I almost burned my flat down while following viral cup noodle recipe, says Chinese woman

Following a viral cup noodle recipe turned into a disaster for one woman in China who said she almost burned down her flat. 

Chuang Qiaoyu took to Chinese social media last Tuesday (Feb 22) to recount her mishap. 

"Because of a cup of instant noodles, I almost burned down my flat," she wrote. 

Chuang had come across a recipe for making steamed egg using leftover soup from cup noodles, which piqued her curiosity. 

The instructions also seemed simple enough — add two beaten eggs to the leftover soup and pop it into the microwave for a maximum of two minutes. 

"However, after two or three minutes, the cup suddenly caught fire, and there was smoke coming out from the microwave," Chuang recounted in her post. 

Luckily, she managed to put out the fire after switching off the microwave. 

In the same post, Chuang also shared some possible reasons for the accident. 

"Here's where I made a mistake. Cup noodles aren't meant to be put in the microwave, and I didn't remove the aluminium foil cover before heating it up. 

"The aluminium foil sparked in the microwave, and the cup noodles caught fire." 

So, is it actually safe to heat up cup noodles using a microwave? 

Yes, according to an experiment done by YouTube channel HuntingWaterfalls — but do be mindful of the cup noodle's packaging. 

These include aluminium foil lids such as Chuang's case and those that come in styrofoam cups, which can pose a health risk when heated in a microwave. 

Chinese teen dies after failed popcorn-making attempt 

While Chuang may have gotten away with only a ruined microwave, another teen who attempted to follow another viral food video wasn't so lucky. 

In 2019, 14-year-old Zhou and her 12-year-old friend Peng saw a video that taught viewers how to make popcorn using a drink can. 

Following the video's instructions, the two placed corn kernels in an empty aluminium can and lit alcohol in another aluminium can that was placed below it.

Due to the high alcohol content, their contraption exploded when Zhou attempted to light it, causing the two girls to suffer severe burns. 

Both were taken to the hospital. 

Zhou suffered burns on 96 per cent of her body and eventually succumbed to her injuries two weeks later. 

Peng survived the incident and was not in critical condition.

ALSO READ: 'She set the noodles on fire': Woman's disastrous cooking journey videos a hit in China

claudiatan@asiaone.com