Japan is thinking up ways to fight the heat as the country heads toward a summer faced with power shortages, Asahi Shimbun reports.

Japan’s top instant noodle maker, Nissin Food Holdings Co., has found a new way to serve cup noodles: mixed with lots of ice. A spokesman from Nissin told Asahi, “Our marketing department is constantly food-tasting to find new ways to enjoy our products, and last year during the huge energy crunch, one of the staff ended up mixing ice into the cup noodles.”

The unconventional way is particularly great with the soy-flavored Light Cup Noodles and, according to the company, it makes the noodles chewier and less salty. According to Nissin, Mat-June sales of the noodles have increased by 2.5 times on last year.

More food manufacturers are coming up with special cool food products tat are desirable during the summer heat. House Foods Corp. is selling instant cold curry while brewer Kirin offered ice cold draft beer topped with frozen froth.

Japan is facing power shortages during the summer when people are expected to double the use of airconditioners and electricity. With the Fukushima nuclear disaster that resulted in a nuclear shut down, Japan is at risk of another serious energy crunch. The government has urged its citizens to think of ways to conserve power.