Australian Abbey O’Hagan shared her heartfelt beliefs on social media, beginning with the bold claim that the Fantastic brand noodles are the best of the bunch.
She went on to say that she adds her flavour and water, using the chicken flavour noodles in a cup to demonstrate her technique, then covers and lets it “marinate”.
Then she let rip, taking fellow noodle aficionados to task for what some do next.
“Now the thing that gets me is that so many people... drain all of the water out.”
“To me, that is like borderline psychopathic because the water with all the goodness is the best part.
“But then some people also put in the seasoning and don’t have that beautiful brothy water. I don’t know, it keeps me up at night.”
Noodle fans rushed to the comments to share their opinions.
“Drain water then add flavours, hits different. Flavour is stronger, not watered down,” noted one gourmet.
Some suggested that, because the noodles were essentially ramen, they needed to be served with broth.
Others chose a middle path, leaving half the water in before adding flavouring.
“I drain the water then add butter and Vegemite,” one true blue Aussie lunatic replied.
“Girl have you tried it with plastic cheese?” another unhinged correspondent added. “It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I could honestly live off it.”
The choice of noodles was key to many respondents who wrote that they would leave water in for some brands, but always drain the water for Indomie’s popular Mi Goreng offering.
Others went further, taking a different approach for chicken than they do for beef.
What is the correct noodle recipe? It’s a curly one
Given the wildly varying techniques suggested, the Herald went directly to the source (sauce).
Information provided by both Maggi and Fantastic tells consumers to follow their heart.
“Serve with or without broth as desired,” they both say, though neither suggests draining the water before adding flavour.
Indomie makes it clear that, for its noodles, the water should be drained first.
The Herald spoke to one connoisseur who claimed his technique for Mi Goreng noodles, though lengthy, was superior.
The young professional said he learned the method on a sojourn to Indonesia, later clarifying it was a surf trip to Bali.
Turning two minutes to 10, the man places all the ingredients (dry noodles, water, flavour) in a pan and heats them up, cooking the noodles as he reduces the broth down to a jus.
Or you could just eat them dry in your lunch.
You do you.
Chris Marriner is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2003 and previously worked in the Herald’s visual team. He never met a noodle he did not like.
