We know the label clearly says not to do it, but we’ve all done it.
A cup of instant ramen is essentially a broke college student’s lifeblood. Anything that can be microwaved is essentially ideal for those with limited resources and no access to a full kitchen. The problem with instant ramen, though, is that the packaging makes it very clear that you shouldn’t microwave the cup. Share subtitles for MTN DEW Baja Blast Hot Sauce, which is a gorgeous oddity.
The “correct” method (per the directions on the package) for preparing instant ramen in a cup is to bring a separate pot of water to a boil before adding it to the cup of noodles. But I’ll accept responsibility and acknowledge, on behalf of everyone who ever lived in a dorm, that I used to simply put room temperature water in the foam cup and microwave it. Regretfully, there are risks to this method’s health and safety. Advertisement.
Others, of course, chided the blissfully unaware among them. One person commented, “They print the instructions literally on the side of the cup!” Others, apparently, knew but didn’t care. Advertisement.
Thus, many fans may have stopped mid-slurp when Cup Noodles, a popular Nissin Foods brand because it comes in its own serving vessel, recently announced that it was changing its long-standing packaging to be microwave-safe. For years, ramen fans have been acting strangely—many of them without even realizing it—by carelessly dousing their Cup Noodles in water and blithely disregarding the directions that ask you to boil the water separately (as if we all have a kettle sitting around?), then pour it into the foam container and wait for the noodles to soften. Even the busiest or laziest of us find this hassle unbearable because of the additional time required and the dishes.
While those drawbacks might have been real, back in the dim days of the pandemic, a (false!) urban legend about the Cup Noodles and other ramen brands took hold. “Instant noodles contain wax coating which is also used in Styrofoam containers,” read a 2016 Facebook post that began making the rounds. “That is why instant noodles don’t stick to each other while cooking.”
The convenience and low-effort preparation of Cup Noodles made them more appealing than those plastic-wrapped packets with the tiny aluminum seasoning pouches; you could prepare one in the dorm late at night or toss it in your backpack for a quick lunch at the office. Advertisement.
For many years, students and people with limited resources and leisure time have relied on instant ramen noodles as a go-to option. For numerous individuals, relishing a steaming hot portion of the flavorful and salty dish entailed hearing the audible beep of a microwave.
