are "ramen noodles" the same thing as "pot noodle"?

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i think they are, but i'd like some confirmation please? (i guess Kate, Suzy, Momus, Gareth, or anyone else who's spent a good bit of time in the US and the UK would know best?)

if they aren't, and anyone has tasted both, which is worse?

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 17 February 2003 23:42 (twenty-two years ago)

NO, they are not. They are roughly the same as Super Noodles.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 17 February 2003 23:44 (twenty-two years ago)

But I do want to hear Momus's thoughts on Pot Noodles.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 17 February 2003 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

what are pot noodles?

― Maria (Maria), Monday, 17 February 2003 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Alexei Sayle as the vampire who didn't sell out to thread!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 17 February 2003 23:47 (twenty-two years ago)

plastic pot with dried noodles inside, you heat the kettle and pour in boiling water and add this sachet of sauce, there's some sad looking peas and tear stained raisins in that bleak pot too. flavours include cromulent curry and bad beef.

― Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 17 February 2003 23:48 (twenty-two years ago)

sounds like the same idea as Ramen Noodles, though. only Ramen Noodles don't come in a plastic pot. then there's Nissin Cup o' Noodles, which are just Ramen Noodles in a styrofoam container (Nissin is less enviro-friendly than McDonalds!) you get beef flavor, or salsa flavor, maybe even curry flavor (though i haven't seen curry Cup o' Noodles).

then what's the difference? the noodles themselves?

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 17 February 2003 23:54 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.nissinfoods.com/images/cn_cajunchicken.jpg

It does sound suspiciously as if Ronan's "pot noodle" is basically "cup noodle" in a pot instead of a cup.

http://www.nissinfoods.com/images/top_cajun-chicken.jpg

And since "cup noodle" is just "top ramen" in a cup...

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 17 February 2003 23:58 (twenty-two years ago)

yes appears similar, it's the rainy windscreen wipers squeaking while stuck in traffic lights of foods

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

One of the greatest random phrases I've ever overheard in conversation -- from two kids looking at the ramen in the grocery store where I worked -- "Spicy chicken, bitch!" He was really animated about this, and I spent something like the next four years of my life saying "Spicy chicken, bitch" basically as an equivalent of "no shit."

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Pot 'noodles' aren't at all like real noodles, and come in gravy and stuff. I'm pretty sure Ramen noodles are a lot closer to Super Noodles (which you boil up in pan and add a sachet of dried flavouring and sometimes fancy oils to).

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:13 (twenty-two years ago)

The march of the Super Noodles

http://www.hrextranet.co.uk/HRPWebs/Campbells/Images/Super-noodles.jpg

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, ramen noodles are noodles to cook and eat while high on pot. They are designed specifically with college students in mind.

― Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

super noodles aren't like real noodles either

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:19 (twenty-two years ago)

No, but they are super.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Wait, what's the difference between pot noodles and super noodles again? Pot noodles "come in gravy?" Ew? Like it's a little plastic pot and inside the faux-noodle things are already slopping around in a potful of gravy?

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:22 (twenty-two years ago)

it's not gravy I wouldn't say, super noodles can be ok with a dash of nando's periperi sauce.

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Spicy chicken, bitch!

Eureka! my new nom d'ILXOR!! (don't tell Donut Bitch, he'll get jealous!!!)

― Tad (llamasfur), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Pot Noodles require no hob - they are dehyrated chunks of 'noodle' and encrusted sauce, peas etc that one is encouraged to pour boiling water over. Super Noodles are boiled in a pan with a little water and the sauce sachet till they the water has been absorbed.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh! So yes, "pot noodle" = "cup noodle" and "super noodle" = "ramen noodle." I mean, unless super noodles are cooler than ramen, then it's all just semi-dehydrated noodly things: the only difference is that super and ramen make you put them in a pot and add the seasoning from a packet ("cooking"), whereas pot and cup have all sorts of junk already stuck on there that you just pour water on. (It is important that ramen be just plain with addable seasoning because here they actually seem to think you might use plain ramen as a side dish or a bed for some sort of entree. Seriously.)

