By Chandler Smith, Morgan Falkenhagen, Meg Demaar, Yilan Luo & Matthew Terrell
You’re at your favorite Chinese restaurant. The air is full of the savory scent of delicious cuisine being specially prepared for your enjoyment. As you scan the menu your mouth begins to water in anticipation of the meal to come. Your eyes meet the noodle section of the menu and you are overcome with a wave of confusion. What are these noodles!?!? Broad rice noodle?! Stir fried rice noodles?! Fried egg noodle?! Lo mein noodle!?! Flat rice noodles!?!? What could this all mean!? Look no further… all your noodles questions will soon be answered!
Noodles are a big part of Chinese cuisine and vary from region to region across China. According to Hollman in his work The Land of the Five Flavors: A Cultural History of Chinese Cuisine, “No other country in the world can look back on a history of four thousand years of noodles” (Hollman). Where did these noodles come from?! The origin of noodles is a mystery. Some say Marco Polo brought pasta from China (spaghetti derived from mein and ravioli from chiao-tzu), but that hypothesis is probably wrong (Chang 303).
Noodles come in all different shapes and sizes. According to Chang, noodles are usually nothing but flour and water- meaning the flavor usually comes within the added ingredients. Hokkien speakers use mi as spaghetti-like noodles, mi sua for thinner ones, and kue thiau for wide flat ones (81). The most common types of noodles are wheat flour noodles, rice noodles, and cellophane noodles. Wheat flour noodles are the most popular type and come in different varieties including with or without egg, thin or thick, white or yellow, fresh or dried, and chewy or soft.
- Charli James explains these different types of Chinese noodles in this great video from About.com.
History of Noodles:
The western Qin writer Shu Hsi states that in the late third and early fourth centuries, flour eating was an art for a cook’s skillful hands and fingers for molding the flour dough into a variety of shapes. After the noodles are cooked, many popular ways to preparing noodles include the use of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame, bamboo sauce, and mushroom and shrimp sauce to flavor the dish (Chang 87).
Noodles are not the same everywhere! According to Thomas Höllmann, author of The Land of the Five Flavors, there are five main noodle production techniques (Hollman). These techniques have an impact on the overall thinness and length of the noodle. Sliced noodles (qiemian), which are used nationwide, are easily made by simply cutting the noodle with a knife. Pulled noodles (lamian) are mainly used in northern China. To perfect the ancient practice of forming the noodles into threads by pulling on them with both hands, it would take many years of training. Pressed noodles (yamian) are mainly used in northeastern China. The process of making this type of noodle involves pressing the noodle through a punctured bowl. This way of shaping the noodle is more time efficient than forming the noodle by hand. Thread noodles (xianmian) are primarily used in southeastern China. This type of noodle is formed by hand and then hung onto a device which is used to lengthen the noodles. Lastly, rope noodles (suomian), which are used in northwestern China, are made by bundling strands of noodles into one, causing the noodle to be thick. If you are trying to impress someone, invite them over for dinner and cook noodles using these techniques and show them how great of a cook you are!
- Check this blogger’s experience taking a noodle making class in Beijing! The Art of Hand Pulled Noodles: Tiny Urban Kitchen
New types of Noodles??
Despite tens of different ingredients and methods of making Chinese noodles we mention above, some entrepreneurs as well as scientists are still exploring ways to make new kinds of “Chinese noodle”. For example, there is a study of the effect of incorporation of clear flour on the quality of Chinese noodles done by students from Chinese Culture University. Surprisingly, the result is very promising: “Incorporation of clear flour improve . . . the textural attributes of cooked noodle, and revealed the greater mouth-feel and overall acceptance” (Lin 332). This type of noodles may soon appear on the market, adding more variety to the existed complicated noodles market in China
Noodles, Noodles Everywhere!
Our team, Chandler Smith, Meg Demaar, Yilan Luo, Matthew Terrell, and Morgan Falkenhagen, travelled to downtown Greenville to experience firsthand the vast noodle variety at Yap! Malaysian Cuisine.We are all freshmen at Furman University and are a part of the First-Year Seminar Debunking the Myths of China. Although we all hail from different backgrounds, we have experienced Chinese food together firsthand with a Chinese chef and at a local Chinese restaurant. Although Yap! is a Malaysian restaurant, we determined the noodle quality and variety was suitable to our discussion of Chinese noodles. As we looked over the menu, we discovered a surprising amount of noodles varieties with many different flavors and sauces. We all decided to order different noodle dishes to get a broad range of textures, shapes, and flavors. Read our experiences below!
