Middle-class consumers around the world – including in countries with no tradition of eating noodles – are turning to instant ramen in droves
  • MrJameGumb@lemmy.world
    1111·
    10 个月前

    Fun fact: the little flavor packet in that grocery store ramen has as much sodium as you should get in an entire day in it.

    Source: my blood pressure

    • Gork@lemm.ee
      391·
      10 个月前

      I’m pretty sure that the Maruchan ramen flavor packs for chicken and beef are just ground up bouillon cubes, the taste is indistinguishable.

        • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
          51·
          10 个月前

          I learned the wrong way to do it and like it. Boil the noodles, drain the water and then add the packet. Mix and enjoy. If the sodium isn’t killing me yet, add some hot sauce.

          • RandomStickman@kbin.social
            3·
            10 个月前

            “Dreid” mixed noodles are totally a legit thing. There are noodles are meant to be eaten like that.

            If you want to try with regular noodles, a basic one is made with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. You can throw in some hot sauce if you’re feeling spicy, fish sauce, whatever. Stir fry it with whatever protein, throw some green onion on it if you feel like putting in the effort. It’s a tad bit more involved than instant noodles but very easy still.

          • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
            2·
            10 个月前

            The ones I eat (Super Noodles brand) you’re supposed to boil them in a pan until the water evaporates. No wasted flavours.

            Course I also chuck in MSG, an egg, pepper, and then add cheddar, mozzarella and a bit of meat once the water is all gone.

    • xePBMg9@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      81·
      10 个月前

      I usually make two packs and add a little extra salt for flavour. Yum! Also sometimes some hot stuff, if I have it.

    • edric@lemm.eeEnglish
      71·
      10 个月前

      Can confirm. Mixed one pack of Buldak (67% daily recommended sodium) and one pack of Neoguri (80% daily recommended sodium) today. Fortunately we only do this like once or twice a month.

  • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.orgEnglish
    353·
    10 个月前

    True story. The instant noodle aisles in my two closest grocery stores are always picked clean as of the last several months.

    LPT: Egg noodles are still fairly cheap and just as versatile if not more so.

    • tburkhol@lemmy.world
      23·
      10 个月前

      At my store, a 12-pack of Maruchan is $6 - $3.57/pound. Store brand spaghetti is $0.90/pound and chicken bouillon is $2.50 for a half pound. Ramen is convenient and fast, not cheap.

      • interceder270@lemmy.world
        2·
        10 个月前

        I did the math, and Maruchan cup noodles scaled perfectly with inflation.

        They used to be $0.33 back in ~2005, now they’re $0.52.

        https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

        $0.33 in 2005 is $0.53 in 2023.

        Inflation is how the ruling class recoups any gains the working class has made, with interest. The answer is not to make more; it’s to spend less.

    • Agent641@lemmy.world
      5·
      10 个月前

      I unironically have vybey alnost every day.

      Its super convenient when I go hiking too, if I dont want to carry all that cooking gear and food.

      Its also sufficient for a post workout protein shake.

      I dont think Id recommend going full-on every meal being powder, but its quite versatile.

      Ive tried soylent, aussielent (now QOTA) and homemade soylent, but I prefer vybey. My homemade one is a close second because its insanely cheap.

      • darganon@lemmy.world
        4·
        10 个月前

        I eat soylent cacao every day for breakfast and lunch, then have a dinner that isn’t soylent. Been doing this since early 2020, including at one point, while bulking, eating an entire bag of it (2000 calories) every day, which was kind of a lot.

    • brambledog@lemmy.today
      31·
      10 个月前

      If you are over the age of 39 I highly reccomend against this. There is really no possible way yo meet your caloric needs without massively overdosing on salt when depending on ramen and Mac and cheese.

      It’s honestly probably just as cost effective and slightly better for you to just buy a premade cold sandwich from the nearest bodega for at least one of your meals.

        • Tikiporch@lemmy.world
          5·
          10 个月前

          Please don’t eat ramen and instant Mac for two years straight. Find your local soup kitchen and grab a meal there, volunteer if you feel bad about taking food. I guarantee you’ll get a better meal and maybe feel better for it mentally.

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
      7·
      10 个月前

      Get some mixed dried vegetables. Turns the regular ramen packets into Cup-o-noodles, but cheaper and better.

      I like cheap Hormel chili over drained, unseasoned noodles and vegetables.

  • FluffyPotato@lemm.ee
    164·
    10 个月前

    Why? It’s far cheaper to just buy rice, beans and/or potatoes and combine them however you will. Add some sauce if you’re feeling rich.

      • hh93@lemm.ee
        113·
        10 个月前

        So it’s not a cost of living issue but a (mental) exhaustion issue that makes people not spend any time on cooking besides their jobs

      • FluffyPotato@lemm.ee
        4·
        10 个月前

        Compared to instant noodles, yes. Cooking rice takes like 15 minutes at most. Potatoes can take like an hour tops with the peeling but you can boil a bunch or cook them in an over and reheat them in a microwave later.

        The price win is definitely worth it IMHO though. Instant noodles are like 1.90 euros per meal while a kg of rice or potatoes is about 1 euro and lasts for days, not just one meal. Also rice and potatoes get cheaper the more you buy at once.

    • ExfilBravo@lemmy.world
      7·
      10 个月前

      Less salty too. Ramen is a salt bomb and no fiber. People say ramen is for when you are broke but really ramen is for when you are lazy.

  • snownyte@kbin.social
    121·
    10 个月前

    Yeah and soon they’ll make up a reason to raise ramen prices too. We’ve seen eggs, one cheap source of food skyrocket. I don’t think ramen is off the table.

    • Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world
      8·
      10 个月前

      Well the article says the price has already risen 20% in two years. But I wouldn’t be surprised one bit too see it continue to climb

    • Asafum
      1·
      10 个月前

      They don’t need to make up an excuse they’ll just whip out the Chicago econ book and say “increased demand, must increase prices! It’s The Economic Law™!”

    • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
      20·
      10 个月前

      Rice is more filling for sure, so I’d say rice. I could eat a bowl of plain rice with hot sauce and Parmesan and be satisfied.

    • Bonehead@kbin.social
      151·
      10 个月前

      Rice. I can buy an 8kg bag for about $14, which conservatively translates into well over 100 servings. A 12 pack of ramen is around $6.

      • tburkhol@lemmy.world
        12·
        10 个月前

        Where I am, cheap rice and cheap pasta are about the same - something around $1/pound, $2/kg. Ramen is decidedly not cheap at $3-4/pound. Even the ‘fancy’ pasta brands are only $2-2.50/pound.

    • snownyte@kbin.social
      8·
      10 个月前

      Rice. At least there’s healthy rice alternatives, there’s a lot of dishes that can be done with rice. Far more than what fewer options there are for ramen.

      Ramen can come into all sorts of flavors but the flavors are only supported by the packets with them or the sauce packets with them. In general, they’re just generally unhealthy and you can do so little with them.

  • interceder270@lemmy.world
    71·
    10 个月前

    Craziest thing when I moved to the city was how eager people were to spend >$10 at a restaurant on fucking noodles.

  • RiikkaTheIcePrincess@kbin.social
    21·
    10 个月前

    I just like them <.< particularly the cheesy ones, and pork (both Maruchan; there are not many options in general for me… though sometimes Yakisoba is available, which is nice). Dunno if there’s any actual meat in there. Could just be salt with salt flavouring in salt sauce. I don’t add any salt.