Mama noodles are our favorite brand of instant noodles. There's a million different ways to prepare the noodles and this is our go-to. We make the noodle "dry-style" with soup on the side. Alternate bites of the seasoned noodles with hot soup. Ahh super onolicious! All you need are three ingredients: mama noodles, ground pork, and bean sprouts.
Hooray for Mama noodles! When it comes to instant noodles, the Mama brand of noodles is my favorite.
Mama is a super popular Thai brand of instant noodles. They account for a large part of the instant noodle market in Thailand and many restaurants also offer Mama noodles on the menu.
You can purchase Mama instant noodles at many Asian supermarkets, most Thai markets, and online. Those who know Mama noodles LOVE Mama noodles.
There are many ways to prepare Mama noodles (with soup, without soup, stir fried, etc) and today's recipe is our family's favorite way of making Mama noodles. We make this "recipe" so often, but it doesn't really have a name.
When mom or dad says, "I'm making mama noodles for lunch, do you want some?" everyone in the family automatically know how the noodles will be prepared. We just call this recipe "Mama noodles!"
Favorite Recipe For Mama Noodles
All you need are three ingredients (Mama noodles, ground pork, and bean sprouts).
Yes! That's it. So easy right?
The final dish has two components: a bowl of seasoned noodles AND a side bowl of hot soup.
Where did mom and dad get this idea? We grew up eating a lot of Chiu Chow and Cantonese food. In both those cuisines, it is common to serve "dry noodles" (aka soupless noodles) with a side of hot soup.
So they just applied that concept to Mama noodles. I think it's a super neat and onolicious idea ^_^
We Love Mama Noodles
We keep a case of Mama noodles in the pantry (they often come in handy).
One time we ordered a case of 20 packs from a friend's shop. But because we ordered over the phone there was some miscommunication, and they thought we wanted 20 cases. So we ended up with 20 cases of Mama noodles!
We are still working our way through those 20 case lolol.
In The Mama Noodle Package
What is every package of Mama noodles?
- The noodles themselves.
- The oil packet (make sure to "massage" the packet to mix the oil with the seasonings in that packet).
- The seasoning powder packet.
- The chili powder packet (this packet is attached to the seasoning powder packet).
Different Flavors of Mama Noodles
Mama noodles come in many different flavors. Think pork, tom yum, chicken masala, shrimp, green curry, etc.
I've tried all the flavors that you can commonly find in the US, and we like the Mama pork noodles most. Pork also the flavor you want for this recipe.
If it's your first time purchasing Mama noodles, get a few packs of the pork flavor and a few of the tom yum flavor (which is their most popular flavor).
Different Package Sizes
Mama noodles come in different sizes ranging from snack size (60 grams) to entree size (90 grams). We use the smaller size for this recipe but you can use any size package, it is a very forgiving recipe.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this dish, only three ingredients!
- Mama noodles - (pork flavor preferred)
- Ground pork
- Bean sprouts
Step by Step Directions
Let's get cooking:
Divide oil and chili powder packets.
This recipe makes for two servings, so get two bowls (these are the bowls that you'll eat from).
Open and pour the oil packets and chili powder packets into the bowls (one of each packet per bowl). Set aside.
Add seasoning powder and cook noodles.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in the two seasoning powder packets. Stir to dissolve.
Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute over medium-high heat.
Toss noodles in the bowls.
Use chopsticks to remove the cooked noodles (leave the soup in the pot) to the bowls with the oil and chili powder. Divide the noodles between the two bowls.
Use chopsticks to toss and mix the noodles with the oil and chili powder. Set aside.
Add ground pork and bean sprouts.
Add the ground pork to the soup pot. Cook for 1 minute, using chopsticks to break up the pork. Then add the bean sprouts. Cook for another 30 seconds. Turn off the stove.
Top the noodle bowl.
Top each bowl of noodles with one scoop of the ground pork and bean sprouts (leave the soup along with half the ground pork and bean sprouts in the pot).
Finish the soup.
Then pour the soup (along with the extra ground pork and bean sprouts) into two soup bowls. Now each person has two bowls - one with the seasoned noodles and another with soup.
Enjoy the dry noodles with soup on the side.
Eat and enjoy! I like to alternate bites of the “dry noodles” with the soup. Other people like to eat all the noodles first and then drink the soup. There's no right or wrong way ^_^
Add toppings!
Optional toppings: fresh chili pepper, cilantro, and green onions.
FAQs and Tips
It doesn't really keep (the noodles will get soggy if you reheat them). Because it is super fast to make, just make it right before you are ready to eat.
You can replace the ground pork with chicken or tofu (cut into small cubes).
If you look carefully at the oil packet (included in the Mama noodles package), you'll see that that the oil has two parts to it. One is a darker seasoning, the other is a lighter oil part. Usually we gently massage the packet so that the darker and lighter parts combine.
But when we try to be "healthy", we cut the packet open right where the darker and lighter parts meet, then throw out the lighter (oil) part, and use only the darker (seasoning) part.
So do we! Another great dry noodle dish is Gon Lo Mein...it's super garlicky.
The options are endless! Our usual toppings include chopped cilantro and green onions. Sometimes we also add chili peppers. You can get even fancier with egg strips or homemade fish balls. The world is yours ^_^
Mama Noodles Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Mama Noodles
Mama noodles are our favorite brand of instant noodles. There's a million different ways to prepare the noodles and this is our go-to. We make the noodle "dry-style" with soup on the side. Alternate bites of the seasoned noodles with hot soup. Ahh super onolicious! All you need are three ingredients: mama noodles, ground pork, and bean sprouts.
Ingredients
- 2 packages Mama noodles (pork flavor preferred)
- ¼ pound ground pork
- ½ cup bean sprouts
Instructions
- This recipe makes for two servings, so get two bowls. Open and pour the oil packets and chili powder packets into the bowls (one of each packet per bowl). Set aside.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in the two seasoning powder packets. Stir to dissolve. Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute over medium-high heat.
- Use chopsticks to remove the cooked noodles (leave the soup in the pot) to the bowls with the oil and chili powder. Divide the noodles between the two bowls. Using chopsticks, toss and mix the noodles with the oil and chili powder. Set aside.
- Add the ground pork to the soup pot. Cook for 1 minute, using chopsticks to break up the pork. Then add the bean sprouts. Cook for another 30 seconds. Turn off the stove.
- Top each bowl of noodles with a scoop of the ground pork and bean sprouts (leave the soup along with half the ground pork and bean sprouts in the pot).
- Then pour the soup (along with the extra ground pork and bean sprouts) into two soup bowls. Now each person has two bowls - one with the seasoned noodles and another with soup.
- Eat and enjoy! I like to alternate bites of the “dry noodles” with the soup. Other people like to eat all the noodles first and then drink the soup. There's no right or wrong way ^_^
- Optional toppings: fresh chili pepper, cilantro, and green onions.
Notes
- Feel free to replace the ground pork with thinly sliced pork or chicken. You can also do tofu (cut into thin slices or small cubes).
- You can double or even triple the recipe but just make sure to prepare every bowl individually from the start (eg. pour the oil packet and chili powder packet into the individual bowls).
I grew up eating these. The pork, duck and shrimp were always in our kitchen.
Now I’m grown up and currently having pregnancy cravings for them but they’re not sold anywhere close by me.
Where online can I get a case? I searched Amazon and eBay but I can’t justify paying 3x the price of what I know they’re going for in an Asian market
This dry noodle makes me think of Indomie Goreng which is my household staple ^^ Does Hawaii have it too?