Tag Archives: black pepper

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Miandom – Singapore

Interview With Miandom * Product Samples From Miandom * Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles * Miandom Tasty Asia Black Pepper Crab Flavoured Instant Noodles * Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

I was contacted by a guy from Singapore recently about some new products. Green curry and black pepper crab flavors he told me – and I was definitely interested in trying! So we start the series today with an interview with Miandom!

Interview With Miandom – Singapore

THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you for agreeing to this interview! To start, can you tell my readers about the history of Miandom?

MIANDOM> Miandom is a joint venture founded by partners in Singapore, Malaysia and China. You will be familiar with our Chinese partner, the founder of Bai Jia Brand, well known for it’s signature Sichuan spicy instant vermicelli. The Singaporean partners are their distributors in the Singapore market, whereas the Malaysian partner is an old friend of the founder of Bai Jia, whom helped founder find his footing in the FMCG business. The Malaysian partner used to oversea bottling plants in Sichuan, China when the founder of Bai Jia decided to enter the FMCG business from the advertising industry. The company is headquartered in Singapore and our production is undertaken in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The company is currently headed by Harry, a Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology business graduate and Leon, a Purdue business graduate.

TRR> Why the name Miandom?

MIANDOM> Miandom is a portmanteau of the word ‘Mian’, which means noodles in Mandarin and ‘Dom’, from the word Kingdom. It is our aspiration for Miandom Noodles to be found in Mainstream markets around the world.

TRR> Can you tell us about the varieties of noodles you make?

MIANDOM> Our current noodle range is focused on South-east Asian flavors with an emphasis on using our proprietary non-fried air dried mini-flat noodles. We currently have 2 flavors, Black Pepper Crab and Green Curry Shrimp. Black Pepper Crab is an iconic Singaporean dish whereas Green Curry Shrimp is really a derivative of the Green Curries that Thailand is famous for.

TRR> Your company is located in Singapore. Can you tell us a little about your locale?

MIANDOM> Singapore is located right in the middle of Southeast Asia and as an entrepot, is a blissful mixed of several culture. Our food reflects this entrepot heritage. Singapore is set to be heavily featured in the upcoming film, Crazy Rich Asians (We do not sponsor the film in anyway). We are certainly far from crazy but the broths for our instant noodles are crazily rich!
5. How does your noodle making process differ from other instant noodle manufacturers?
Our approach to making instant noodles is 2 pronged, namely the broth and instant noodle
block. Our broths are derived from quality ingredients blended into a thick, rich paste, giving the soup a quality that is comparable to those found in restaurants. Secondly, our noodles are nonfried and made in a proprietary process that results in a springy texture.

TRR> How do you decide on what varieties to produce?

MIANDOM> The initial phase of the process is a lot simpler than what you would imagine. There’s a lot of discussion internally and externally about what type of flavours we should produce. Generally, everyone of us already has some idea of what makes a good, hearty bowl of noodles, and it’s all a matter of identifying what flavours are rarely explored and what we can do about it. For example, Black Pepper Crab was very quickly identified as a Singaporean delicacy, and while there are other brands out there who have already attempted to bring this flavour to the market, we believe that none of them has been successful in capturing the essence of what makes the dish great in the first place: the savoury black pepper sauce complementing but not overpowering the already strong crab flavour. Once we’ve identified these elements as essential to the dish itself, we work on creating a flavour profile that closely matches this taste, using as many of the same ingredients as we can, while at the same time tweaking the texture slightly to ensure that it becomes a perfect partner to our non-fried mini-flat noodles.

TRR> How many noodle products do you produce every year?

MIANDOM> We currently produce 2 flavors in 4 Skus but plan to introduce new 2-3 new flavors each season.

TRR> Apart from noodles, are there other products you produce or plan to produce?

MIANDOM> We currently plan to focus on our instant noodles range.

TRR> Can you suggest pairings for your products, like meats, seafood or vegetables?

MIANDOM> Crab meat or crab sticks will go really well with our Black Pepper Crab flavor. Adding a small squeeze of fresh lime juice as well as fresh curry leaves will go a long way in enhancing our Green Curry Shrimp, add some shrimp for protein.

TRR> A lot of people are concerned with their sodium intake. How would you recommend people enjoy your product as part of a healthy meal?

MIANDOM> While our sodium content is admittedly average in the industry, we try to mitigate it by having our noodles non-fried.

TRR> Are you involved in in your local community or participate in charities?

MIANDOM> Not at the moment.

TRR> Are there any new products coming soon?

MIANDOM> Yes, we are planning to launch several new flavors, including Singapore’s famous Chilli Crab. That is admittedly a hard flavor to master!

TRR> In what countries are your products available?

MIANDOM> We can be found in Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Japan and USA. In the US

TRR> When you make noodles for yourself, what do you like to add to them to make them extra
special?

MIANDOM> We love to add extra ingredients to jazz it up and make it an all rounded meal. For flavors that are curry based, I will go one step further and use milk instead of water as a base. However, for Miandom Tasty Asia Range, nothing needs to be added! 😉

THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you very much for this opportunity to learn about Miandomand your products!