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Pot Noodles and Cup O'Noodles are roughly the same thing, though Pot Noodle has thicker sauce/gravy which activates when hot water gets to it - imagine MANY noodles swimming in a spicy cup-a-soup and that's pretty much it. Cup O'Noodles merely reanimates dried vegetable matter and you don't have to open sachets because all the stuff is already there in the mix.

Top Ramen comes with one sachet of stuff to mix in, either to make soup or 'side dish'. You can get more 'native' ramen variants, which often come with two or three separate sachets to mix with your noodles.

I don't touch Super Noodles because a) they are awful compared to similar consumer choices and b) they are more expensive than most 'native' ramen I pick up for 20p a packet in Chinatown.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:32 (twenty-two years ago)

The idea of suzy being caught in a secret super noodle eating shame is making me larf.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:34 (twenty-two years ago)

i figured suzy would be the perfect person to answer this question, since she was once a starving student in NYC (the target demographic for ramen noodles) and also a starving journalist in London (the target demographic for pot noodle). and is it just me, or was "top ramen" once called "smack ramen"?

anyway, when i was a poor undergrad and living off-campus we used to go to Best Buys and get pallets full of ramen noodles.

― Tad (llamasfur), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:39 (twenty-two years ago)

One of the undergrads in one of my courses had a great variation on ramen - he'd brown some ground beef/chicken/turkey in the microwave - drain, and then add frozen veggies and then add the ramen and water and cook until veggies finished. Endless variations and not too unhealthy (er, except for the sodium, of course).

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:42 (twenty-two years ago)

I heart Super Noodles.

― Graham (graham), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:43 (twenty-two years ago)

IN Aus we call everything dried-noodle-related "two minute noodles". For the obvious reason :) There's the standard noodlecake version, Maggi (a Nestle brand) make the ones most common here. But I'm more into the cool asian brands that make mee goreng with delicious kecap manis sauce, onions and chilli... yum.

Pot noodles are blergh. Those little dried peas and corn never seem to un-dry themselves when soaked.

― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 01:11 (twenty-two years ago)

"Spicy chicken, bitch!"

nabisco, where was this valuable catchphrase when we were having such difficulty ordering your birthday dinner at the drive-thru KFC?

― felicity (felicity), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 05:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Dude. Cup Noodle gives you the worst fucking shits ever. I suppose I might have had rum runs that were worse. But for non-alcoholic poop nastiness I vote Cup Noodle. Avoid it like the plague.

Top Ramen and Maruchan Ramen are basically on par with one another, along with the wonderfully named Smack Ramen. Frankly I can barely tell a difference between all the flavors. Salt, salt, salt, salt and chili powder. Ugh.

My personal fave has to be Shin Ramyun, a Korean brand that will kill your mouth if you are not prepared. Shin Ramyun and Coors OG sustained me for a long period of time when I first moved here to MD. I'm not ashamed.

I also like Udon a great deal, even the grocery-store prepackaged varieties. I ate Udon daily for lunch during the summer of my first year in college. I was probably the only 19 yr old page layout guy in TN eating his lunch with chopsticks out of a thermos that summer. Now I bet they're all doing it.

― Millar (Millar), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 05:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Why would you think we were noodle snobs in this house? We LOOOOOVE Ramen noodles here. Both Suzy and I have about 10 different exotic ways of preparing them, (meat for her and veggie for me, natch) - I even have a ramen noodle version of THING.

There is an equiv to Pot Noodle in the States, but I forget what its' called. Cup A Soup not really comparable, due to its not having unidentifiable soy protein bits floating in it, but there is an Asian variety that I used to eat all the time.

My favourite brand was always the wonderfully misspelled SMACK Ramen that we used to get at C-Town, 8 for a dollar or something. Yum!

― kate, Tuesday, 18 February 2003 05:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree with Millar for the first and only time ever -- the Korean stuff absolutely KILLS, in all senses of the word.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 09:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Kate, thinking we're snobs is N.'s default 'comedy' option, DID YOU NOT KNOW?

Tad, pot noodle products are vile (and expensive, compared to Chinese supermarket noodles and udon) and starving journalists in London go to FILM PREVIEWS for the finger food, sandwiches and wine/beer. We also get jobs at market research focus group centres because there is often catering-for-groups leftovers eg. large untouched hunks of cheese. This was my 1992!

