Instant Noodles..... Instant Love

Long, silky strands curl around your fork effortlessly; glistening with a coat of golden sheen and fingers of rising steam loaded with indescribable promises. The nutty fragrance of toasted sesame oil reaches your nostrils even before the noodles touch your taste buds. Intoxicating. Comforting. Home.

My all-time favourite food - the humble instant noodles. What? I hear a few mumbles and can probably spot a few raised eyebrows. The ubiquitous packet of instant noodles that costs less than a dollar is your all-time favourite food? Yes. It is my comfort food; not caviar, not foie gras and certainly not Dom Perignon.

A 50-year-old invention, I say instant noodles is the best thing next to sliced bread. In fact, I would choose the inconspicuous packet over bread anytime. It perks me up when I'm down; it fills my stomach when I'm hungry and too lazy to buy takeout or too inconvenient to order delivery. It is also my travel companion. I have not heard of any Singaporean , Japanese or Korean frequent traveler who trots the world without the packet or cup of comfort strands stashed deep into their suitcases. Instant noodles is home.

Of course, it has often been criticised as unhealthy or junk food. A single serving of instant noodles is high in carbohydrates but low in fiber, minerals and vitamins. High saturated fat or trans fat is found on the noodles as they are fried during the manufacturing process. It also contains large amounts of sodium and monosodium glutamate in the soup base. Why then, is it so popular the world over from Argentina to Ukraine to Asia to the U.S.?

For whatever it's worth, it is a food source that's easy both on the palate and on the pocket. It has been touted as an economic indicator as the sale of instant noodles the world over rose steadily in 1997, following the Asian Financial Crisis and again in 2009, the global economic downturn. With rising inflation and the soar of food prices today, will we see a surge in instant noodle sale again? Likely, I think. Very likely.

Economic reasons aside, I believe people's love with instant noodles stems from its versatility.It is fast and tasty. It is also easy. It can be eaten on its own, with condiments or as a full-fledged meal with egg, meat, slices, vegetables....the works. It can be served soup, dry, semi or fried. I love it all.

Well then.....as a lover of convenient noodles, I must be mindful of all the lowdown and potential health hazards, right? Yes, I do. So here are some cooking tips to have our noodles and eat it:

1) Boil the noodles in a pot of water till they are cooked
2) Remove noodles & pour away the water which contains wax
3) Heat another pot of water till it boils
4) Place cooked noodles into the pot & shut the fire
5) Empty the packet of seasoning into the pot of hot water

Welcome home and Bon Appetit!!!!

My chilli crab

I have a penchant for crabs. Chilli crabs, in particular. So you can imagine how my interest was piqued when I read in the papers that my beloved crab dish - spicy, tangy and succulent is now touted to have originated from Malaysia. They are thus calling it Malaysia’s dish, along with Hainanese chicken rice, laksa, bak kut teh and nasi lemak, all my favourites. Alamak, I say, how can like that??

After the initial knee-jerk reaction, I actually found this piece of claim rather cute and entertaining. True enough, The Sunday Times (20 Sept 09) reiterated with a list of 'Uniquely Singaporean' dishes like Hokkien mee, yu shen, minced meat noodles , etc. Where does it end then? My Malaysian friends also shake their heads in wonder.

In my humble opinion, food should bring people together regardless where it originates from. Wherever it goes, a little more is added to the dish depending on culture, lifestyle and availability of ingredients. Some cultures prefer their dishes spicy, some tweak the ingredients for a milder flavour while others develop new twists and snazzy versions to the dish.

My girlfriend who lives in New York has a well-thumbed and colourfully-tagged Singapore cook book I got her when I visited in 1993. She calls it her 'culinary bible' and swears by it to whip up Asian fare to the amazement and delight of her family and friends. I don't think they care whether the fragrant chicken rice or the mouthwatering rich satay peanut sauce she makes is truly Malaysian, uniquely Singaporean or even enchantingly Indonesian. All that matters is she makes the dishes with her heart and how good they taste pipping hot from the stove.

Incidentally, I also had the most memorable meatball spaghetti...... not in a cozy restaurant at a small Italian town but at Pier 39 of Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. The world is so well connected that no one culture can claim total monopoly or patent rights to a dish anymore. There is hardly anything no one can replicate or even improve upon these days. So I think we should just let the dishes be as long as they bring people together. After all, being able to sit down and enjoy a meal together in these tumultuous times is already a blessing in itself.

Now, if you'd excuse me...... I need to go whip up some French Fries for my mid-afternoon snack!

Rickshaw Noodles (拉车面)

Rickshaw noodles..... the thought of those soft, succulent yellow strands stewed for hours in an anchovies, dried shrimp, full-bodied pork stock can send many a rickshaw noodle fan into a tizzy!

Believed to have originated from Henghua (Fujian province in China), it is a humble dish that found its way into the hearts of rickshaw riders in the 60s, hence its name. These men would squat on the wooden benches and hurriedly slurp their noodles before getting back on the road. Over the years, it has garnered an ardent following in many who grew up in the Chinatown area and beyond. It cost 2 cents per bowl back then.

As a child growing up in the late 70s, each bowl of this "feel-good" concoction would render me 40 cents poorer. I loved how the collagen-rich broth absorbed the flavours of all its ingredients, particularly the unique taste of yellow noodles. Definitely comfort food for the soul.

It is also a family tradition at my grandma's house where she would whip up a huge pot of these luscious strands to be savoured with freshly-made chilli padi sauce and lots of crispy shallots.....a piquant affair that leaves us with fire at the pit of our stomachs but otherwise very gastronomically satisfied.

During the school holidays, my kiddo & I attempted to recreate the rickshaw noodles and ended up having a fantastic time. Travelling back to my childhood and tasting a slice of the Hokkien culture, my son now enjoys and appreciates what his mum does!