Misua noodle making in Lukang, Taiwan

The noodle is a type of staple food made from some type of unleavened dough which is rolled flat and cut into one of a variety of shapes. While long thin strips may be the most common, many varieties of noodles are cut into waves, helices, tubes, strings, shells, folded over, or cut into other shapes. Noodles are usually cooked in boiling water, sometimes with cooking oil or salt added, but are often pan fried or deep fried. Noodles can be refrigerated for short-term storage, or dried and stored for future use.

In English usage, the word "noodle" is an inclusive term that denotes texture and culinary use, and to a lesser extent, shape, as many people may associate it with the more common string varieties, such as spaghetti or ramen. Material composition or geocultural origin must usually be specified. However, the actual word derives from the German Nudel.^[1]

History[link]

In 2002,^[2] archaeologists found an earthenware bowl containing the world's oldest known noodles, measured to roughly 4000 years BP through radiocarbon dating, at the Lajia archaeological site along the Yellow River in China.^[3] The noodles were found well-preserved.^[2][4] They were described as resembling the traditional lamian noodle of China, which is made by "repeatedly pulling and stretching the dough by hand."^[3] The composition of the oldest noodles was studied by a team of Chinese researchers, who determined that the noodles were made from foxtail millet and broomcorn millet.^[2][3][4][5] The earliest written record of noodles is found in a book dated to the Eastern Han period (25–220) of China.^[4] Noodles, often made from wheat dough, became a staple food for people of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE).^[6]

Asia[link]

Wheat noodles in Japan (udon) were adapted from a Chinese recipe by a Buddhist monk as early as the 9th century. Reshteh noodles were eaten by the people of Persia by the 13th century. Innovations continued, as for example, noodles made from kudzu (naengmyeon) were developed in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea (1392–1897). Ramen noodles, based on Chinese noodles, became popular in Japan by 1900.

Instant noodles were invented by Momofuku Ando and first marketed in Japan in 1958.^[7] According to Ando's method, a bundle of fresh noodles are flash-fried, which dries them out and provides for a long shelf life.

Europe and the Near East[link]

In the 1st century BCE, Horace wrote of fried sheets of dough called lagana.^[8][9] In the 2nd century CE, the Greek physician Galen mentioned itrion, made of flour and water.^[10] The Jerusalem Talmud records that itrium, a kind of boiled dough,^[10] was common in what currently is known as Israel from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD,^[11][12] Arabs adapted noodles for long journeys in the 5th century, the first written record of dry pasta. Durum wheat pasta was introduced by Libyian Arabs during their conquest of Sicily in the late 7th century^[13] The 9th century Arab physician Isho bar Ali defines itriyya, the Arabic cognate of the Hebrew word, as string-like shapes made of semolina and dried before cooking.^[14] Muhammad al-Idrisi, wrote in 1154 that itriyya was manufactured and exported from Norman Sicily. The first recognizable reference to modern versions of pasta products in Italy dates to the 13th or 14th century.^[13] Pasta has taken on a variety of shapes, often based on regional specializations.

In the area that would become Germany, written mention of Spätzle has been found in documents dating from 1725, although medieval illustrations are believed to place this noodle at an even earlier date.^[15]

Types of noodles by primary ingredient[link]

Wide, uncooked egg noodles.

Idiyappam, Indian rice noodles.

Types of noodle dishes[link]

A simple noodle soup consisting of Soy sauce and Sesame oil.

• Basic noodles: These are cooked in water or broth, then drained. Other foods can be added (for example a pasta sauce) or the noodles are added to other foods (see fried noodles) or the noodles can be served plain with a dipping sauce or oil to be added at the table. In general, noodles are soft and absorb flavors.
• Frozen noodles: noodles are sometimes served in a salad. An example is the Thai glass noodle salad.
• Fried noodles: dishes made of noodles stir fried with various meats, seafood, vegetables, and dairy products. Typical examples include chow mein, lo mein, mee goreng, hokkien mee, some varieties of pancit, yakisoba, and pad thai.
• Noodle soup: noodles served in broth. Examples are phở, beef noodle soup, chicken noodle soup, ramen, laksa, saimin, and batchoy.
• Noodle casseroles: lasagna, kugel, tuna casserole, baked ziti, timballo, and pastitsio
• Cup noodles
• Instant noodles

See also[link]

Look up noodle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Noodles

Food portal

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Dickie, John (2008), Delizia! The Epic History of Italians and Their Food, New York 
• Serventi, Silvano; Françoise Sabban (2002), Pasta: The Story of a Universal Food, Trans. Antony Shugaar, New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 10, ISBN 0-231-12442-2