Chandler ordered the curry lo mein in a dish called Curry Laksa which had a rich coconut sauce and many different proteins in addition to the noodles: tofu, shrimp, fish cake, and chicken. While the different meats were confusing at times (there was a lot going on in a single dish), the sauces was delicious. The curry flavor was overwhelming but the noodles helped tame the spice and offered a nice texture. The lo mein noodles were flat egg noodles and were yellow in color. Their taste came from the coconut sauce and curry but the firm texture made the dish very appetizing.
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Meg ordered the broad rice noodles in a dish called Penang Char Kueh Teow. The noodles were not Meg’s favorite she has tried, but it was nice to experience something new and different. The group agreed that the sauce was the perfect level of spiciness. All the vegetables and meats were perfectly stir fried and seasoned and every ingredient added up to a phenomenal final product. At the beginning of the meal Meg was a little unsettled by the presence of tofu in the dish. But it turns out when paired with noodles tofu is delicious! ________________________________________________________________________________
Yilan ordered the flat rice noodles in a dish called Wat Tan Ho. Havinglived in Southeast part of China for 17 years, where wheat flour noodles are common, , Yilan hardly had any flat rice noodles. The experience of eating flat rice noodles at Yap was very new to Yilan. The noodles were braised with shrimp, pork, and different kinds of vegetables. Although Yilan didn’t enjoy the smooth and chewy texture of the noodles, the perfect mixture of various ingredients gave an unspeakable sensation to Yilan’s mouth.
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Morgan ordered the Malaysian Indian Mee Goreng with fried egg noodles. This dish includes shrimp, egg, fishcake and tofu with a soy tomato chili sauce. Morgan was also worried like Meg about the tofu but it turned out to go nicely with the spaghetti-like noodles. It was more on the spicy side being that the chili sauce was incorporated. The fried egg was also a nice addition, a little different having a full egg instead of chopped pieces but went well with the noodles.
Interested in Yap! Malaysian Cuisine? They are conveniently located in downtown Greenville, SC. For more information, click here. Stop by and try some delicious noodles or choose another dish from their vast menu.
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Warning:
Do you ever feel like your noodles are so delicious that you can’t stop eating them? According to the BBC News, “A Chinese noodle shop owner has admitted to lacing his wares with opium poppy seeds, in an apparent effort to keep customers coming back.” Evidently, the use of poppy seeds in restaurant dishes has been outlawed in China due to their addictive nature, however this seller found this to be an effective tool to keep his customers coming back!
Want to impress your friends and host a cultrual dinner party? Here’s a popular dish recipe that will have you wanting noodles everyday! [But don’t worry, they aren’t actually addictive]:
Ching’s Midnight Dan Dan Noodles
Interested in learning more? Have any questions? Contact us.
And See Also:
Is China Polluting Environmental Activism?
iPhony: Fake Products Produced in China Hurting World Economy
Bibliography:
Want to do some deeper research? Find our sources below.
Chang, K.C. Food in Chinese Culture. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1977.
“China: Restaurant ‘sold opium-laced noodles.'” BBC News. Last modified September 23, 2014. Accessed March 31, 2015.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-29312562.
Höllmann, Thomas O., and Karen Margolis. 2014. The land of the five flavors: a cultural history of Chinese cuisine. http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ebl/eblRedirect.php?id=1531172.
James, Charli. “Different Types of Chinese Noodles”. About.com video. 2:07.
http://video.about.com/chinesefood/Different-Types-of-Chinese-Noodles.htm
Su-Yi, Lin, et al. “Effects of Incorporation of Clear Flour on the Quality of Chinese Noodles.” Italian Journal Of Food Science 24, no. 4 (October 2012): 332-338. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 1, 2015).
Hi, nice to visit this site. I really enjoyed read such an interesting article like this,
I found this blog very interesting because I didn’t know there were so many different type of noodles! I also loved the pictures of noodles and it seemed like you guys had a lot of fun trying them
This was my favorite post! I thought you guys did a great job of explaining all the different types of dishes and providing great pictures! It makes me want to go to Yap! now.
Great writing style! Love the opening and the way you continue to engage the reader. Your post, however, has no hyperlinks within the actually post itself. The only one there is is for the video, and it is rather awkwardly placed at that. Also, consider making your hotlinks open a new tab, instead of navigating me away from the page, because it makes it hard to stay with the post while looking up your sources.
I found this post to be very engaging and informative. The title, “Talk Noodle to Me” drew me in to read the blog. I did not know there were so many different kinds of noodles. I am used to eating a lot of pasta, coming from an Italian Heritage. however, I have not heard of many of these types of noodles. I like how you connected your post to your experiences in a Chinese restaurant with noodles. I think that brings in a new perspective since you experienced it. As far as improving the post, I think you could do more with the photos. The photographs are meant to add to your ideas. I think captions on the photos would be extremely helpful.