MIANDOM> Thank you very much for your time!

Alright! Thanks to Louis Cyd for contacting me! Let’s give these varieties a try!

Unboxing Time: Miandom Instant Noodles From Singapore

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This box arrived by way of my buddy the DHL driver. So I initially thought they were something else and started the video – then I see it’s not so if it seems like I’m a little funny in this one, it’s sheer embarrassment because of that… I had to improvise because I’d opened it – so watch for that. Okay – let’s crack it open!

Unboxing Time: Miandom Instant Noodles – Singapore

Thanks to Louis over at Miandom for sending these along! Looking forward to giving them a try!

#2709: KOKA Signature Black Pepper Fried Noodles

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Well, I thought I was out of KOKA varieties to review and only had a couple duplicates but nope – nada – still got more! See, there are KOKA Signature and KOKA Delight which both look about the same and often have the same flavors. What’s the difference? Well, KOKA Delight is baked noodles – not fried. So I’ve still got a few varieties left. This one is a black pepper flavor noodle – without broth. Black pepper is an interesting thing – very historic as well. Let’s see if I can find something from Wikipedia –

Black peppercorns were found stuffed in the nostrils of Ramesses II, placed there as part of the mummification rituals shortly after his death in 1213 BCE.^[22] Little else is known about the use of pepper in ancient Egypt and how it reached the Nile from South Asia.

Pepper (both long and black) was known in Greece at least as early as the 4th century BCE, though it was probably an uncommon and expensive item that only the very rich could afford.

A Roman era trade route from India to Italy

By the time of the early Roman Empire, especially after Rome’s conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE, open-ocean crossing of the Arabian Sea direct to southern India‘s Malabar Coast was near routine. Details of this trading across the Indian Ocean have been passed down in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. According to the Roman geographer Strabo, the early Empire sent a fleet of around 120 ships on an annual one-year trip to China, Southeast Asia, India and back. The fleet timed its travel across the Arabian Sea to take advantage of the predictable monsoon winds. Returning from India, the ships travelled up the Red Sea, from where the cargo was carried overland or via the Nile-Red Sea canal to the Nile River, barged to Alexandria, and shipped from there to Italy and Rome. The rough geographical outlines of this same trade route would dominate the pepper trade into Europe for a millennium and a half to come.

Pepper was so valuable that it was often used as collateral or even currency. In the Dutch language, “pepper expensive” (peperduur) is an expression for something very expensive. The taste for pepper (or the appreciation of its monetary value) was passed on to those who would see Rome fall. Alaric the Visigoth included 3,000 pounds of pepper as part of the ransom he demanded from Rome when he besieged the city in 5th century.^[24] After the fall of Rome, others took over the middle legs of the spice trade, first the Persians and then the Arabs; Innes Miller cites the account of Cosmas Indicopleustes, who travelled east to India, as proof that “pepper was still being exported from India in the sixth century”.^[25] By the end of the Early Middle Ages, the central portions of the spice trade were firmly under Islamic control. Once into the Mediterranean, the trade was largely monopolized by Italian powers, especially Venice and Genoa. The rise of these city-states was funded in large part by the spice trade.

One tablespoon (6 grams) of ground black pepper contains moderate amounts of vitamin K (13% of the daily value or DV), iron (10% DV) and manganese (18% DV), with trace amounts of other essential nutrients, protein and dietary fibre.^[42]

It is commonly believed that during the Middle Ages, pepper was used to conceal the taste of partially rotten meat. There is no evidence to support this claim, and historians view it as highly unlikely: in the Middle Ages, pepper was a luxury item, affordable only to the wealthy, who certainly had unspoiled meat available as well.^[27] In addition, people of the time certainly knew that eating spoiled food would make them sick. Similarly, the belief that pepper was widely used as a preservative is questionable: it is true that piperine, the compound that gives pepper its spiciness, has some antimicrobial properties, but at the concentrations present when pepper is used as a spice, the effect is small.^[28] Salt is a much more effective preservative, and salt-cured meatswere common fare, especially in winter. However, pepper and other spices certainly played a role in improving the taste of long-preserved meats.

I always thought it was mayonnaise that was used to cover the taste of rotted meat… Well, you learn something new every day – even if it isn’t correct. Let’s look within!

KOKA Signature Black Pepper Fried Noodles – Singapore

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare, add noodle block to 400ml boiling water and cook 2 minutes. Drain. Add in sachet contents and combine. Finally, stir and enjoy!

The noodle block.

A dual sachet.

A peppery powder.

Oil.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added Dodo fish balls, coriander, fried onion from Waroeng Jajanan, and Salad Cosmo organic mung bean sprouts. The noodles came out as expected – nice gauge and chew and good for a dry instant noodle dish. The flavor was a nice black pepper one – not too strong that it’s unbearable – just right in this one. It coats everything but isn’t soupy at all. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8888056820016.

Koka Instant Noodles B l a c k P e p p e r Flavor 85g. Pack 5

KF Seetoh shows you how to make this popular singaporean crab

#2321: Sau Tao Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavour

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