'Catch All' DIY Umami Instant Noodle Jars (free money saving meal planning webinar inside)
For all the students back at college and the young and carefree at heart.
I HAVE A SERIOUS FOODIE PAL WHO HAS A REALLY MANKY BUT AMUSING HANGOVER CURE. After a Saturday night enjoying a fab meal in a great restaurant with the best wine, she nurses her hangover on Sunday with a Pot Noodle and a mug of green tea. I know. The juxtaposition is glorious. But the Pot Noodle is still manky.
My instant noodle jars are not the cheap foil-lidded pot noodle of your misspent youth - they are way better, I promise. They are a more filling, wholesome version that is zero-waste too! Let me show you how to level up your noodle game: better for your brain, your body, budget and the planet.
Why am I picking on pot noodle and why is my DIY version better?
Without trying to sound melodramatic, instant noodles with the little silver sachets of flavourings represent to me so many things that are wrong with our food system. They are an ultra-processed food that has direct links to obesity and diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. They fundamentally alter our gut microbiome which affects our whole body, including brain health. Not to mention ingredients such as palm oil, the cultivation of which destroys huge swathes of forests, the lungs of the planet, and natural habits of thousands of creatures. But, enough of the fervour, let’s look at shop bought versus the positive aspects of making your own DIY instant noodles:
Single-use plastic vs Reuseable glass jar. All those mayonnaise jars you have been saving can finally be put to good use!
Highly processed wheat noodles vs Wholefood rice noodles. I use rice noodles in this recipe template that are simply made from rice and water. No nasties.
No vegetables vs Endless veggie ad-in options. This is the perfect ‘catch all’ recipe to use up almost any vegetable odds and ends. Lots of fibre and nutrients.
No protein vs High quality protein choice ad-ins. Protein is an essential macro nutrient and this recipe lends itself to several tasty options. Protein is great at lunchtime to help balance blood sugar and stave off the munchies.
Funky added flavourings vs Control over added flavours. Many of those funky additives have been shown to disturb your microbiome, which affects your whole body.
Gluten-packed vs Gluten-free. You can use gluten-free noodles and gluten-free flavourings in your DIY version, which will suit a lot more people as Ireland has the highest rate of coeliac disease in Europe.
Gut-disturbing vs Gut-friendly. The complete lack of fibre and funky flavourings vs gut-friendly fibre-rich veggies and fermented foods.
Loadsa salt vs Controlled amount of salt. Excess salt is a big no-no for high blood pressure. And the only way to really control your salt intake is by avoiding processed foods and cooking more.
Pantry Pal: Miso - flavour profile, health benefits and where to find it
Miso has really been having a moment the last few years, being used in all sorts of unusual ways, including sweets such as miso caramel buttercream frosting. Miso is a fermented soy bean paste, which comes in several varieties and has a rich, savoury umami flavour.
The taste receptors on your tongue can detect salty, sweet, sour and bitter flavours. They can also detect a fifth flavour, called umami, which can be a little more difficult to explain. I like to describe it as that more-ish savoury flavour that you get from foods such dried mushrooms, Marmite, soy sauce, miso and seaweed. It exists naturally in many more foods, such as tomatoes. But for our purposes, I am focusing on umami flavours for our pot noodle.
Umami makes food more palatable and enticing, but it also increases satiety. Think of a bowl of udon noodles in an umami-rich broth from Wagamama. I can almost taste it thinking about it, and it is super-satisfying to eat. So a perfect secret weapon in a weekday lunch dish to stop you from guzzling like a Dublin seagull.
For our DIY Pot Noodle, I highly recommend emptying a sachet of the instant miso soup powder into the bottom of the jar. It dissolves much easier than the paste. I get the Clearspring Organic Instant Miso Soup one from Down to Earth in Dublin .Just search for ‘Miso’. I’m also a huge fan of shopping in proper Asian markets, you’ll have a huge variety at very reasonable prices. My favourite, that I have been visiting for almost twenty years, is the Asia Market in Drury Street in Dublin. The website seems to be temporarily down but they are in operation.
Pantry Pal: Rice Noodles -types, versatility and which brands to buy
Pictured above are the Vietnamese vermicelli style rice noodles. They are very delicate and cook in minutes by covering with boiling water. So they make an ideal noodle for our instant noodle jars. The ingredients are simply rice and water and sometimes a tiny bit of salt. So while the packaging looks funky, they are really wholesome. These are from the Asia Market in Drury Street, but many supermarkets stock these in their Asian section.
Pictured below are one of my favourite Irish brands. Thai Gold was started many years ago by two lads in Wexford who source, package and import incredible quality Thai ingredients into Ireland. The products are gluten-free, mostly organic and really high quality. The coconut milk, as an example, is the best you’ll find. These rice noodles are broader and mostly used in dishes like Pad Thai. You can make them work by pre-soaking them in boiling water for eight minutes, draining them and then adding to your glass jar. Then add boiling water for another two minutes before serving. Thai Gold products are available in Dunnes Stores, SuperValu and many health shops.
‘Catch All’ DIY Umami Instant Noodle Jar Template
You can make one or a few of these noodle jars at once. They are a perfect vehicle to use up all the odds and ends in your fridge and salad drawer. I’m giving you a template with lots of choices but which still work together harmoniously. The ingredients are listed in the order that you layer them in the glass jar.
Ingredients:
Miso flavour: choose 1 or more
1 sachet of instant miso soup
2 tsp Marmite
1 tsp shredded dried seaweed
1 tbsp dried mushrooms
1 tbsp soy sauce (choose a low-sodium version if you have high blood pressure)
1 crumbled low-salt stock cube
Vegetables: make up a cup of these vegetables, slice everything really thinly
mushrooms
sugarsnap peas or mangetout
peppers
beansprouts
scallions
shaved or julienned carrots
baby corn or sweetcorn kernels
a thumb of fresh ginger, julienned
Protein: add half a cup or more
cubed firm tofu (smoked tofu is delicious in this)
edamame beans (you can buy these frozen)
shredded, cooked chicken
hardboiled eggs, halved
Noodles:
a large fist-size of rice noodles
Leaves and herbs:
baby spinach
coriander
Method:
Layer up the ingredients in a large glass jar in the order listed. Close tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days. If using the Thai Gold noodles, soak them in boiling water for 8 minutes. Drain well and toss with a little oil such as sunflower or a light olive oil.
To serve, pour enough boiling water into the jar to cover the noodles. Stir with chopsticks or a latte spoon and leave to stand for 3 minutes. Stir again.
Enjoy your slurpy lunch!
Free Quickstart Autumn Moneysaving Mealplanning Webinar
This upcoming week I will be hosting a few free webinars to help you save money on your grocery bills. These webinars are a snippet of The Susty Kitchen ‘Cash In Your Kitchen Press’ course I will be running in October where you will learn:
How to save up €250 on your grocery bill before Christmas.
How to save money on your gas and electricity bill.
Reduce food waste to almost nil.
Achieve health goals.
Save time on cooking and cleaning.
Link to book on Eventbrite.
Happy Cooking!
xoxox
Rozanne