Noodle Snack

Food · Grain · Food, Typed Supps

Nearly a quarter of it is oil, and that oil is there to dry the noodles, not to flavour them.

Stage by stage

Intake (Surface seasoning): Seasoning dusted on the outside contacts taste receptors immediately, well before swallowing.
Stomach (Fat slows emptying): The high fat load from flash-frying slows gastric emptying and blunts the glucose peak somewhat.
Small intestine (Starch and fat absorbed): Refined gelatinised starch is hydrolysed quickly and the frying fat is absorbed alongside it.
Circulation (Sodium load handled): Sodium is absorbed readily; habitual intake at this concentration is what matters for blood pressure.

Time to effect

Under an hour: Glucose rises within 30 to 60 minutes, blunted somewhat by the fat; thirst from the sodium load often follows within the hour.

Allergens

Contains: Gluten. May contain: Celery, Crustaceans, Eggs, Milk, Sesame, Soya. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

78 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — low. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.

Environmental footprint

1.6 kg CO2e and 648 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Wheat & rye" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Cheap — roughly £2.5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Sodium
Saturated fat
Refined carbohydrate

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 497
Protein: 10.4g
Carbohydrate: 60g
of which sugars: 1.8g
Fat: 23.6g
of which saturated: 10.7g
Fibre: 1.7g
Sodium: 938mg

Food vs. supplement

No supplement comparison applies. The useful comparison is within the category: air-dried noodles carry roughly a tenth of the fat, and cooking then draining removes much of the sodium.

Kitchen tip

Cooking and draining the same noodles leaves much of the seasoning in the water. Eating them dry is what keeps all of it in the serve.

Common myth

“Eating instant noodles dry is lighter than cooking them.” In reality: The oil is already in the block — frying is how the noodles are dried. Eating them dry adds the whole seasoning sachet undiluted instead of leaving part of it in broth.

In the glossary

Absorption