If you enjoy cup noodles, you may be wondering if you can microwave cup noodles safely. This is a commonly asked question as some people may not know exactly how to make this quick and convenient meal.
Cup noodles have been around for a very long time and have continued to be extremely popular. Despite the competition, no other instant noodles have been able to really compare to the original cup noodle brand.
Especially as so many people grew up eating these noodles and feel nostalgic about them. Not only are they very convenient and fast, but they are also delicious and are a comfort food for many people.
Keep reading to find out how to microwave cup noodles and how you should not cook a cup of noodles.
How to Cook Cup Noodles in Microwave?
If you enjoy cup noodles, you are not alone, as many people know and love this convenient meal. One of the best things about cup noodles is that they can be conveniently made in the microwave just by boiling water.
Cup noodles became extremely popular many years ago because of how convenient and tasty they are. These are instant noodles that do not require boiling, all you have to do is add hot water, and the noodles are able to soak it up.
These noodles have been created so that they are able to cook within just a few minutes. Allowing you to enjoy your meal very quickly without having to wait around for the water to boil and the noodles to cook through.
Cup noodles also have a very traditional taste that many people would instantly recognize. Especially those who grew up taking a cup noodles to school every day as a quick and delicious lunch option.
Even though these noodles are very convenient to make, there are certain steps you should take when preparing them. Especially as many people may be doing this incorrectly.
Prepare the Water
The first thing you need to do when you are preparing cup noodles for your meal is to get some kind of microwave-safe cup. You will need to feel this cup with about a cup of water and microwave it until it is boiling.
For the majority of microwaves, you will need to microwave the water for about two minutes for it to reach the boiling point. This is the perfect temperature to quickly cook the noodles so that they are perfectly cooked through and ready to be eaten in a few minutes.
Add the Water
Once your water has reached boiling point, you can’t carefully pour it into your cup noodles container. This Styrofoam cup is designed to safely hold the hot water and insulate the cup to keep the noodles warm.
It is recommended that you leave a section of the paper cap on the top so that you can lay it back over the opening to insulate the steam. That, or you can place a plate over the top of the cup to hold in the steam.
This steam will help the noodles to cook faster along with the boiling hot water. Allowing the cup noodles to be ready to eat within 2 to 3 minutes so that they will still be nice and hot.
This also helps the dried vegetables in the cup noodles to fully cook through. If you find that the vegetables are still a bit crunchy, you can insulate the steam a little bit longer to help them to cook through completely before eating your cup of noodles.
How Long to Cook Cup Noodles In a Microwave
If you are using the method above to add hot water and steam cook your cup noodles, this process will only take five minutes in total. Estimating that it will take two minutes to microwave the water and you will need to let the cup noodles cook for three minutes.
This will produce perfectly cooked noodles and vegetables that are ready to eat and still hot. But there is an alternative way that you can microwave cup noodles as well.
To do this, you will need to get a bowl and remove the contents of the cup noodles into the bowl. Then you can pour a cup of water over the dried noodles and vegetables in the bowl and put the bowl into the microwave.
You will need to microwave your noodles for 3 to 5 minutes, checking the noodles at the three-minute mark to see if they are soft and cooked through. Though most people say that this takes around five minutes for the majority of microwaves.
This is an alternative way that you can cook a cup of noodles without having to pour water into the actual container. Many people prefer to do this as it can be easier to eat out of a bowl, rather than the cup, and you won’t be exposed to hot Styrofoam.
Cup Noodles Shouldn’t be Directly Microwaved
It is important to understand that cup noodles are not designed to be placed directly into the microwave to be cooked. Cup noodles are packaged in a Styrofoam cup with a paper lid that is designed to hold in heat.
Styrofoam is a type of material that can easily melt if exposed to high temperatures, making it unsafe to be placed in the microwave. This is not how cup noodles are designed to be cooked as the Styrofoam can melt in the microwave.
Hot Styrofoam can also begin to melt down and leak toxins into the Ramen if it doesn’t actually create a hole in the cup. Styrofoam is only safe to hold in hot temperatures, not to actually be cooked in a hot environment.
This is why the traditional way of making cup noodles is to microwave a mug of hot water and pour it into the cup noodles cup. This is perfectly safe and is not going to be hot enough that it will start to melt or break down the Styrofoam cup.
Because of this, you should never put cup noodles directly in the microwave, as this is unsafe in multiple ways.