The Origin of Noodles
NOODLES
Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is rolled flat and cut, stretched or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles can be refrigerated for short-term storage or dried and stored for future use.
Noodles are usually cooked in boiling water, sometimes with cooking oil or salt added. They are also often pan-fried or deep-fried. Noodle dishes can include a sauce or noodles can be put into soup. The material composition and geocultural origin is specific to each type of a wide variety of noodles.
The earliest Chinese noodles,don't appear as strands of dough- they were shaped into little bits, formed from bread dough, and thrown into a wok of boiling water. That kind of noodle, called mian pian, is still eaten in China.
Noodles are accepted by the people from all over the world. people use different foods to celebrate different events,such as Sweet dumplings for Lantern Festival,Moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival,... In aspects of Noodles, Chinese people have lots of customs, which essentially mean “human nature” and “worldly common sense” materialized in the noodles. At birthdays, people eat longevity noodles; at the time of marriage and moving into a new house people eat noodles with gravy, which means flavored life; on the day of lunar February 2 “dragon head”, people eat dragon whiskers noodles to look forward to good weather.
Classification of Noodles
There are thousands of varieties of noodles in China, according to the classification of the composition of noodles, the shapes of noodles, and the different gravy seasoning. The main compositions of noodles are wheat and rice. Most kinds of noodles are made of flour (the powder made from wheat).
In addition, noodles can be classified according to the thickness: they can be as thick as chopsticks or as thin as hair, such as the dragon beard noodles. Some can be classified according to the how they are made, such as hand-pulled noodles, shaved noodles, and so on.
They can also be classified according to the seasoning, such as Beijing fried bean sauce noodles and Shandong noodles with gravy. Others are classified according to cooking crafts, such as noodles mixed with scallion, oil, and soy sauce, noodles with quick-fried eel shreds and shelled shrimps, and so on.
Noodles are the epitome of versatility and flexibility, and it’s this adaptable nature that has contributed to its rise as a world renowned food. Noodles are eaten as pho in Vietnam, chow-chow in Nepal, seviyan in India and many other permutations and combinations throughout the globe. While the popularity of noodles is a widely accepted consensus, its origin is still a prominently debated subject. There are numerous contenders who have claimed to be the creators of the Noodle. Italians profess that they are the pioneers of this plant based food, whereas the Chinese argue that they invented this culinary sensation.
Noodles are believed to be originated in the East Asian country China, as ‘Bing’, during the early rule of the Han Dynasty. They were experimented and led to the evolution of different shapes and cooking methods.
Noodles gained cultural prominence through folklore with the emergence of Chinese superstitions.To a certain extent, noodles also reflect the cultural traditions and customs of China.
However, due to recent archeological discoveries it’s likely that noodles were around much prior to the rise of the Han Rule. Excavation sites have revealed that wheat grains and early production apparatuses existed from the early to late Neolithic period – an astounding ten thousand years before now.
The evidence which testifies is that the noodles was discovered among relics at the Lajia archeological site in Minhe County, Qinghai Province. After radio-dating ‘the noodles and bowl of noodles’ found at the site, it was disclosed that they were crafted and cooked four thousand years ago during the early Xia Dynasty. These archaeological findings provide us the physical evidence and reveal that the noodle has been closely interwoven into the Chinese society and their culinary practices for eons.
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| Noodles and noodle bowl discovered at Lajia site |
Other theories suggest noodles were first made in the Middle East and introduced to Italy by the Arabs. Italians are widely credited for popularizing the food in Europe and spreading it around the world.
The emergence of Pasta in Italy was formerly attributed to Marco Polo, a venetian explorer. He voyaged to China, and upon his return in 1295, he brought back copious amounts of spices and other discoveries which included noodles.In his book, “The Travels of Marco Polo,” there is a passage that briefly mentions his introduction to a plant that produced flour (possibly a “breadfruit tree”). The Chinese used this plant to create a meal similar to barley flour. Though Marco Polo brought various things on his return,noodles were already there in Polo’s time.
