CULINARY
JUNE 10, 2021
the History of noodles And the chinese culture behind it
Noodle is a very common food in the world. We can find this meal everywhere in every country especially in Chinese restaurants. But what is the history of noodles and origin of this food actually ?
So far the oldest evidence of noodles was found in China from 4ooo years ago. It was discovered at the Laija archaeological site by a team of archaeologists in 2005. They reported an earthenware bowl that contained 4000 year-old noodles that were said to resemble lamian, a type of Chinese noodles.
Before the discovery, the earliest record of noodles appears in a book written during the Han Dynasty sometime between 25 and 220 AD in China. To some points, noodles also reflect the cultural traditions and lots of customs of the Chinese people.
It essentially means “human nature” and “worldly common sense” materialized in the noodles. It also plays many roles in the aspects of religion and economy, for instance people use special food to celebrate important events and festivals.
The word ‘noodles’ comes to English from the German nudel. Most likely comes from knodel or nutel, an old German word meaning “dumpling” or a “turd” or “small knot”. The nudel usually made of wheat flour, butter and milk and it is considered different from the Italian pasta. The word noodles itself didn’t hit English tongues until the 18th century.
And one thing to remember; Marco Polo didn’t bring noodles to Italy or to China. The food were already all over the place by the time he traveled around the Silk Road.
In the United States, waves of German immigrants in 19th century brought the meal to popularity in the land of new hope. This was reflected in 1904 in the German quarter of New York City with locals making fresh noodles for daily consumption.
While in Japan, noodles first reached the Sakura country during the Heian period around 9th century, but it just became popular in the late 1800’s. After the World War II, Japan had hard times including food supply. Long lines to buy ramen were common at the time.
It was during this period that instant ramen noodles was created by a Taiwanese-born Japanese man, Momofuku Ando. He was inspired to create instant food to feed his war-torn country. But it didn’t come out until 1958 when Japan had postwar economic boom.
Initially, Ando would pack his creation in a plastic pouch to protect the noodles from air and moisture and named it Chicken Ramen. It was quickly becoming a hit and by 1963 sold over 200 million annually.
Today, noodles are accepted by people all over the world. In China alone, there are thousands of varieties of noodles according to the classification of the shape of noodles, seasoning gravy, cooking craft, and so on. Many kind of noodles have local unique characteristics. The invention of instant noodles and their mass production also greatly changed the noodle industry worldwide.
So in the mean time, enjoy your noodles whatever the way you cook it !
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