Group · Starchy foods
Instant Asian noodles (cooked)
Instant Asian noodles are wheat noodles pre-steamed and then fried before being dried: it is this frying, not the flour, that explains their composition. Sold with a seasoning sachet, they rehydrate in three minutes.
In terms of nutrition facts, once prepared, they provide 164 kcal per 100 g, with 21.1 g of carbohydrate, 6.9 g of fat and 3.75 g of protein, for only 1 g of fibre. For comparison, cooked wheat semolina provides exactly the same 164 kcal with nearly eight times less fat: it is the frying that makes the whole difference.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 164 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 686 kJ |
| Protein | 3,8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 21,1 g |
| Fat | 6,9 g |
| Fibre | 1 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Vitamin B50,91 mg15 %
- Manganese0,24 mg12 %
- Omega-6 LA0,75 g8 %
- Phosphorus43 mg6 %
- Copper0,04 mg4 %
- Vitamin B120,07 µg3 %
- Magnesium9,1 mg2 %
- Iron0,32 mg2 %
See the other 7 nutrients
- Vitamin B10,02 mg2 %
- Zinc0,19 mg2 %
- Calcium11 mg1 %
- Potassium26 mg1 %
- Total omega-30,03 g1 %
- Omega-3 ALA0,02 g1 %
- Vitamin B30,1 mg1 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
The seasoning sachet is the real issue. The 0.23 g of salt per 100 g on the page corresponds to the prepared dish; but the content varies enormously by brand, and some portions alone cover half the daily benchmark. Use only half: the taste remains more than sufficient.
A bowl of instant noodles is not a meal. 1 g of fibre and 3.75 g of protein per 100 g: the fullness does not last two hours. An egg, strips of chicken, spinach shoots or shredded cabbage change the equation completely, for three more minutes.
Throw away the soaking water. It contains some of the frying oil. Rehydrating, draining, then seasoning separately genuinely lowers the fat of the finished dish.
Non-fried versions exist. Some instant noodles are air-dried: you can spot them by the stated fat content, around 1 to 2 g per 100 g instead of 7 or more. It is the only sorting criterion worth using on the shelf.
For comparison. Classic dried Chinese noodles and rice vermicelli have not been fried at all: for the same use, they are clearly lighter.
Sources
Average nutritional values per 100 g, provided for guidance only (may vary by brand, cut and preparation).