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| Ramen - form of Noodles |
Wheat noodles in Japan (Udon) were adapted from a chinese recipe as early as the 9th century. Innovations continued, such as noodles made with buckwheat (naengmyeon) were developed in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea between 1392 and 1897. Ramen noodles, based on southern Chinese noodle dishes from Guangzhou but named after the northern Chinese Lamian, became common in Japan by 1900.
By research it becomes clear that ramen was introduced to Japan in the form of noodles, from China. Chinese chefs, who migrated to Japan, began working and cooking meals featuring noodles at local restaurants. These foods gained more attention and was popularised throughout the country.
Ramen, in present day, has become a national staple food in post-war Japan. Even though noodles weren’t devised here, they have become a vital part of the country’s national identity.
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| 'Itriyah' - Dried Noodles |
Arabs played a role in the development and spread of boiled noodles or ‘itriyah’. They significantly influenced Italian food and culinary practices when they invaded the country in the 8thCentury AD. Their cuisine and culture was adopted in regions such as Sicily, where the spread of sweet and savory foods was observed after the Arabic conquest.
Kesme or Reshteh is an type of egg noodles eaten by Turkic people by the 13th century. Ash reshteh (noodles in thick soup with herbs) is one of the most popular Persian dishes in some Middle Eastern countries, such as Iran.
Types of noodles by Primary Ingredient
Wheat
- Bakmi: Indonesian Chinese yellow wheat noodles with egg and meat, usually pork.
- Chūka mem: Japanese for "Chinese noodles", used for ramen,champon,and yakisoba.
- Kesme: flat, yellow or reddish brown Central Asian wheat noodles.
- Kalguksu: knife-cut Korean noodles.
- Lamian: hand-pulled Chinese noodles.
- Mee Pok: flat, yellow chinese noodles, common in Southeast Asia.
- Pasta: Italian noodles typically made from durum wheat (semolina).
- Reshte: flat noodle, very pale in colour (almost white) used in Persian and Afghani cuisine.
- Somen: thin variety of Japanese wheat noodles, often coated with vegetable oil.
- Thukpa: flat Tibetan noodles.
- Udon: thicker variety of Japanese wheat noodles.
- Kishimen: flat variety of Japanese wheat noodles.
Rice
- Bánh phở , Vietnamese name of the Chinese rice noodles ho fun.
- Flat or thick rice noodles, also known as hé fěn or ho fun,kway teow or sen yai.
- Rice vermicelli: thin rice noodles, also known as mǐfěn or bee hoon or sen mee.
- Sevai, a variant of rice vermicelli common in South India.
- Idiyappam is an Indian rice noodle.
- mixian and migan noodles of southwest China.
- Khanom chin is a fermented rice noodle used in Thai cuisine.
Buckwheat
- Makguksu: local specialty of Gangwon Province in South Korea.
- Memil naengmyeon: Korean noodles made of buckwheat, slightly more chewy than soba.
- Soba: Japanese buckwheat noodles.
- Pizzoccheri: Italian buckwheat tagliatelle from Valtellina, usually served with a melted cheese sauce.
Egg
Egg noodles are made of a mixture of egg and flour.
- Youmian or thin noodles: Asian egg noodles common throughout China and Southeast Asia.
- Lochshen: wide egg noodles used in Eastern European Jewish cuisine.
- Kesme or erişte: Turkic egg noodles.
- Spätzle: Egg noodle generally associated with the southern German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
Noodles have been a staple food in many parts of the world for at least 2,000 years, though whether the modern version of the stringy pasta was first invented by the Chinese, Italians, or Arabs is debatable.
China was the inventor of the wheat and water based dough.However,every country takes this dough and molds it according to their culture and with the ingredients they had. Every noodle is separate from the other.Thus,there is no true inventor of the noodles,as it is continuously modified over time by people with different ingredients and in nations.
Source :
- wikipedia
- scholarblogs.emory.edu
- sciencedirect.com
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