Now I just use 3-minute noodles as part of elaborate soups and other dishes; they are good for pho and things.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 10:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Kimchi Ramen Noodles are the best noodles ever. Can't remember the brand, but they're proper imported Korean chili noodles, and they are LUSH.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 10:22 (twenty-two years ago)

mmmm, pot mash, sausage and onion flavour.

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 10:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Ramen noodles come in blocks, pot noodle comes in pots, it is v simple! Super noodles are grebt. Ramen noodles are mostly abt 10p a packet. I lived on them for a while when I cdn't properly swallow, I felt PECULIAR afterwards I must sa. MSG-TASTIC!

ECWM had some POSH NOODLES the other day. He said they were nice and didn't make his gut curl up into a ball of salt (ok thats my phrasing not his) so there you go.

― Sarah (starry), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

The best noodles are the cheapest ones, imported Asian ones you can only buy at your local corner shop for 10/15p a packet. When I were 'omeless we all lived on cheap noodles. Super Noodles are horrible! Pot Noodles always smell OK but then they taste awful and I give up.

― smee (smee), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 12:17 (twenty-two years ago)

nabisco, where was this valuable catchphrase when we were having such difficulty ordering your birthday dinner at the drive-thru KFC?

Aren't we ILXors swank?

Whenever I get sinus problems I stock up on ramen noodles...nothing like steam, salt and garlic to clear your head. And I wouldn't waste meat by adding it to ramen, but I usually add some frozen broccoli, and pretend that I'm eating something healthy.

― j.lu (j.lu), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 13:51 (twenty-two years ago)

The first Pot Noodle I ever had make me throw up for like 12 hours. I was 6 and vomiting was a new, fun thing. I didn't touch one for over 20 years until they did a "Bombay Bad Boy" flavour and I had to try it. It wasn't even 1/4 as hot as the thai chilli ramen you can get.
Yes, ramen noodles are noodles to cook and eat while high on pot.
And thus passed my 3 years at college...

― Simeon (Simeon), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 14:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Millar wrote: My personal fave has to be Shin Ramyun, a Korean brand that will kill your mouth if you are not prepared.

I swear by this stuff. Also, a noteworthy ramen chajangmyun (noodles in black bean sauce) substitute is Cha Cha Roni, which comes with like three packets of stuff. Opening all the little packets makes it feel like it's your birthday - a miniature, powdery birthday.

If you are Asian, it is obligatory to add some leftover rice, which is undoubtedly sitting in your enormous rice cooker, to the unconsumed ramen soup, to finish it off.

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 15:16 (twenty-two years ago)

whatever happened to the noodles that would explode/dramatically expand upon being heated up by single women in sitcoms?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 15:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I have heard various might-be-true-might-be-urban-legend stories about students trying to subsist solely on ramen to save money and getting scurvy.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

My favorite version is of course Mr Noodles, which I survived on for about a month while I learnt to cook after moving off campus. I still get queasy looking at chickenburgers though.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 16:03 (twenty-two years ago)

If we're talking general noodle love, the ramen place a two minute walk away from where I now live that's run by the sweet grandmotherly lady from Japan is one of the many blessings of my new abode. And as j.lu noted, such soups are great for colds -- hot spices liberally applied are the key.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 16:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Dear god that chilli flavour I had the other week would sure clean up my sinuses!!! I will have to arsk the Arskmonkey (haha) where she got it from...

― Sarah (starry), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 16:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to swear by Amoy Tom Yum flavour noodles; something about that lemongrass and fiery chilli combo made them top notch hangover busters. Then they stopped making them. Sob.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 16:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Dave, go to a corner shop and you will find all the tom yum noodles you'd like for 30p or less a packet.

And oh yes, my former flatmate Carlos DID enjoy the kidney stones he got from a final term diet of ramen, bagels, cappuccino and the occasional orange.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 17:03 (twenty-two years ago)

B-b-b-but which corner shop? I look in every one I go in pretty much, and not seen :-(

― Dave B (daveb), Monday, 24 February 2003 11:26 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

i ate some nissin today. it was alright!

