Instant Noodle + Soups Feed the World

A ceramic bowl of beutiful soup with noodles, dumplings and veggies. — A homemade noodles + soup with lots of veggies and dumplings. This just shows how you can add all sorts of things to a basic noodle + good broth dish. Photo by Sterling Ingle-Mead

Global Noodles + Soup 5: How the popularity of instant noodles + soups allows us to spread important, and necessary nutrition needed by poorer populations around the world. But also, instant noodles + soup are quick food that is easy to get into areas that have experienced catastrophic circumstances.

Feeding the Hungry

During catastrophes, instant noodles can assist a population trying to recover by providing access to a quick, hot meal that fills the stomach and provides some comfort during hard times. Examples are listed below of where this has happened in recent years.

Studies have also been published speaking to a national ability of using instant noodles to improve the health of a population. One study argues that by intervening new health friendly compounds in noodle manufacturing may start a new era of fear free instant noodle consumption. Furthermore, fortification of instant noodles with essential micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, fiber and other flours, which enhance their nutritional attributes, can be targeted to ensure better nutrition to the people.

Catastrophes

During times of catastrophes, instant noodles + soups are a great package to distribute to the needy. The food has a long shelf life, is light and thus easy to transport and deliver, provides basic nutrition in most cases, and can be cooked in otherwise unsafe environments. The only issue, of course, is one of water availability.

But further, it is so basic, there is the chance this food can meet a variety of cultural and societal food restrictions. Starchy noodles and broth, can meet a variety of familiar flavors, meet vegan or omnivore requirements, and thus can be incorporated easily into various diets. This is important, for one of the issues of US Aid overseas is that our excess food is given out, even to areas who do not eat the food we are providing. Like giving wheat to a country based on rice, or giving meat to a country mainly vegetarian.

WINA and related instant noodle companies, have supported people and communities during catastrophic times. To name just a few of the recent recipients:

The COVID-19 Epidemic in the USA (May-June 2020)
- WINA, in cooperation with its member company with Nissin Foods (USA), donated some 64,000 servings of instant noodles as emergency rations to people affected by the spread of COVID-19 infection in California and Pennsylvania. It was distributed as emergency foods to people in need through local food banks.
COVID-19 in Hong Kong
- WINA donated some 25,000 servings of cup type instant noodles to the Hong Kong main hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in support of healthcare professionals for their expertise and hard work.
2018 Indonesia Tsunami
- WINA donated some 100,000 servings of instant noodles as relief ration to the affected region of tsunami in Banten Province, Indonesia.
2018 Hurricane Florence, USA
- WINA donated some 68,000 servings of instant noodles as emergency rations to the stricken region of Hurricane Florence in the Eastern US. Nissin Foods (USA) shipped instant noodles via the local food banks.
2018 Indonesia Earthquake/Tsunami
- WINA donated some 200,000 servings of instant noodles as relief ration to the affected region of earthquake/tsunami in Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.

Improving National Nutrition

Wikipedia writes that around 1996, due to the ubiquity of instant noodles across Asia and Southeast Asia, they were chosen as a vehicle for dietary fortification to improve nutrition at national levels.

USAID reports vitamin A, B1, B2, niacin, B6, folic acid, iron, and casein was initiated in 1994 in Indonesia.
In 1996 Thailand (1) voluntarily started to add the vitamins and minerals of iron (2), iodine, and vitamin A (3).
The Phillipines has ~85% of their instant noodles + soups fortified.
Vietnam is now starting to do this as well.

Getting iodine into diets is also a global issue, as not every country uses iodized salt. In a report titled, Case Studies from Egypt, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, 2010–2015 (4), the case is made for adding and coordinating this nutrient in prepared foods, such as instant noodles.

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Lotus Ramen Noodles + Soup

Originally, LotusFoods focused on importing organic rice from China. Then they started offering packages of rice-based, therefor gluten-free, instant noodles + soup. The cost for these packages are ~$1.80 each. So they are now well known as selling packages of gluten-free noodles with healthy organic, low sodium, non-GMO, and vegan noodles and broth.

Just like Koyo, these noodles are not technically “ramen noodles” but are manufactured in a way to replicate the look. However, for my gluten-free friends, these do just nicely.

You can buy packages of noodles + soup, or just a pack of noodle pucks. This is great for those of us who are gluten-free and make our own broths. If you buy packages of just Lotus ramen noodles, which does not include the seasoning packets, consider making one of these homemade broth options which I make regularly:

Beef bone Stock
Chicken bone Stock
Dashi (Japanese kelp + dried bonito flakes broth)
Phở Broth + Options (Vietnamese beef + oxtail broth and soup)
Kombu Mushroom “Dashi” (Japanese veggie/vegan kelp + mushroom broth)
Miso soup basics ( Japanese the basic description of Miso soup)
Miso Ramen Noodle Soup ( Japanese quick version)
Veggie Broth (American version)

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A plate with the black-purple, uncooked noodles and its packaging. — Beautiful lpurple-black noodle puck and packaging. Photo by PattyCooks..

√ Forbidden Rice Ramen + White Miso Soup

Lotus Forbidden Rice Ramen + White Miso Soup is a good, basic white miso soup broth. The deep purple Japanese style noodles are made from organic white, brown and black rice. I tried to capture the depth of purple-black these noodles have, but my photo above does not give it justice.

The whole package serves 1.
Per serving: 280c, 56k, 7p, 2f and 800mg sodium.
Total time was ~5 minutes.
Contains noodles and a soup packet.
Heat: None.