I tried that trending Sprite Instant Noodle hack – here’s what happened!

When I first saw this Sprite instant noodle hack on Tiktok, I tried it… and didn’t really enjoy the results. It tasted strongly of the instant noodle seasoning packet still, so much so that I didn’t understand why I was adding all the extra ingredients for.

I saw its potential though, so I modified the recipe… and voila! I loved this final dish!

Why Sprite Instant Noodles?

Sprite is a lemony-lime flavoured soft drink… so this makes total sense! Instead of using actual citrus, you replace it with this sweet citrus-flavoured drink.

On that same note, you can’t replace this with any other soft drink. Although if you do try it, make sure to let me know! I’d be curious to find out.

Sooo… What does Sprite Instant Noodles Taste Like?

It tastes refreshingly delicious! It doesn’t scream Sprite at all, but I can actually detect that sweet lemony-lime flavour. The Sprite, combined with the spicy flavours, tangy vinegar (I added more for mine because it’s so good) and the fresh cilantro make this noodle dish quite addictive.

You know how you go for hot pot, and before your food comes you get served plates of cold, mildly spicy appetisers? This reminds me of that!

What Instant Noodle/Ramen to Use?

The couple variations of this hack showed Indomie and Shin Ramyun as the instant noodle brands of choice. I used Indomie since that’s what I have in abundance at home. However, my recipe uses no seasoning packets, therefore any instant ramen will work for this. In fact, you can also use your favourite noodle of choice.

I do not use the seasoning packets at all – but if you want to, you can. Personally I prefer the flavours without the seasoning packets. With Indomie especially, the familiar Indomie flavours were definitely dominant. Combined with the extra seasonings, I thought it tasted strange. Perhaps Shin Ramyun hits differently.

Instead of the seasoning packets, this instant noodle hack is all about the chilli oil sauce! The ingredients for these are easy to find in an Asian household:

Light Soy Sauce: Salting agent
Oyster Sauce: Additional seasoning and ~umami~
Vinegar: Adds that delicious sourness that goes incredibly well with spice, and cuts any heaviness of the oil and noodly carbs!
Chilli Powder: This adds a roasty spice, while adding that attractive red colour.
Bird’s Eye Chillies: This adds that spicy heat.
Garlic: Everything tastes better with garlic!

You can also add dark soy sauce here if you have that. That’s it! I also added some of my homemade Chilli Oil for a boost of flavour, but this is optional.

This is Best Served Cold – Trust me!

This tasted ok when served warm… but served cold, the flavours shone! Something about the cold sprite, tangy vinegar and the spicy flavours all taste refreshingly good when cold. Seriously try this.

Make sure the Sprite is cold, and that you dunk the instant noodles in cold water. Dunking the instant noodles will not only cool the noodles, it will also preserve the bite of the noodles after cooking. The hot oil would be the hottest ingredient, but it will cool along with the other ingredients as you toss and combine everything together.

You can make this ahead and store in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavours fully develop.

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