Who can resist the occasional indulgence in a steaming bowl of instant noodles, that ultimate comfort food? In this series, we’ve invited several renowned Singaporean chefs to share their favorite personal instant noodle recipes, bringing a gourmet twist to this beloved, fuss-free delight.
Masterchef Singapore’s Vasunthara Ramasamy, affectionately known as Vasun, is a champion of slow food prepared in the traditional South Indian style at her private dining establishment, Cutlery Optional. Among her celebrated dishes is her thosai, crafted from stone-ground rice and lentils and fermented for an impressive 14 hours.
Naturally, I assumed she’d dismiss the humble notion of instant noodles—or any processed food, for that matter. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong.
“I eat a lot of processed food!” she admitted, making Singapore’s thosai queen seem a bit more relatable.
“I always have two types of instant noodles in my pantry,” she continued, scoring even more points in my book.
When it comes to food and enjoyment, there’s no place for judgment. “I don’t ‘yuck’ people’s ‘yum’,” Vasun remarked. “There’s a time and place for everything. If it’s instant noodles, it does what it is – it’s instant.”
Fancying up instant noodles is something Vasun does for fun, drawing inspiration from her daily meals.
One recipe she shared with me was inspired by a bowl of Chinese la mian in a meaty sauce she recently enjoyed. “I always like to Indian-ise everything I eat,” she said. “When I saw meat sauce, I thought, ‘This looks nice for a version of keema,’ (which is) like an Indian Bolognese.”
For her noodle base, she uses Korean Shin Ramyun, because “I think Korean and Indian flavours have a lot in common.” She also adds tofu for texture and tops it with a fried egg.
Of course, she had to elevate the dish in her own style, incorporating a generous amount of Indian spices and an ancient smoking technique called “dhungar.” This traditional Indian method involves spooning ghee over hot coals to smoke the food inside a covered pot. It’s “a little bit of old Indian magic,” she said.
“It may be ‘a simple dish that I’ve complicated,’ she quipped, but smoking the noodles elevates the dish ‘to a non-instant-noodle level.’ Sometimes, doing things the old-fashioned way pays off. For instance, you could use a blender for onion and ginger, but Vasun uses a pestle and mortar because ‘it’s more fun to bash things.’ It also brings out the flavors better, but that’s secondary, lah.”
Vasun’s ‘Smoked’ Keema Ramyeon
Serves 2
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 inch cassia stick
2 green cardamom pods
2 cloves
1 medium onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green chilli, thinly sliced
1 inch ginger, minced
1-2 tablespoons curry powder
2 packets instant noodle seasoning
150g minced meat
50g firm tofu, cut into small cubes
Small charcoal piece
1 teaspoon ghee
2 packets dry ramyeon noodles
2 fried eggs
Lime wedges
Instructions:
1. In a medium pan, heat vegetable oil and add cassia, green cardamom and cloves.
2. Once whole spices are aromatic, add minced onions, garlic, ginger and green chilli slices, and saute until lightly brown.
3. Add 1 packet of instant noodle seasoning and curry powder. Saute until mixture is slightly dry .
4. Add minced meat and saute until oil separates. Add tofu cubes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
5. Make a dhungar: Add a small metal container into a pan with cooked meat mixture and add hot coat pieces into the small container. Add a teaspoon of ghee to the hot coals and immediately cover your pan with a tightly fitting lid. Leave to infuse smoke into the meat mix for five minutes. Open the lid and remove the small coal container with tongs.
6. In a separate pot, boil instant noodles and cook until slightly underdone. Refer to the noodle packet for cooking time and undercook it for 30 seconds.
7. In another bowl, add remaining instant noodle seasoning powder, oils and whatever came in the packet. Drain cooked noodles and add to the bowl with seasoning. Toss noodles to evenly coat seasoning.
8. Add noodles to your serving plate and add ‘smoked’ minced meat mix on top of noodles. Serve with fried egg and lime wedges.
