Marmite Soup Base FTW

So the thing about instant noodles is that underlying MSG-laden ``soup packet'' is often not very nice, particularly if you are getting your instant noodles in the US. But instant noodles are a cheap and plentiful source of carbohydrates, not necessarily a good source, but a source nonetheless.

The way that I sometimes make my noodles is to capitalise on two things: my Marmite and the ground pork that I buy from the store and keep in the freezer till needed. Let me first talk about the ground pork.

The ground pork that I get from the store is not necessarily the highest quality money can buy (that's just plain expensive), but at the very least, it doesn't look too old or too artificial in colour. Once I bring the pork home, I split it into 3 portions that I store in plastic containers. I used to not do anything else with them, but I realised that by massaging in some light soy sauce and pepper, I can enhance their flavour. I learnt the hard lesson of splitting them before putting them into the freezer, because really, the thing is rock hard when completely frozen and makes it neigh impossible to split up. Since I don't cook often enough to justify a large stash of meat in the fridge in general, the meats generally stay in the deep freeze compartment until I so decide to use them, and under those circumstances, I will take one container and place it outside to thaw. I would use a microwave for convenience and potential hygiene purposes (microwave thawing is faster and thus reduces the amount of time for bacteria to multiply), but I currently do not have such an implement.

So when making the noodles, I like to use a quarter teaspoon of Marmite to act as the broth base, with a little bit of ground black pepper, some crushed red chilli peppers and parsley bits for flavour. I find that the Marmite base provides enough savoury flavour worthy of soup while at the same time providing the vitamin B complexes that I am generally missing in my diet. The meat always goes in first when the liquid mixture is at a boil, and then I toss in the instant noodles to top it up. Stirring it around for a bit makes sure that nothing boils over and overflows the pot. A few short minutes later, food is served.

It's a nice combination that provides me with the protein that I need. I don't really worry much about fibre in general because I eat out often enough that I do get enough roughage.

[Ed: This article started a while back, but it is only now that I have some time to finish it up.]

On ``Baked Beans''

So upon some reflection, I think that I will start a new tag series on this blog. Considering that I am now cooking much more often than before (not only because I want to save some money, but that cooking is an interesting and enjoyable experience in its own right), I think it is a good thing to start tracking some of the observations that I found, as well as some advice that I had heard from people.

Anyway, today's first cooking-based post is about beans. Apparently, the ``baked beans'' that we generally get in cans can be made from m3h into woah with a couple of interesting ingredients. First, instead of just cooking the beans on a stove with whatever tomato puree was used, some brown sugar and ketchup are added to thicken the sauce. Chopped bacon can also be added, as is other types of sauces for flavour. Second, the mixture is baked instead of steaming, so that the brown sugar will caramelise and create that really nice thick sweet flavour that gets checked by the tanginess of the ketchup. It sounds like a lot of effort, but the end result is really awesome.