Your everyday instant noodles are of colossal significance despite their small size.
Think about it. We consume them as if the act of eating them were a national sport as Food Intelligence Center Thailand estimated the average Thai consumes 45 packs of instant noodles each year. They also are part of the diet for salarymen with credit card debts, uni students living in dorms and anyone saving up for their next iPhone. Some Thais even pack them when going on trips abroad in the event of becoming home sick. Need we emphasise anymore how important instant noodles are?
Given that we eat them in the billions and there are so many flavours of them out there, have you ever wondered which packet(s) is ahead of the pack? If so, you’re in luck because we went on a tasting quest to find out, which brand, in our humble opinion, offers more flavour for your six baht (or not). We also serve up some instant noodle history and stats at the end too. Please enjoy!
*To narrow down our search and level things out, we stick to the standard packets and prepare them all through using the add-hot-water-into-the-bowl method with recommended amount of water. We try them as they are, meaning no add-ons.
The four little pigs
Moo sub or minced pork is said to be one of the earliest flavours to be produced in Thailand and remains one of the most popular, too.
We have four contenders for this first round; Mama, Nissin, Wai Wai and Yum Yum. Each brings its own take on the flavour. Nissin serves up the softest noodles but is the least aromatic in our opinion. Wai Wai soup doesn’t taste too strong and gives off an appetising smell with a clear hint of white pepper. Yum Yum also offers an easy-to-slurp soup with a nice mix of pork and various spices in its aroma. Last but not least is Mama, which is very fragrant, thanks to its seasoning oil.
While it’s obvious that Nissin is our least favourite, crowning one of the remaining three the winner is not so easy. Too many slurps afterwards, we give this round to Mama for delivering the best overall impression. Its noodle are soft but not mushy while the soup gives the most intense flavour of the bunch. Yum Yum is the first runner-up for being very slurp-able while Wai Wai drops to the third for its sweet after-taste.
Tom Yum Goong Test
Creating a tom yum flavour in three to five minutes is a tall order. For the flavour of our beloved shrimp spicy and sour soup, we put Yum Yum, Wai Wai, Nissin and Mama to the test and come away not particularly impressed by any of the brands.
Nissin is consistent in delivering its tender noodles and looks like the hot and sour soup, with red dots of chilli paste floating on the surface. The soup is perhaps too sour and not spicy enough. Wai Wai, Mama, Yum Yum suffers the similar fate of tasting like water-downed tom yum goong. Prepare with less water than instructed on the packets; this may be unkind to your kidneys but noodles will all will taste that much better. Try crushed up raw Mama if you dare.
When preparing with the add-hot-water-into-the-bowl method, Nissin got this round, edging over its competition by a hair, with a hint of seafood in its soup.
Creamy Tom Yum Goong
Three brands to compete in the tom yum goong nam kon category are Wai Wai, Yum Yum and Mama. All brands delivers creamier texture and appear to contain chilli paste.
Wai Wai overall emerges as the winner for its more distinct flavour and smelling like tom yum goong more than the other two.
Nam Tok Showdown
Nam tok (waterfall in English) flavour doesn’t taste like water as its name suggests. The name refers to intense and spicy noodle soup that contains pig or cow blood.
We have Yum Yum in one corner and Mama in the other. For the price of B6 and the three minutes it took to prepare them, both do quite a good job in capturing the essence of nam tok in their soups. But Yum Yum takes the cake because of its spicier sensation and wider noodles which have some crunch to them too. There’s an aromatic burst too when you’re slurping, while Mama is milder in taste and lighter in consistency. In any case, both may cause you a few sweat drops.
Palatable Ped Phalo
The next time you crave duck noodles at an odd hour, consider popping open a packet of Mama or Wai Wai ped phalo for a quick fix.
It’s a neck-and-neck race between the two, almost like choosing who looked better at Cannes, Chompoo or Mai? Mama offers a light soup with a hint of Chinese five spices. It hits you with a savoury aroma at first before fading into a somewhat sweet after-taste. On the other hand, Wai Wai hits your palate with a more pronounced spicy sensation, which lingers while the noodles are slightly denser.
