Frying and drying instant noodles

Frying and drying are the last stage that makes instant noodles instant. After steaming, the water is taken out of the strands by frying them in oil or drying them in hot air. Only a few percent of moisture is left in the finished block, so it keeps for a long time, and boiling water brings back its softness quickly.

According to a 2016 review, the dough takes only 29–30% water and rests for 15–20 minutes before it is sheeted and cut. Steaming at about 100 °C for 1–5 minutes partly gelatinises the starch, which is needed for fast rehydration. The strands are then fried in oil at 140–160 °C for 1–2 minutes: water boils off the surface and moves out from the middle, leaving a porous, spongy structure, and these pores are where boiling water gets back in. The finished block holds 3–7% moisture, and frying removes 30–32% of the weight. The international Codex standard allows up to 10% moisture for fried and up to 14% for non-fried blocks.

Hot-air drying without frying is the second route. Japan's instant-noodle code requires fried noodles to be labelled 油揚げめん, and the separate "raw type" (生タイプ) is not dried at all: it is steamed or boiled, treated in an organic acid solution and heat-sterilised.

Why it matters to you. The drying method shows in the fat. In six commercial samples, fried noodles held 12.86–17.49% fat on a dry basis, and hot-air dried ones 1.95–2.72%. Fried noodles also took up water faster.