Cheesy noodle goodness
If you love a good bowl of cheesy and creamy instant noodles, then you’ll love this recipe!
The initial challenge with this recipe was to make it cheesy and creamy in instant noodle form.
This meant that I had to rely on sauce or powders to achieve that consistency.
After experimenting with different powders and cheeses, I finally came up with the best combo.
Milk powder for creaminess
This recipe uses milk powder to create that concentrated creamy/milky sauce.
A tip for recipes using milk powder is to leave about 2 tbsps of hot water (or warm water) with your noodles.
Once you mix in milk powder with hot water and keep stirring, the sauce becomes emulsified – this means it becomes creamy, thick and glossy!
Cheese powder
I highly recommend adding parmesan cheese powder to this recipe. I use the Kraft brand parmesan cheese, but if you have freshly grated parmesan cheese on hand, definitely use that instead.
Even though there is a separate liquid cheese sauce, adding parmesan cheese powder amps up the sharp cheesy flavour.
Cheese sauce
At first, when I was experimenting with different cheese sauces, the sauce would split into a big mess.
I figured out that if you use processed cheese (the ones in plastic sleeves), it will split when you heat it up in a pan.
So for the cheese sauce, my advice is to use real cheese to prevent the sauce from splitting.
I found that adding gochujang helps stabilise the sauce.
Since this cheese sauces becomes thick and gloopy after it cools down, I would recommend saving 2 tbsps hot water with the noodles, so you can emulsify this cheesy sauce.
Watch how I made it
The noodles
For this recipe, I used thick chewy instant udon noodles.
Thicker noodles pick up cheesy sauces really well. It’s also got more mouthfeel when you slurp it.
If you have frozen udon noodles at home, you can cook that and combine with the sauces/powders.
In my recipe, I use instant packet udon – which is more convenient, but it’s less fresh and chewy.
Cheesy Instant Noodles
Ingredients
Method
- Combine the cheese sauce ingredients in a pan. Cook on low heat until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the seasoning powder ingredients and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the milk powder ingredients and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cover the udon with boiling water and let it sit for 5-6 minutes, or until soft. If needed, microwave for 1 minute. Drain, leaving 1-2 tbsp hot water.
- Combine the udon noodles with the cheese sauce, seasoning powder and milky powder.
- Mix and enjoy!
