Noodles (Oodles)

All About Food | December 28th, 2015

Enjoyable food does not have to be about spending a lot of money or going to five-star restaurants, just saying. I know there are a number of us that have had a comfort meal that we don't let people know we eat. Here is the story of one of my faves: noodles.

When I was in college I ate as well as I could with the little amount of money I could spend on food. I ate a lot of, honest to God, eggs, and I found I was in that world of being vegetarian, so I actually ate vegetables a lot more than I do now. What I do know is that college students today the really like ramen noodles, which are very good for the money.

I am going to admit that I love ramen noodles (the regular, 25-cent-per-pack ramen noodles). They are one of those go-to meals that I always have in my cabinet for times I feel like making something that's not going to be labor intensive or time-consuming in the kitchen.

Recently, to my surprise, when I was walking down the aisle at the Asian and American Market on Main Avenue, looking for my rice noodles, I found a zillion types. What struck me the most was the price (because that's the one thing I know students like). “It's good on the money, right?” The price was anywhere from 49 cents up to a dollar-something, and I'm thinking, “who would buy a bag for that much money, what makes them so special, and what's the difference?” I made it my duty to find that out, so I pulled three different bags off the shelf.

When I was finished shopping and checking out I asked George, the owner, what makes these three bags of noodles so different in price and which he thought was best.

Being diplomatic, George said that all “were good” in different ways, and that I (without even knowing) had picked three different noodles from three different countries, which have three different things going for them.

The price was worth it.

One of the noodles I purchased was called Neoguri. This particular product was a “spicy seafood flavor” of udon noodles. It had no MSG, zero trans fat and, according to George, was a product originally from Korea but now made in the U.S.I really, truly enjoyed it. I like spicy food.

The second one was from Indonesia and was called Indomie. It’s an instant chicken-curry flavored noodle. Again, spicy, and I really enjoyed it.

The third one I tried was from Japan: Sapporo Ichiban. It was an original-flavored soup of Japanese style noodles.I did like it, but it didn't hit my palate like the other two did.

So there you have it. You now know one of my go-to comfort foods, and I'm not sorry I told you. I like some things that are bad for me, too. So please, no judgment here.

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