― calderdale in the 70s (gareth), Friday, 2 December 2005 19:59 (twenty years ago)

Do you mean the cup noodles?

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Friday, 2 December 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

it came in a packet

― calderdale in the 70s (gareth), Friday, 2 December 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

oh, it's top ramen, right? i think that's the only kind our grocery store has, not maruchan ramen? (which is a little bit better)

― caitlin oh no (caitxa1), Friday, 2 December 2005 20:13 (twenty years ago)

http://www.urcexports.com/images/products_nissinssoup.gif

Like this?

I like ramen noodles. More so than udon noodles. But I like buckwheat noodles the best.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Friday, 2 December 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

udon noodles are made of buckwheat, i thought

― caitlin oh no (caitxa1), Friday, 2 December 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

Uh, they are? Wrong translation, I guess. So I like the dark coloured ones, soba noodles the best.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Friday, 2 December 2005 20:20 (twenty years ago)

oh, maybe i was thinking of soba, i'm not sure

― caitlin oh no (caitxa1), Friday, 2 December 2005 20:28 (twenty years ago)

Maruchan >>>>>>> TOP

― GET EQUIPPED WITH CIRCLE BOY (ex machina), Friday, 2 December 2005 20:29 (twenty years ago)

Tom Yam noodles are best. I need to find some, they were 25p on Kilburn High Road but I don't live there anymore :(

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Saturday, 3 December 2005 00:42 (twenty years ago)

DO they have Indomie anywhere else? Thats the popular one here (apart from the very un-asian Maggi beef or chicken 2-minute noodles). Indomie make a Mi Goreng that is really nice. It comes with some dried onion, some powdered flavouring, and a sachet of stickysweet kecap manis. Yum.

http://www26.brinkster.com/dogjuice/ramen/322indomiefriednoodles.jpg

― Trayce (trayce), Saturday, 3 December 2005 00:49 (twenty years ago)

i had top ramen (oodles of noodles!) yesterday. "oriental" flavor! very slurpable.

― like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 3 December 2005 01:43 (twenty years ago)

I just read this thread and suddenly have the awful urge to go out & buy a "sweet & sour" (vaguely tomatoey w/bits of soya protein floating in it) pot noodle. Muuusssst resssissssstttt.....

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 3 December 2005 11:57 (twenty years ago)

super noodles are shite, don't eat them. pot noodle is shite too but at least they're meant to be, eat them when you hate yourself. the best ones i've ever had ever ever ever are thai tom yum flavour ones with no fish product in them, they come in a packet with squiggly green lines on. i was addicted to them in hk (they were something like hk$1.20! that is, like, nothing pence!) bc they were the spiciest and meatfree and cheaparse and not in polystyrene. friend h sent me a massive bag of them after i left and i had to make them last... the only place i've found that does them in london is the chinese supermarket just opposite the prince charles. they are 25p a packet. kate, these are the ones i gave you and you thought i was being nuts but THEN YOU TRIED THEM and omg it was like there was a party in your mouth. damn, now i want some. perhaps i will get on my bike go into town and and get some.

the chinese supermarket in brixton occasionally does some that are *nearly* as good and come in a red packet but in a side-by-side taste test the thai ones win hands down.

― emsk ( emsk), Saturday, 3 December 2005 12:23 (twenty years ago)

trayce, mmmmmm.... yes IndoMie is great! Apart from Aus, they have them in Indonesia (obvs), Singapore and Malaysia but don't think I've seen them anywhere else. I liked that you called it 'kecap manis' like it was a special name, cause that just means sweet soy sauce. ;)

― Roz (Roz), Saturday, 3 December 2005 14:20 (twenty years ago)

So sad. The skeezy supermarket on Bright Street (Jersey City) had an odd flavor of ramen that I've never seen before or since: SESAME CHICKEN!! Complete with an extra packet of actual SESAME OIL in addition to the normal spices. Yum. Now can't find 'em anywhere.

And if I had a fresh bottle of sesame oil sitting around the kitch, it would be a sign that I wasn't NEARLY hard up enough to be eating ramen, so please don't anyone suggest that I just go out and buy some.

