Member-only story
The Quest for Healthier Instant Noodles, and the Grief It Causes to Loyal Fans
The trade-off between accessibility and nutritional value in a beloved Asian convenience food
Instant noodles are a staple in many Asian households — that sentence is undoubtedly true, but still doesn’t capture their full significance in Asian culture.
We eat instant noodles for breakfast, for dinner, when we crave something sinfully salty and calorie-dense, when money is tight, or when we’re ready to abandon all pretences of dieting.
We cook them according to instructions, add them to hot pot, or eat them dry like savory cereals. And when the basic version fails to satisfy our imagination, we’re willing to do the devil’s work by creating groundbreaking recipes that make the internet gasp in awe or disgust.
And we’re doing all of that, under no illusion that instant noodles are healthy.
In the last decade, instant noodles have been in a fight with themselves. Scientists and health advocates have conducted countless studies on their long-term effects on human health. Online forums endlessly debate whether they’re safe to eat regularly. At home, parents will side-eye their children if they eat instant noodles one too many times.
