MasterChef’s Poh Ling Yeow shares her tips on how to make instant noodles into a gourmet feast

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MasterChef’s Poh Ling Yeow shares her tips on how to make instant noodles into a gourmet soup and her ‘secret trick’ for enriching the broth

By Kylie Walters For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

She’s known for her beautiful pastries which look almost too good to eat.

But on Thursday’s night’s episode of MasterChef Back to Win, Poh Ling Yeow blew the judges away when she made a lobster dish with two minute noodles. 

The 39-year-old talented cook told the Herald Sun that surprisingly instant noodles are one of her favourite go-to ingredients when she needs to put together a quick meal.  

Sharing her secrets! MasterChef’s Poh Ling Yeow (pictured) has revealed her tips on how to make instant noodles into a gourmet feast 

‘I love the convenience, they are so versatile,’ she said, adding she uses them in stir-fries and spring rolls.

In fact, the former cooking show host always keeps a few packets of kimchi-flavoured noodles at home to ‘dress up’ with a few fresh ingredients.

‘You can then add so many beautiful things, wakame, tofu, all your Asian mushrooms like enoki, then the bouncy fish from the freezer, like fish balls,’ she said.

'You can then add so many beautiful things, wakame, tofu, all your Asian mushrooms like enoki, then the bouncy fish from the freezer, like fish balls': Poh revealed she always keeps a packet of kimchi-flavoured noodles at home to 'dress up' with a few fresh ingredients

‘You can then add so many beautiful things, wakame, tofu, all your Asian mushrooms like enoki, then the bouncy fish from the freezer, like fish balls’: Poh revealed she always keeps a packet of kimchi-flavoured noodles at home to ‘dress up’ with a few fresh ingredients

Poh revealed her trick to ‘enriching’ her noodle broth is to whisk an egg in the liquid just before serving.

The cookbook author explained it only takes a few minutes to turn a packet of noodles into a feast.

‘Stir fry some garlic, spring onion and ginger, top up with the chicken stock, then add things like tofu and mushrooms,’ she said.

POH’S RICE SOUP RECIPE (SERVES 2-3 PEOPLE)  

  1. Sauté 1 tsp of chopped garlic and 1/2 a long red chilli cooked in 1 Tbs olive oil until golden. 
  2. Add 2 cups water and bring to boil. 
  3. Whisk in 2-3 Tbs white miso or to taste, then stir in 1/4 cup wakame (dried seaweed), 300g silken tofu, diced 2cm, a couple of handfuls of shimeji mushrooms, with the lower part of their stems sliced away and discarded and the mushies separated (enoki, fresh or dried shiitake also delish). 
  4. Add 1/2 a cup of cooked brown rice, then garnish with a handful of sliced spring onions. 
'Stir fry some garlic, spring onion and ginger, top up with the chicken stock, then add things like tofu and mushrooms': The cookbook author explained it only takes a few minutes to turn a packet of noodles into a feast

‘Stir fry some garlic, spring onion and ginger, top up with the chicken stock, then add things like tofu and mushrooms’: The cookbook author explained it only takes a few minutes to turn a packet of noodles into a feast

She suggested to add a touch of chilli right before serving and you’ll have a family favourite meal.

It comes after MasterChef judge Melissa Leong admitted that the panic buying frenzy at the start of the coronavirus pandemic almost ruined the ‘pimp my noodle’ challenge this week.

Fans flocked to social media during the episode to complain that Indomie Mi Goreng noodles were left out of a challenge and Maggi 2 Minutes Noodles were used instead.

That's different! Thursdays' episode of the hit Channel 10 cooking show swept aside it's usual array of elaborate and complicated dishes to make way for whipping up meals using instant noodles (Pictured are judges Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo)

That’s different! Thursdays’ episode of the hit Channel 10 cooking show swept aside it’s usual array of elaborate and complicated dishes to make way for whipping up meals using instant noodles (Pictured are judges Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo)

 ‘Before anyone asks, there are no IndoMie Mi Goreng noodles on the table because: a) it was the very early stages of COVID and y’all bulk bought them out of circulation,’ she wrote on Twitter.

Following her explanation, sheepish viewers admitted that they had contributed to the crisis.

‘Considering I still have 18 packets of them in my cupboard… It’s my fault,’ one admitted.

Another added: ‘I have seven packets and two rolls of toilet paper. I know where my priorities lie’.

'Y’all bulk bought them out of circulation': MasterChef judge Melissa Leong (pictured) was forced to explain how panic buying nearly ruined the 'pimp my noodle' challenge on Thursday's episode after viewers complained that Mi Goreng wasn't included

‘Y’all bulk bought them out of circulation’: MasterChef judge Melissa Leong (pictured) was forced to explain how panic buying nearly ruined the ‘pimp my noodle’ challenge on Thursday’s episode after viewers complained that Mi Goreng wasn’t included