Over the weekend, former hostage Emily Damari tried to explain to her 276,000 Instagram followers why a packet of "Gaza-style" instant noodles moved her so deeply.
In a long series of Instagram stories, Emily excitedly presented Indomie, describing it as the instant noodles of Gaza, as she cooked it for her girlfriend, Daniel, and convinced her to enjoy it the way she once did in captivity.
"I'm literally eating Indomie on Israeli soil. Indomie is like the instant noodles of Gazans. Once in a while, when we begged, they would bring us one packet, and we would save it for a rough day," the emotional Damari shared with her hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, explaining that the person who brought her the Indomie this time was fellow former hostage Liri Albag.
"Lira [Liri Albag], my sister, was in Kafr Qasim today and found this and bought it for me," she shared enthusiastically, adding that "it's so great that today I can make two, and if I want more, I can make more." As she tasted the noodle plate she had prepared for herself and Daniel, she said she had goosebumps. She also shared that it brought her back in a second, but to a magical moment – a moment representing those rare times when the captors provided them with a packet of noodles, which they guarded fiercely and ate over a long period. "What a victory to eat this here as much as I want, whenever I want. Nothing is taken for granted," she concluded.
Gaza's instant noodels? Not exactly
Emily's story, unsurprisingly, went viral and garnered hundreds of comments from followers in threads on posts that followed, expressing curiosity about the "Gaza-style instant noodels," except that meal doesn't actually come from Gaza at all.
Indomie is an Indonesian instant noodles brand that conquered the world and is produced by Indofood, Indonesia's instant noodles pioneer and one of the world's largest noodle producers with 19 billion packages per year.
The brand began its journey in 1972 with its first flavor – Indomie Chicken flavor, a rich and comforting chicken soup that included wheat-based firm noodles, an aromatic seasoning mix with fresh garlic, coriander and ginger, and sweet-spicy seasonings creating an addictive, authentic taste like a traditional Indonesian home-cooked meal, based on well-seasoned dishes like rendang and slow-cooked tender meats.
This combination of initial crispness that dissolves into a smooth texture, balanced spiciness and gentle sweetness turned the meal into an instant hit, and in 1982 the first Mi Goreng dry noodles (without soup) were launched, inspired by Indonesia's traditional fried noodles dish, breaking through the instant noodles market and capturing a huge market share in Indonesia.
The brand, whose name combines the words "Indo" (Indonesia) and "mi" (noodles), was born inspired by Japanese noodles invented in 1958 and quickly became a symbol of cheap and filling convenience, now available in more than 100 countries including Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, with the popular brand having a dedicated website in many countries including information about it, recipes, forums and even online games around it.
Indomie's popularity, like many "comfort foods," stems from its low price standing at about 30 cents per package in Indonesia, and a high calorie count providing a quick meal. The brand conquered Southeast Asia, Africa (especially Nigeria, where it became a generic name for noodles due to rapid population growth), the Middle East and Europe, thanks to halal certification suitable for Muslim cultures, customized local flavors like chicken, vegetables and chicken curry, and smart marketing. In developing regions, it serves as a staple food for students, busy workers and families on limited budgets.
The popular brand's connection to Gaza – and Gilad Shalit
It's not surprising that Emily specifically mentions Indomie as the comfort food given to her and her fellow captives. In Gaza, Indomie has become a symbol of longing and hope during periods of crisis and severe food shortages, as documented online, in news reports and in videos of residents whose children begged for it for long months and compared it to "forbidden" or dream food.
Its popularity there stems from the ease of preparing it in its basic form (cooked in boiling water for about three minutes), its availability in international humanitarian aid and its relatively low price compared to fresh or local food, making it a stable and comforting nutrition source during times of hunger and siege.
Emily isn't the first Israeli hostage whose paths crossed with the popular brand. The one who "got" to taste the popular brand years before her was former IDF soldier and hostage Gilad Shalit, who as remembered was kidnapped to Gaza in 2005. Hamas commander Marwan Issa, considered the de facto commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, revealed at the time in an interview with a program broadcast on Al Jazeera a photo of Shalit eating the famous noodles, a photo that later served for malicious jokes against Shalit online.
A package price ranges from 0.60-0.80 euros (about 2.5-3.5 shekels) in Europe, cheaper in Indonesia, and in Israel around 8-12 shekels ($2-3.50) per single package or less in large quantities. It can be purchased in Asian supermarkets, in large chains that ship to Israel like Amazon (where prices can also exceed 100 shekels, more than $27, in some cases) and in Israel in several shops and grocery stores mainly in Jaffa and other mixed cities.
