Love them or hate them, there is no denying that instant noodles are perfect for those times when you are very, very hungry , and/or pressed for time and need something quick to satiate your hunger. Just boil water, toss in the flavouring and the noodle cake, simmer for a bit and you have a hot, steaming bowl of noodles!

The very essence of instant noodles is the flavouring. That small sachet, the contents of which when poured into water, morphs into a delicious broth. However, if you look at the ingredients that make up the flavouring, you'd be right in thinking that you should take the sachet straight to a chemistry lab than into your kitchen.

And while having instant noodles is completely ok occasionally, falling back on them regularly? Umm, not quite. Well, at least that is my humble opinion. But this is EXACTLY what I was guilty of, especially in the last quarter of 2009. Being pressed for time, I'd resort very often to instant noodles for the husband's breakfast and my own lunch.

But everytime I'd reach out for a packet of noodles, I'd feel I felt terrible about making them so often and I started to wonder if there was some way of making my own flavouring.

A few disastrous experiments with mixing different spices in varying proportions followed. Till I hit upon a rather simple solution: make the broth in bulk, freeze it in small packets and use when required.

What follows is not a recipe per se; if the idea appeals to you, just play around with different veggies and spices to suit your own taste.



This is what I do:

In a large vessel, add about 12 mushrooms (I use shitake mushrooms) and 2 tomatoes.

This is an excellent way of using up the stalks of certain veggies; I add cauliflower, brocolli and spinach stalks to mine, whenever I have them on hand. Else, add whatever veggies you have. This time, I also had some chicken bones and I used them as well.

Add about 2.5 litres of water and bring to a boil and then continue to simmer for about 15 mins.



Then, add in the spices and seasonings. I used curry powder, dried minced onions, paprika, stir fry seasoning (containing dried garlic, ginger and red pepper), salt, pepper and a dash of sugar. Simmer for 5 more minutes.




Strain the stock and let it cool completely.




Once the broth is completely cooled, transfer to re-sealable bags; I pour about 300 ml in each bag and freeze them.





So, how do you use the broth to make noodles?

You will need about 100 gms of dried noodles - rice noodles, soba noodles, egg noodles - just take your pick.

Take the frozen broth out of the bag and transfer it to a microwave proof bowl; nuke it till it melts. Transfer to a vessel, add the dried noodles and cook till the noodles are done.

That is it....healthy instant noodles in just 10 minutes!

Healthy instant noodles are my entry to Presto Pasta Nights - 155, brainchild of Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and hosted by yours truly this time.