When looking at fast foods at home that taste good, one of the quickest to make is ramen noodles with their small soup packs. What often crosses people’s minds is, can you skip the cooking process and eat raw instant noodles without cooking them?
One of the most surprising answers you can find is, yes, you can eat raw instant noodles. Although most instant ramen noodles are already cooked in the manufacturing process, cooked instant ramen noodles are merely hydrated with hot water, where you add your curry powder for flavor.
While yes, you can eat dry noodles this way, it isn’t something you should do too often, and it is better to seek a more balanced meal. In our guide, you can learn more about eating raw ramen noodles and find ways to eat raw ramen noodles. (Read Do Cinnamon Rolls Go Bad)
How is Ramen Made?
Three ingredients make up a package of instant ramen: instant noodles, a packet of seasoning, and either a packet of oil, dry veggies or meaty flakes. We’ll focus on the instant ramen noodles, which are the most critical component of the package. The usual ingredients to make these noodles are water, salt, wheat flour, and Kansai.
To help manage the acidity during the creation of the noodle dough, kansui, an alkaline lye water solution, is used. The dough is then worked and flattened out before being cut into long, thin pieces resembling noodles.
The ramen is now pre-cooked by the makers, who steam it. So as you can see, since it has already been steamed, the raw ramen isn’t raw. The question is, why are they offered in dry form if they are steamed?
This is because of the dehydration that occurs before packaging the noodles. They are heated to high temperatures, fried, and other methods to dehydrate them. The prolonged shelf life of instant noodles is a result of the dehydration process.
Any food item with less than 12% water content is considered shelf-stable. For instance, the moisture content of instant noodles is less than 10% following the dehydration process.
Can You Eat Ramen Raw?
You can eat ramen raw, as we have stated. However, the raw ramen in your instant noodle package isn’t “raw” because of how it was manufactured. After that, it has already been steamed, cooked, or dehydrated and just waiting for your boiling water.
As a result, you won’t have to worry about developing diarrhea or other digestive issues frequently related to consuming raw food. The challenging part of eating noodles raw or in a dry state is more consistency, as they are hard and crunchy compared to cooked ramen noodles.
However, don’t think is it bad to eat raw pasta, or is eating raw pasta and munching on uncooked spaghetti noodles something else you can do? Pasta isn’t made from the same ingredients, and your digestive system would struggle with the pasta. (Read Best Oil For Searing Steak)
Can I Eat Raw Ramen Every Day?
Even though consuming raw ramen is safe, you shouldn’t do so frequently, despite how addicting it is. This is because of the noodle’s continued high level of processing and preservative content. While these additions lengthen the shelf life of the noodles, consuming too much of them might harm your health.
Here are the nutrients you can receive from one serving of a typical instant ramen noodle to give you an idea of the nutritional value of ramen:
- 188 calories
- 27 grams Carbohydrates
- 7 grams of fat
- 5 grams of protein
- 1 gram of fiber
- 891 mg of sodium
Ramen noodles contain vitamins and minerals such as Niacin, Manganese, Riboflavin, Iron, and a few more, although they lack essential nutrients.
What Noodles Can You Eat Raw?
Only ramen noodles can be eaten raw, as they are pre-cooked and straight from the package. Other noodles and noodle-type meals are different. Wheat is in every noodle, and adding egg, meat, vegetables, etc., to cooked noodles improves their taste.
When people are in a rush or want a quick snack, they eat ramen noodles, and like many, they end up being undercooked.
Some noodles lack flavor. Thus, they taste bad. On the other hand, plain noodles or pasta are chewy, and some noodles are crispy, like chips, and delicious. If you must eat raw noodles, eat pre-cooked and dried noodles like ramen or instant noodles.
What Makes Raw Ramen Edible?
Wheat flour, egg, salt, and seasoning are used to make ramen noodles, and the cooked sticks are then dehydrated. Small batches and extensive storage help preserve ramen.
Shapes and sizes vary; to make them, you take them out of the package, boil them in water, and add your seasoning sachet. You can eat ramen or instant noodles directly from the packet as they’re already cooked.
Cooking ramen isn’t required; you can season raw noodles to add taste. Raw ramen, to some, tastes like potato chips and is spicy and flavored with MSG. (Learn How Long Does Raw Tuna Last In The Fridge)
How Do You Eat Raw Ramen & Instant Noodles?
You’ll want to try eating raw ramen now that you can eat it without the need to cook it. First, however, you need to make the ramen tasty.
You can do the following:
- Crush the ramen noodles with your hands into small pieces before you open the packet or use the back of the frying pan to crush stubborn pieces of noodles.
- Open the packet and take the seasoning sachet after breaking the noodles.
- Now, open the seasoning packet and pour the contents over the crushed ramen noodles. Please don’t use all the seasoning, as it could be too salty.
- Reseal the packet and shake to combine the seasoning.
- Open the packet and eat your seasoned raw, crispy ramen noodles.
- Alternatively, you might take the ramen noodles from their box and crush them in a bowl.
However, consuming raw ramen is solely intended as a tasty snack and does not become part of your diet.
Other Ways to Eat Dry Ramen Noodles
Not only can you eat ramen noodles raw as convenient snacks, but many people include raw Ramen noodles in other recipes. Here are a few ways to use the noodles raw in other dishes.
Want to spice up that plain salad with some crunch and heat? Why not top the dish with some crushed raw ramen brick? Your salad will have some texture thanks to the raw ramen noodles.
- Cut some cabbage, green onions, carrots, and other fruit or vegetables for a nice salad.
- They should be well combined.
- Crush some raw ramen noodles and sprinkle them over your salad.
You can try uncooked ramen noodles with various greens and toppings.
So far, green onion, shredded cabbage, and shredded chicken come out on top when you eat ramen raw.
Dry, uncooked ramen is a fantastic flavor ingredient that boosts a delightful ramen noodle salad. By first sprinkling the uncooked noodles with the chicken ramen seasoning, smashing them and adding them on top of your salad, you may also use this to enhance the flavor of a chicken salad.
Don’t have any breadcrumbs to bread your fried fish or chicken? Ramen noodle noodles can be a fantastic substitute. To bread your fried chicken or other foods, thoroughly crush the ramen with the flavoring sachet, and use your raw instant ramen-like breadcrumbs as you would usually. (Learn How Long Can Strawberries Last In The Freezer)
What Is The Health Risk Of Eating Raw Noodles?
No diseases or health issues could be fatal from eating raw noodles. They pose the same threat to your health as cooked or boiled noodles. So even if you can eat raw noodles, that does not mean you should.
People who are constantly in a hurry, such as college students and office professionals, are fond of instant noodles like ramen and other noodles since they are easy to cook quickly.
Sadly, consuming too much cooked or raw noodles is unhealthy. Ramen and other pre-made noodles are heavy in calories, carbs, and sodium.
The MSG in instant noodles makes them so tasty. However, the effects of MSG are still debatable excessive MSG consumption. Raw noodles don’t provide any real nutritional value. Vitamin- and protein-rich foods, such as vegetables, eggs, and meat, must be included if you want to increase food of nutrition.
Raw noodles are also easy to digest. Therefore, consuming a lot of raw noodles can cause health problems such as constipation and digestive issues.
You should also be careful of the surroundings in which the noodles are packaged. Accidental contamination of the noodles could happen while they are being packaged.
You may even contract food illness if you eat these noodles raw. This is because the bacteria that causes food poisoning is destroyed when you cook the noodles. So, if you’re in a rush, you can eat them as quick snacks. However, raw and cooked noodles should be consumed in moderation, as too much sodium is hazardous to your health.
