Okay, there is an obvious pattern here in the top spots, where again the gluten-free rice noodles of Kobuto appear to be the ‘healthy’ option in the world of instant noodles. So if you want healthy noodles – go with rice noodles. Anyway, the branding is also similar to the ‘authentic Asian’ flavours, and, like Itsu, it follows a likely fictitious Japanese origin story of Samurai Master Crispin and his handcrafted recipes from his family kitchen. “With the skill, dedication and discipline of a Samurai warrior”. Similar branding, but cuter, and more anime/weeb-inspired. Toppings are extremely important when it comes to instant noodles. Not only do they enhance the taste but they also contribute to the nutritional aspect of the dish. If you’re a true fan of instant noodles, you’d want your noodles to have a blast of flavours. Your noodles should have a decent amount of spice and shouldn’t taste bland.

Anyway, I’m not certain why the brand is named “Asian Street Style”, but I’m guessing they’re inspired by the whole ‘authentic’ Asian street food fad that I admittedly buy into as they’re almost always more exciting than plain old Chow Mein. So I go with the Pot Noodle Asian Street Style Thai Red Curry, a staple of Thai cuisine that’s pretty much never found near street food outside of Khao Rad Kaeng curry canteens. But I’m always excited for anything curry, and I’m already thinking of more Thai curry flavours, like panaeng, and massaman, and how awesome could Khao Soi be? Anyway, I go with itsu Satay Rice Noodles and I was genuinely surprised by the unlikely goodness of this pot noodle as the flat rice noodles and miso broth really bring a freshness to what is otherwise a junk food staple. The flavour of peanut sate is there as well, and while it’s not outstanding, it can easily be fixed with a bit of personal seasoning (salt, ground white pepper, and chilli flakes). These rice noodles are also gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and oddly there’s no mention of peanut in the ingredients so they’re probably fine for allergies. Good job Itsu!However, there are other brands with unique toppings and sauces that might take close to 10 minutes. There are some brands that even require you to cook the noodles separately before adding the toppings and sauces. While the majority of the instant noodles space is dominated by Japanese and Korean cuisines, you do find a few rare gems from the rest of the world. There should be notes of sour punch with sweet bits or spicy notes that make your instant noodles worth eating.

It’s a flat rice noodle dish that has around 230 calories per serving and with the miso broth, it tastes wonderful. These Indonesian instant noodles taste great. The Indomie Mi Goreng Fried Instant Noodles come with the most amount of extra seasoning sachets when compared to most instant noodles out in the market. This soupless fried noodle dish is best eaten with a fried eat. Like the original Mi Goreng.So, after an extensive review, we’ve taken the liberty to compile a list of the Best Instant Noodles UK. For those of you that don’t enjoy soupy noodles, popular instant noodle manufacturer Nissin has a fantastic alternative – the Nissin Soba Chilli Noodles.

Unlike other instant noodles, this one has a unique preparation method. After you add the boiling water, you need to add a draining cap and drain the water once it’s done. But I will go out on a limb here and say these Itsu noodles are homegrown here in the U.K. Firstly, because Itsu doesn’t seem to exist in the instant ramen scene in Japan. But the potentially fictitious Yoshihiro is also said to be from “Nagano Valley” near Tokyo. I have been to Nagano before, the prefecture, the city, the snow monkeys, and Google maps don’t even know where Nagano Valley is. Anyway, they seem to be selling a more upmarket ‘Japanese’ pot noodle experience. “Eat with pride” “Eat beautiful” “Solution for foodies” which seems to be an alternative to slobbing away on a Bombay Badboy. You get three sauces, special seasoning and fried onion pieces. All these seasonings definitely create a unique flavour which sets these noodles apart from the rest. The chilli sauce is quite spicy. So, if you can’t take that heat you can always limit the quantity or discard it completely.

The prep

So given the questionable origins of Itsu I was happy to branch out to satay (sate), a common street food staple in Southeast Asia which has become somewhat of a generic term for barbecue meat skewers. However sate is probably better known for its sauce, a delightful spiced peanut sauce (Sambal Kecang) from Indonesia (or Malaysia if you’re from Malaysia). And personally I like my ‘sate’ to be less sweet or coconutty, and more hot and fiery and Sumatran style. Now, in 2020, I finally have the opportunity to put them head-to-head, and while I am familiar with almost all the original Super Noodle flavours, Batchelor’s say that flavours differs from the standard Super Noodle range. Exciting. But they don’t really look like they’ve changed. They just look like a chunk of Super Noodles squashed inside a cup. Exciting.