Although Mama gives you more powdered duck according to its packet, we have to give this round to Wai Wai for providing a bigger overall flavour. Mama puts up a good fight but Wai Wai’s powdered star anise and chilli seem to pay off.
Phad Khee Mao face off
Phad Khee Mao is a stir-fried noodle dish with Chinese influences known for its vibrant spiciness and a tickling aroma from herbs like chili, basil and peppercorn. There are several origin theories of its name which often translates to mean “drunken noodles”. Our favourite says it’s a product of cooking under the influence by someone who came home intoxicated and made use of what’s left in the fridge.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a true winner for this flavour. Mama and Yum Yum kinda missed the mark, producing rather weak versions of the flavour. You would think being a dry formula that the flavour would be intensified but that’s not the case.
If we have to pick, we’d go with Mama for its thicker and chewier noodles. The herb smell is more noticeable too. Yum Yum offers some spiciness but ultimately makes a bigger slip in the flavour department. Should you want to give either of them a try, have nam pla and the likes on hand to make the flavour pop more.
Novelty Noodles
We tell you what we think about some of the more novelty flavours in the current instant noodle market.
– Yum Yum’s tom kha gai is pretty good for the B6 you pay for it. Wider and soft noodles float in the white soup with a hint of galangal and creamer is used to evoke the feel of coconut cream.
– Mama’s green curry is also worth trying. Mix seasoning with the cooked noodles in small amount of water and the green curry paste turns rather creamy. Its taste and aroma suddenly become more pronounced.
– FF’s canned fish tom yum sounds all kind of wrong but tastes quite alright. You’ll get this mild sourness in every sip but it could have been better had it nailed the sweet and sour sensation we associate with canned fish in tomato sauce.
– If you’re in a super hurry, consider Wai Wai Quick’s tom khlong which takes two minutes to prepare. The noodle has some crunch left in it but doesn’t taste uncooked. The spicy and sour broth gets extra points for having the smoky scent like the real tom khlong.
– Nissin’s dry phad kaprao contains chilli in its round-shaped noodles. The brand keeps its noodles tender as usual. As you mix the seasoning with the cooked noodles, the smell of kaprao flies up to tickle your nose. It could have been more spicy but gives off an appetising aroma throughout.
Instant Tidbit
To send off our eating quest, here are some fascinating facts about instant noodles.
1. We have Japanese businessman Momofuku Ando to arigatou for inventing instant noodles. Ando thought a convenient noodle product could help feed the public in post WWII Japan when food shortages were severe. After months of trial and error, he marketed the first packs of chicken-flavoured instant noodles in 1958. The founder of Nissin passed away at 96 in January 2007.
2. Instant noodles are colloquially called mama in Thailand after the brand of the same name which dominates the market. It’s the same thing when Thais xerox documents with any copy machines or wash their clothes with fab.
3. Mama isn’t the first brand in Thailand, however. According to the Kob Nok Kala documentary TV show, instant noodles first appeared in Thailand in 1971-1972. Sanwa was said to be the first brand available.
4. Yum Yum debuted in 1971. Wai Wai began in 1972. Mama is the fourth and released chicken soup as its first flavour in 1973.
5. In 2014, Thailand was number 7 on the list of countries which consume instant noodles the most by the World Instant Noodles Association in Japan. China, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, India and America were the top six. We didn’t know such a list existed either.
6. Mahidol University’s Institute of Nutrition warned against eating more than one packet or cup of instant noodles per day. It leads to an excessive intake of sodium which could harm your kidneys or increase risks of high-blood pressure.
7. According to a 2015 report by Food Intelligence Center Thailand, the top four brands in order of market share are Mama (45-50%), Wai Wai (25%), Yum Yum (20%) and Nissin (4%).
8. According to a 2007 report by Krungthai Bank’s business research centre, Thais eat around two billion packs of instant noodles every year. If we lay all the noodles Thais ate so far in a single line, it would probably be equal to the distance from the earth to the moon and back.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.