When I cook instant noodles, I will boil the noodles in water and once done, I will pour the water away before I cook the soup with the seasoning(s) provided and put the noodles in it and serve. That is because I read somewhere that they coat the noodles with wax and the above process will remove the latter which they claim is a health hazard though there are websites that tell you that’s an urban legend, not true.
However, I do not do this when cooking my favourite made-in-Sibu Daddy Mee because there is a bit of seasoning coating the noodles…
…for those eating it as a snack and doing that would wash all that away. As a result, I found that it would not be as nice.
I don’t think I would want to eat it as a snack though – that makes me think of those little packets of junk food that kids love to buy at the school canteen. In the meantime, my loyal follower and regular commentor, Irene, in Kuching insists that this is her favourite brand of instant noodles and she always has some in her pantry and lately, she has been telling me that she likes it dry. In her own words, she said, “I prefer chicken flavour cooked dry than in soup. Just toss with the fried shallot and seasoning, without any extra ingredients needed, it will taste heavenly too.“
I was kind of sceptical initially because as I have said earlier, boiling the noodles and draining away all the water would remove the nice taste but nonetheless, I decided to give it a try.
I boiled the noodles in a little bit of water, not too much – just enough to cover it and I emptied half of the sachet of seasoning into it. In the meantime, I got ready the remaining half and the fragrant shallot oil from the other sachet in a plate…
…plus a bit of the fried shallots that I had at hand.
Much to my delight, by the time the mee was cooked, all the water in the saucepan had dried up. I poured everything into the plate and tossed well and served…
Yes, it was very nice. something like kampua mee but not exactly as the texture of the noodles was different. However, I found it to be VERY salty – I think since I had added half of the sachet while cooking the noodles, that would be more than enough for me. Perhaps if anyone is cooking it this way, it would be better to just hold on to the remaining seasoning and sprinkle sparingly according to taste.
But the thing is I love the soup very much and eating it dry like this, one would have to forego the enjoyment of that. That was why I decided to try something different from the above.
The second time around, I cooked the noodles in a lot more water, added half the sachet of seasoning and half of the shallot oil and once ready, I poured the soup into a bowl…
…and garnished it with my own fried shallots. Unfortunately, I did not have any spring onion at that point in time – adding a sprinkling of that would surely bring the taste to a whole new level.
I tossed the noodles in the remaining shallot oil and seasoning and served and yes, it was just right this time around, not too salty. The soup was as nice as I’ve always known it to be, anytime nicer than the plain water plus msg and bits of spring onion that they will give you at the kampua mee shops and stalls.
I sure don’t mind having it this way sometimes for a change and at around RM4.50 for a pack of 5, that works out to only 90 sen a plate, with the delightful soup to go with it. So very cheap, don’t you think?
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Yes, it will be too salty using the ratio 1 sachet of seasoning for 1 packet of noodles. Usually I will cook 2pkts of instant noodles using 1 sachet of seasoning and 2pkt of fried shallots oil and the taste is just nice, neither salty nor bland. Believe me or not, I can easily finish 2pkt of mee Daddy cook dry like this.
Yes, I thought it was too salty. One sachet for two packets would be fine. That is what I do all the time, whatever brand. I did read somewhere that to make instant noodles healthier, one can just use half of the seasoning – nothing to do with the noodles. Wowwww!!! Two packets is quite a lot!
Eating dry (uncooked) noodles as a snack reminds me of the Mamee instant noodles. I tried it once as a kid but I did not like it at all. Come to think of it, I haven’t had instant noodles in a very long time. Makes me feel like buying a pack to cook just of old time’s sake 🙂
Yes, I remember the commercial on TV – I think it was a blue monster and he would say, “Ma…meeee!!!” in a low, gruffy voice. I think I did get to try but no, just like you, I did not like it at all and I could not understand why the kids loved it so much!
I just bought Maggi Kari…because that Kumaar family in the US keep praising it to the skies on Youtube so I want to give it a try to see if it has improved after all these years. Somebody did mention that day that for Maggi goreng, it has to be Maggi kari or it will not be nice. I’ll try that too!
Fried shallots is magic! A bit of those goes a long way in any instant noodle dish be it soup or dry, isn’t it?
Some people would not agree but yes, add a bit to clear soup and it will bring the taste to a whole new level. Spring onion too!
Me too, I normally do twice on the boiling, one for the wax and one for the soup part. More work, that is why I seldom take instant noodles.. hahaha..
You’re a good girl! Pat…pat…on the head! LOL!!! I will usually have some in the house for days when there is nothing in the house for breakfast or rainy days, cannot go out and eat but these days, with all that #staysafe #staywell #stayhome, we do keep a lot in stock and yes, we do eat it a lot more than usual.
My missus is more adventurous – she buys and eats those Korean, Vietnam, Thai ones and what have you. I just stick to the ones I know and love.
I do that too. Cook the noodle first then drain and put aside. Cook seasoning in another pot of water and toss in noodle when it boil and serve. For noodle soup. For those dry version, I just drain the water and rinse under water tap.
Obviously it’s a hoax…and everyone believed:
https://www.hoax-slayer.net/instant-noodles-do-not-contain-a-wax-coating-that-causes-cancer/
…but personally, I do not mind cooking and draining and rinsing first – dunno what it has gone through in the factory. Would be cleaner to do it this way…like that report that day about the bean curd stick factory in Penang…all the flies…and even a dead cat on the ground! Eyewwwww!!!!!!
I do that with my instant noodles too, throw away the boiling water. Yet to try those ones with already seasoning on the noodles itself
So far this is the only brand with that, I’ve not seen any others.
I would love that soup with the fried shallots, yums! I never thought of throwing away the boiling water for my instant noodles, I learned something today.
I read somewhere that it is a hoax, an urban legend…NOT TRUE!!!
Oh yes, I recall reading something a while back about the health hazards of instant noodles.
Urban legends, it seems. That they’re coated with wax, that it will stay in your body system for a long time, cannot be digested etc…etc…. I saw a documentary featuring a doctor, Singaporean, I think – the only thing unhealthy is the seasoning – good to use just half.