a pack of korean spareribs flavored instant noodles. FrankenMee anyone?

Frankenstein + Noodles = FrankenMee

FrankenMee is another conception out of my misguided culinary exploits. Essentially its made up of instant noodles with anything you can squeeze into a pot.

Assembly is even easier. Cook noodles as desired, and dump everything other ingredient into the pot, in order of which takes longer to cook. Be careful not to overcook the noodles. Serve.

This “dish” (if you can even call it that) is not the first, my most glorious FrankenMee was on New Year’s Day 2007 which had luncheon meat, squid, sliced beef, mushrooms, fish paste, vegetables, ikan bilis and an omelette, all in a kimchi flavored soup.

Who says instant noodles are bad? Yes, its probably bad if that’s the only thing you eat. But think of it like a blank canvas for you to cook anything with. It’s terribly forgiving if you’re not a frequent cook, and if you’re adventurous it will happily go along to where you want to take it. Try it and tell me your favorite way with Instant noodles.