eli5- How does instant food (that says to just add boiling water) cook?

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Today i picked up an indian rice type snack from the supermarket called poha (i live in india btw) and you just need to add boiling water and leave it aside for just 3 minutes. How does this cook? Like ik the pressure and steam all help but is this already cooked halfway and if i eat raw what will happen etc. ?

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21 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s already cooked, or at least par-cooked, and then dehydrated. Adding warm water rehydrates the food and warms it up (or finishes cooking if needed).

Noodles, for example, in cup ramen are (usually) deep fried, which cooks and dehydrates them at the same time, and you can eat them while dry if you enjoy that. (can’t say the same for every other food, so probably better not go around eating dehydrated food).

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