What to do with Maggi Nigerian Cubes

jinnywren

Got these today in Tescos.
Are they as strong as Oxo cubes?
What flavour are they, it's not very clear on bag.
They're much smaller than Oxo so how many would I use.
When I make soup in pressurecooker, half filled, I normally use 2 cubes of Oxo.
Thanks

Finefoot

I use them as stock cubes for meat dishes. use it just like oxo.

esmf73

Wow never heard of Nigerian cubes, will have to look out for them. I would think that they are a little bit more salty than oxo and may be a bit spicy. To see if you like them, why not stir one into 1/2 pt hot water and then taste?

dogstarheaven

are these the v small cubes in bright yellow packaging sold in a bag of 100 or so for £1.50 odd? i don't think these are Nigerian- specific. they just happen to be in the ethnic food section of Asda or Tesco's that i've noticed. i bought these ages ago, and love them. i tend to use them to provide a noodle stock base. as an alternative to using real meat stock these work v well as a cheat's version. firstly, i fry up some cooking bacon (bought £1.50 for 800g pack from sainsbury's - lasts for ages) till slightly caramalised, then add water, med heat for 5mins. add any veg, i use iceberg, rocket, anything green really and lightly cook for a min or so. drain veg but saving the stock. add back to pan and bring to boil before you add you choice of noodles to reheat for a min or so. add to bowl with your bacon and veg on top..
i love Udon noodles that are made by Amoy (you can buy in sainsbury's or tesco's) or from a chinese s/market. other noodles, could be the Ramen egg noodles that are as cheap as chips....or some seafood flavoured ones, or rice vermicelli.. or done very cheaply.

babyshoes

If they are the ones I got recently, beware of the salt and MSG content... They are quite a subtle flavour but would be nice as a soup base.

dogstarheaven

jennywren: sorry! i didn't read your original post about the amount of these cubes to use. if i were to use these for a pressure cooker, i'd use 2 cubes and that would be enough seasoning for a family size meal. in my noodle soup dish for one person, i'd use just one.

presumably, there is MSG or salt in these, but then again MSG is in almost every kind of ready-made packaged foods nowadays (crisps, canned and jarred food, fast food chains, even OXO. there are many guises it's listed under.. like E621, but avoid E620-625 as they also contain glutamate). if you were one of the evangelical health purist-types, then obviously, you wouldn't be buying stock cubes anyway, and be making your own from scratch.

re. using the cubes as a substitute for OXO isn't really the same thing, as it is only for creating a stock, whereas OXO's a stock base and a gravy as it will have some kind of thickener to give it that consistency. you can always use 2 maggi's and then when the cooking's almost finished, slacken some cornflour with a bit of water to thicken your sauce. this way you can get flavour in your meal w/o spending too much on stockcubes!

hope this helps;)