Should be “Höllmann, Thomas O., and Karen Margolis. 2014. The land of the five flavors: a cultural history of Chinese cuisine. http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ebl/eblRedirect.php?id=1531172.”
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Very readable and engaging format to this blog entry! As others have said, be sure to link more in the text itself.
I am wondering if the original really was written ‘mein’ in this quote. It’s from an older pinyin system so it’s possible, it’s just not standard in today’s Chinese. “Some say Marco Polo brought pasta from China (spaghetti derived from mein and ravioli from chiao-tzu), but that hypothesis is probably wrong (Chang 303).”
“From the video on (About.com)” — Instead of this, try something like, “According to the video by XYZ on About.com” , or, use the video’s name. And then, either embed the video (choose the ‘get code’ option on the video page) or link to it. In this case, it’s hard to know who created the video, but you could credit Charli by saying, “As Charli James explains in her About.com video…”
“According to Thomas Höllmann” — was this on a specific page number that he discussed noodles?
The quote you use says ‘improve’, but when I searched for the article online, it read: “However, incorporation of clear flour improved the tensile force, the textural attributes of cooked noodle, and revealed the greater mouth-feel and overall acceptance.” There is an extra phrase here (tensile force) — if you don’t want to use it, you’ll need to use ellipses (…) to indicate you are skipping something.
The personal experiences work well, but perhaps add another line of introduction explaining who ‘our group’ involves? You could also indicate in the captions who you all are.
Last of all, the 3 sentences of the conclusion need to be better integrated. You ought to explain the opium part more, and before you introduce a recipe, you should explain why it connects to the previous sentences. Say something about it, too. “These pork noodles that Qiu Xizhen raved about will be a perfect dish for a lunch with friends” or something else entirely. But be sure to connect each of the separate statements.
I really loved the blog’s title. It instantly grabs reader’s attention. Your introduction too is really engaging.Your content is really rich and gives out a lot of information on different kinds of noodles. However, I do suggest you guys to add caption to your photos and maybe even add the noodle’s type in photos. This, I believe, will make it easier for us visualize your description of noodles.
I really enjoyed this post! It’s interesting that there’s a variety of noodles that you can choose from. One of the things I like most about this blog is it takes it from a personal account. You incorporated your own pictures and critique of the noodles. Also, good idea to include the link to the recipe! Make sure to include photo credits!
I really enjoyed this post and how it incorporated lots of vivid description about the food as well as pictures of each dish. Just reading about some of the dishes was enough to make my mouth water! I like how you all laid out the blog, with the descriptions of the different types of noodles coming first and then your experiences with several different dishes. The only suggestion I would add is that you should go through and proofread the post quickly for a few grammatical errors.
I really enjoyed your post. Very informative and interesting, I really liked how you went into a lot of depth on your subject and you seem to have a lot of knowledge on the subject. However, I would suggest making your photos more in line with text, or having them text wrapped just for clarity and formatting design.
I thought this was a very interesting topic to blog about. What I really liked about this post in particular was the integration of personal pictures and explanations that came along with it. My only suggestion is to make sure that any website in-text citing have the source hyperlinked directly in the text.
I really enjoyed learning about the different types of noodles! I thought your blog post was well put together and thought it was a great subject. It was interesting to learn how many different types of noodles there were. I really enjoyed that you guys were able to incorporate Yap into your research!
Wow! I didn’t know that there were that many different types of noodles. This is very interesting and I really enjoyed learning about the different kinds. What is the history about why and how different parts of China have different kinds of noodles? I would be interested to see that included in the post as well. I loved reading about yap! and seeing all the different types of dishes that everyone tried. Chinese food is so foreign and different to me and this post inspired me to read more about it and learn more.
During my research, I learned that China and Italy both claim to have invented the noodle. Im sure people in China and the authors of this blog post would have something to say about that! Here is the link to the article.
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/08/the-history-of-noodles-how-a-simple-food-became-a-worldwide-staple/278637/
I agree! If you take all the noodles there are in the Italian and Chinese food cultures…well…you have a lot of noodles. What is even more interesting though is finding out the purpose of the noodle that is to say, why it is so specific to a certain dish or with a specific food group.
Moreover, I would bet my money on China creating the noodle first. The Chinese are one of the oldest forms of civilization and have created so many useful thing in our world, adding noodles to the list would not surprise me at all.