Just add milk: how to level up your instant noodles

From a silky ramen with Japanese mayo to cuppa carbonara that's a ‘crime’ but delicious, there are many ways to make a meal from the humble student staple

Typically regarded as the fare of broke students, instant noodles are also adored by gourmands and chefs – US chef and restaurateur David Chang even named his Momofuku group after Momofuku Ando, the late inventor of instant ramen and the founder of Nissin Food Products.

The 65 years since Ando launched his first cellophane-wrapped chicken ramen have seen enough permutations enter the market that instant noodles now claim their own dedicated supermarket aisles.

For Junda Khoo, head chef and owner of Sydney's Ho Jiak Malaysian restaurants, instant noodles "were my best way to cure homesickness" when he moved to Australia as a teenager to study.

They hold a similar place in the heart of Sam Young – who runs bistro S’more with his partner – Grace Chen. "I left home [in Hong Kong] when I was 13 to go to boarding school in Canada, so instant noodles were like my comfort."

And, says chef Suraj Pradhan of catering group Two Tables, in his homeland Nepal, "it's like every home has Wai Wai noodles".

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So how can we expand our horizons from packet instructions to eating our instant noodles like chefs do? For starters, never throw out the seasoning packet.

If you’re bored with just adding an egg to your bowl, there's a hybrid instant noodle fried rice; and a mayonnaise hack to help achieve the silky richness of a tonkotsu-style ramen. You could also serve the noodles in milk and with cheese; or in something called a prison burrito.

If you’d like to skip the soft plastics, your instant noodle options are limited. In Australia, the Naked Asian Grocer sells noodle soup kits without plastic, while British-based Future Noodles are also plastic free.

Students also have their eyes on making instant noodles lower waste. While neither product has gone into commercial development, Australian UX designer Emily Enrica invented a microwaveable paper-based noodle box as a student; and British design student Holly Grounds developed an edible noodle film that dissolves in hot water.

For something more substantial (and less tube-shaped than the prison burrito), check out the frozen section at Asian grocers and go for the balls, says Young. He fills his shopping basket with meat, fish and seafood balls, plus frozen dumplings, to add to his noodles. "The combinations are endless."

Young also recommends making Korean budae jjigae with Nongshim's Shin ramyun.

Khoo says with instant noodles, "you can't go wrong".

"Everything is all packed, processed properly, and so you always get the flavour you’re looking for."

Khoo's ingredient of choice is prawns or other crustaceans, as the sweetness plays well with the MSG in instant noodle broths. His tip? Buy prawns unshelled: "It's cheaper, and then after you peel all the shells and all the heads, you just pan fry [the shells] in some oil and keep the oil. That's your prawn oil."

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"Even if you have no protein … just a couple of drizzles of the prawn oil on top will make it so much better already."

Young also recalls an instant noodle "carbonara" he made for a staff meal using bechamel, cheese, bacon and shiitake mushrooms.

"All my Italian friends would be like, that's such a crime – to use bechamel sauce to make carbonara, or to use cream," he says. "But it doesn't matter, man. It's delicious."

Prefer your noodles dry? Any soupy noodle can be converted to a dry version, says Khoo. "The sachets of seasoning are meant for soup so it's meant to be diluted, but when you do a dry version, the flavour intensifies."

Khoo and Pradhan love to blanch then stir-fry instant noodles to dry off excess moisture and ensure an al dente texture. Pradhan stir-fries vegetables, scrambles an egg, then adds the noodles and flavouring.

Prefer your noodles even drier? Try chow chow chatpat – a snacky mixture of crushed uncooked noodles and crunchy vegetables that is popular among Nepali people.

"We don't even cook it," Pradhan says. "We mix [dry noodles] with rice puffs, cucumbers, carrots, diced onion and some mustard oil, and then mix it up with some spices." Apart from the seasoning packet, ground cumin and coriander are common additions, while chopped iceberg lettuce or diced tomato are also great, he says. "That's a more – let's not say very healthy version, but kind of!"

If you’ve tried everything else and have cash to splash, how about wagyu, caviar, foie gras or truffle? These are all things Young has tried – with no regrets – on instant noodles at home.

Atop IndoMie Mi Goreng at Ho Jiak you’ll find truffle, as well as lobster and marron – it's a bestseller, Khoo says.

Young reckons others might dismiss his super-luxe additions as "stupid", but they are delicious. "And you know, that's what matters," he says.

"My philosophy of cooking is all about: something is delicious or it's not delicious. Like, there's no rules."