How Instant Ramen Is Made
Whether you realized it or not, instant ramen actually comes pre-cooked. That’s why it’s so safe to eat ramen raw, in its pre-boiled form.
For your information, since ramen was first created in the 1950s, the method for making it has essentially not changed. First, a soft dough is created by mixing and kneading four main ingredients: flour, water, salt, and kansui, a unique alkaline water that gives ramen its elasticity, springy shape, and yellow color. Here, a unique technology makes sure that each ramen particle comes into contact with every water particle. After that, the dough is rolled into thin noodles and steam-cooked. This concludes its first round of cooking.
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After that, the noodles are dried out by blow drying or deep-frying. Because instant ramen has such a low water content and is therefore such a shelf-stable product, removing moisture is a crucial step in the ramen-making process.
As it happens, ramen loses all of its moisture when it is deep-fried. Additionally devoid of moisture, blow-dried noodles are frequently the least desirable option. Once the noodles are dehydrated, they’re finally packaged for shipping. As you can see, the last few stages of preparation ensure that the ramen is cooked through. Although raw instant ramen may have a slight crunch, its complete dryness is what keeps it hygienic and virtually risk-free.
How Fresh Ramen Noodles Are Made
If you’ve ever had handcrafted ramen noodles (probably at a restaurant), you are aware of how much chewier and more tender they can be. The primary distinction between the preparation of fresh and instant ramen lies in the fact that the latter isn’t dried out and keeps its chewy, soft consistency. Naturally, different recipes for homemade ramen noodles have different ingredients. For example, some call for baking soda and vital wheat gluten instead of kansui, while others only call for flour, baking soda, and warm water.
The reason fresh ramen noodles may taste better but are less safe to eat raw is because they lack this final dehydration step; fresh, doughy ramen noodles are raw and uncooked. Only the dough is combined, kneaded, and formed into long noodles. They are not air dried, deep fried, or steam-cooked. They’re consequently not as safe to consume before boiling.