Can You Eat Noodles Raw?
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If you love to eat noodles, you must know about different types of them. There are plain noodles, and then there are the flavorful ramen noodles and instant noodles. You can cook a delicious bowl of noodles in a few minutes. Even the raw noodles sometimes look tempting. But, can you eat noodles raw?”
In short, yes. You can eat raw noodles. But not all raw noodles taste good. Besides, you should also consider the potential health risks of eating raw noodles.
Now, what kind of raw noodles can you eat raw? And how should you eat raw noodles? You may have a few questions like that. So, let us explore some more about eating noodles raw.
What Kind Of Noodles Can You Eat Raw?
Only ramen noodles can be eaten raw. They are pre-cooked, so they can be eaten straight from the package. The same cannot be said for other noodles or noodle-type foods.
The main ingredient of any noodle is wheat. Noodles are a popular food that is available in any household. They are delicious as well as easy to cook. You can enhance the taste of cooked noodles by adding various ingredients like egg, meat, vegetables, and so on.
Whenever people are in a rush or want to eat a belly-warming tasty snack in a short moment, they cook some noodles. While cooking, like many others, you must have put some bits of uncooked noodles in your mouth.
Some noodles are just flavorless; hence you get no taste. These plain noodles or pasta are even hard to chew. On the other hand, some noodles are flavorful and crispy like chips. They come with packs of spices which you can add while you cook them. These kinds of noodles are best for eating raw.
So, if you must eat raw noodles for any reason, you should eat precooked and dried noodles like ramen or instant noodles. Many people enjoy them as instant quick snacks.
What Makes Raw Ramen Edible?
The sticks of ramen noodles are usually made from wheat flour, egg, salt, and some flavoring. These sticks are then cooked/baked, and dehydrated. It helps to store the ramen for a long time and pack them in small batches. And that is also exactly the reason what makes them edible while still being raw.
You will find them in various shapes and sizes. You just have to take them out from the packaging, boil them with water, and add the seasoning sachet that comes along with the ramen.
As they are already cooked, you can eat ramen or similar instant noodles straight from the packet. There is no shame in eating raw ramen. As you can see, they are boiled only to rehydrate so that people can eat them hot.
Thus, cooking ramen is not a mandatory rule. Also, you can sprinkle the seasoning on the raw noodles to add more flavor to them. Raw ramen is actually quite tasty. It tastes like regular crispy snacks like potato chips. They are spicy and often have the addictive flavor of monosodium glutamate (MSG).
But it is also true that raw ramen is not as mouthwatering as cooked ramen. So, always cook ramen if you have the time.
How To Eat Raw Ramen Or Instant Noodles?
Now that you know you can eat raw ramen, you probably want to try some. But wait! Before you take out some strands of ramen and put it in your mouth, you should try making it more enjoyable. You can follow these steps:
- Ramen noodles are often long sticks or curled up in packets. Before you open the packet, crush the noodles to make small pieces of them.
- You can use your hands to break the noodles. Do not put too much pressure; all the packs may explode, and the ramen will spill out.
- For really small bits of noodles, use the back of the frying pan to crush them.
- After you finish breaking the noodles, open the packet and take the seasoning sachet from there.
- Now, open the seasoning sachet and sprinkle the content all over the crushed ramen noodles in the packet.
- Next, reseal the packet and shake it well to mix the seasoning.
- Finally, open the packet and enjoy your season-mixed crispy raw ramen noodles.
You can also take the ramen noodles out from the packaging and crush them in a bowl. However, the whole point of eating raw ramen is to have a quick snack. So, why use a bowl and spend time cleaning it, right? The packets are enough to crush and eat ramen.
Different Ways to Eat Ramen Noodles
Raw ramen noodles are not just quick snacks. Many people also add raw ramen noodles to different recipes. From salad toppings to bread crumb substitutes, you can do a lot with raw ramen.
Want to add some crunchiness and spiciness to your boring salad? Why not use some crushed raw ramen as toppings?
The raw ramen noodles will give some texture to your salad. For a tasty salad, cut some cabbage, green onions, carrots, and any other vegetable or fruit. Mix them well. Next, crush some raw ramen noodles as I have mentioned above. Then spread the ramen noodle on your salad bowl.
You do not have to add extra seasoning to the salad since the ramen will add extra flavor. However, you can mix some of your favorite salad dressings as well. The salad will taste unique and unlike anything you have ever tasted!
Have no bread crumbs for breading your fried chicken or fish? A pack or two of ramen noodles can be a great alternative. Crush the ramen with seasoning well and bread your fried chicken or fish just like you would do with breadcrumbs. You can experiment with frying anything with raw ramen noodles and see how you like the taste.
What Is The Health Risk Of Eating Raw Noodles?
Eating raw noodles does not cause any life-threatening disease or health problems. They have as much health risk as cooked or boiled noodles. You can eat raw noodles, but it does not mean you should eat them every day.
Since noodles like ramen and other instant noodles are easy to cook in a few minutes, it is extremely popular among people who are always in a rush, like college students and office workers. Nowadays, people all over the world, regardless of age, enjoy a bowl of noodles.
Unfortunately, consuming too much raw or cooked noodles is unhealthy. Ramen and other readymade noodles contain high carbohydrates, calories, and above all, too much sodium.
Instant noodles are so tasty because of the MSG. Although the effect of MSG is still controversial, many health specialists believe too much consumption of MSG causes headache, nausea, sweating, burning sensation on the face, weakness, and chest pain.
In fact, raw noodles have no real nutritional value. If you want to add some nutrition, you must add vitamin and protein-rich food like vegetables, eggs, and meat.
Besides, raw noodles are not easy to digest. So, consuming a lot of raw noodles can cause digestive problems and constipation. Also, you should be aware of the environment where the noodles are packed.
The noodles may accidentally get contaminated during the packaging process. When you eat these noodles raw you can even get food poisoning. When you cook the noodles, the bacteria causing food poisoning gets eliminated.
Though raw noodles are not as tasty as cooked noodles, they can still be eaten as snacks. They do not possess any dangerous health risks. Thus, you can eat them as quick snacks if you are in a hurry. However, you should control the intake of both raw and cooked noodles because too much sodium is bad for your health.
