So I'm a college student, and like any other college student I live on instant noodles. Be it Easy Mac or Ramen, I love the convenience and sustenance that instant noodles give me. Here's a selection of instant noodles I've had during my year and a half at my university and my reviews of them. This is my go-to noodle bowl. I really like spicy food, and Nong Shim's Hot and Spicy Noodle Soup hits the spot. It takes about 3 minutes to cook, and you feel the tingle of spice with every noodle slurp and sip of broth. Nong Shim also has a Spicy Kimchi flavor, but I couldn't tell the difference between the two. Hot and spicy ramen bowls are about $1.49 at my school store, but can be found at Walmart. I found Maruchan's Hot and Spicy Chicken Bowl at my local Kroger for $1.79. This can also be found at your local Meijer as well. It takes about the same cooking time as Nong Shim's noodles, but are a tad more spicier. I was quite surprised by this, as before I was disappointed by their Picante Chicken flavor. Anyway, I also enjoyed the texture of the veggies more than Nong Shim's, it seems more...realistic? I don't know. It's really good though, and I wish my school store carried these. Nissin's Hot and Spicy Bowl was really disappointing. I mean, I poured the soup powder into the bowl before microwaving and I smelled the scent of hot peppers, and what did I get in the end? Noodles that tasted like slightly spicy spaghetti. Same cook time as the previous two, but there's a "Soup Booster" packet you stir in after the noodles cook. One day I decided to try something new and ended up buying A Taste of Thai’s Pad Thai box. At my school's store it’s about $4.77 with tax, so for me this is pretty pricey for instant noodles. Takes 4 minutes to cook, there’s sauce you add after microwaving after the 3 minute mark. Taste is…ugh. Really sweet for a pad thai. It’s like I’m eating noodles covered in sugar, garlic, and peanut dust. I was barely a quarter of the way on the box and I couldn't take it anymore. ಥ_ಥ 1/10 would not buy again. I will stay loyal to my hot and spicy ramen bowls from now on.
When it comes to instant noodles, my absolute favorite is Prima Taste Simgapore Curry La Mian, and that only because I really like the taste of curry, but the noodles are of high quality as well. Maruchan's Hot and Spicy Chicken Bowl is good too, though. It would be my second choice.
My husband and son just love Ramen noodles. I personally don't like them but that is an issue caused by my step mom forcing me to make these things for dinner every night for myself and her three kids. The other day I decided to try something new with the noodles. I boiled them in water like I normally do but then after I drained them and before I added the flavor packs, I melted some butter in a skillet, instead of the flavor packs I used beef bouillon, added some soy sauce, some veggies and did a kind of stir fry thing with them and they ended up tasting really good. It was really simple and quick and it was nice doing something different with them.
Yeah. I agree. Instant noodles are a great invention. They are perfect for college students, or people on a budget. Also for those who are trying to lose weight, because they have a lo calorie intake. My favorite is the Chicken flavored Roman Noodles. I eat them almost everyday on my lunch break. I put Texas Pete hot sauce on them, and they taste just like real chicken.
Honestly my favorite instant noodles would have to ram-ens chicken soup hands down. Obviously they make the perfect college food for cash strapped teens and they also provided quick dinners for families on the go, but overall ram-ens soup takes the cake in the battle of noodles. The chick flavor is very good and sauteed very nicely. Even though that soup is my favorite, overall I recently discovered that that instant soup is not good for the body. The sodium levels in the packets are too high and the processed noodles are just as bad. Overall my advice is to eat them only when its absolutely necessary.
Sheesh. No love for frozen dinners? When I was a kid I used to ALWAYS want them and had them made often. Though as I say that nothing beats "instant" like noodles. It's a lot more convenient when you want to eat right away. Takes very little time to make it. I'll admit I'm addicted to it. Due to the budget I've lived on most of my life, I just made a habit to eat it. Once in a while I take a break from them but it's my weakness. I'm stuck on the old school Ramen. I keep it very basic...I don't really care for the cup noodles like the ones filled with veggies or anything extra. Just get me the solid packages with the seasoning inside. Then here and there I like to put pieces of sliced ham into my beef (my favorite flavor) Ramen as well as the chicken flavor. I found out about that last year. The sodium was always a concern of mine but the options are also limited on a budget. I do need to try harder to replace them more often than I do now, but I usually stay up late to work. I know how bad it is to eat heavy foods at night or sweets before going to bed so I usually resort to cereal or Ramen. Sucks to say I lean more towards Ramen because the cereal is for breakfast and it uses up all the milk as well. -_- Bah. Everything healthy I like is too expensive.
