These are noodle soups or dry noodle dishes that come out of a packet in dehydrated form and can be converted into 'edible' form by 3 minutes of cooking in hot water. They are also called instant noodles. Sometimes, they can be seen disguised in a cup (Pot noodles). IMHO, Asian ones are usually far superior to western ones. If you've bought some, you might be wondering how to make edible 3 minute noodles.