― Laurel (Laurel), Sunday, 4 December 2005 22:25 (twenty years ago)

-- Trayce (spamspanke...), December 3rd, 2005 11:49 AM. (later)

Yeah, for packet noodles they shit all over 2 minute varieties etc., and they're very cheap. However, they are also loaded with additives, and made my friend go crazy for a while. Mind, he was eating them basically for every meal, so... Moderation.

― Sasha (sgh), Monday, 5 December 2005 03:34 (twenty years ago)

i'm amused that this thread was revived. academic poverty sucks.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 5 December 2005 03:38 (twenty years ago)

Lunch today was a packet of oriental flavored (Smack) and a packet of shrimp flavored (Maruchan). Dinner is about to be a bag of popcorn and a Newcastle. (Fuck good health, anyway.)

― I do feel guilty for getting any perverse amusement out of it (Rock Hardy), Monday, 5 December 2005 03:46 (twenty years ago)

go out and buy some. a small bottle is only a couple of bucks and it'll last forever.

― The Great Pagoda of Funn (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 5 December 2005 04:06 (twenty years ago)

"ramen" in itself is just a type of noodles in japan isn't it? those come in a packet are just instant ramen i.e. instant noodles?

aha, now i see top ramen in US = demae ramen.

http://color.pepper.jp/philly/12/image/ramen_demae_origi.jpg

the semame oil favour is the classic and best.

cup noodles are superior to pot noodles.

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 5 December 2005 05:27 (twenty years ago)

Jody OTM - sesame oil lasts forever, you hardly need any, and it tastes great.

― Trayce (trayce), Monday, 5 December 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

fact: the sesame oil you get with demae/top ramen (aka oodles of noodles) is superior to most brands of sesame oil in a bottle.

i sometimes eat two packets in one go, use one pack of sesame oil and keep the other.

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 5 December 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

Hm, for some reason I was under the impression that sesame oil had to be used quickly once opened...hence the difficulty of using it in time/keeping it around. Did I just make that up??

― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 5 December 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

RIP Momofuku Ando, hero of single guys and students all over the world

;__;

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 7 January 2007 14:38 (eighteen years ago)

laurel.. oops a bit late now this reply but i think sesame oil keeps for a while actually.. the problem though is that you normally don't need much more than several drops at a time and so it can be like a whole year and you still won't use the thing up!

― ken c (ken c), Sunday, 7 January 2007 16:11 (eighteen years ago)

eight months pass...

I realized today that I actually love ramen, and that eating it does not depress me.

― roxymuzak, Saturday, 22 September 2007 20:26 (eighteen years ago)

A fine realization!

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 22 September 2007 20:26 (eighteen years ago)

I am going to cook a second pack, to celebrate.

― roxymuzak, Saturday, 22 September 2007 20:28 (eighteen years ago)

the following nabisco post deserves to be repeated:

-- nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 18 February 2003 00:11 (4 years ago) Link

LOL

― Eisbaer, Saturday, 22 September 2007 20:51 (eighteen years ago)

It occurs to me that a better name for so-called 'Generation X' might have been the 'Ramen Generation'. They both mean nothing, but at least ramen is cheap and tasty.

― Aimless, Saturday, 22 September 2007 21:00 (eighteen years ago)

And X isn't?

― roxymuzak, Saturday, 22 September 2007 21:02 (eighteen years ago)

X? Maybe you are thinking of this?

http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/SUE/SUE104/BWBW1525.jpg

― Aimless, Saturday, 22 September 2007 21:06 (eighteen years ago)

I always am! :D

― roxymuzak, Saturday, 22 September 2007 21:07 (eighteen years ago)

You drunk!

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 22 September 2007 21:31 (eighteen years ago)

Me drunk, too!

― Aimless, Saturday, 22 September 2007 21:33 (eighteen years ago)

why choose b/w alcohol and ramen when you can have 'em both?

― Eisbaer, Saturday, 22 September 2007 21:41 (eighteen years ago)

Who says a choice should be involved at all?

― roxymuzak, Tuesday, 25 September 2007 06:31 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

I made horseradish ramen from a recipe, ftw.

― roxymuzak, Friday, 19 October 2007 17:32 (eighteen years ago)

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