Noodles, truly Asian food

Asian noodles

How people eat rice and the difference between Chinese and Korean ways of eating got me thinking about noodles.

Noodles are a truly Asian food. Before there was spaghetti, Marco Polo visited China, saw noodles (and probably tasted them), then brought noodles back to Italy. Today, pasta is made by machine, but the Chinese still make noodles by hand. There are so many traditional ways to make noodles. Just to name a few: hand pulling, cutting the flat dough into strips with a knife, sitting on a long bunch of bamboo sticks and jumping up and down over the dough to cut it up.

Regardless of how it is made, noodles are long strings of dough that can be tricky to eat. Is there a correct way to eat noodles? It all depends on which country you are in. Can you use chopsticks? That would help a lot.

In general, noodles are fried or served in soup. Fried noodles that are dry may be easier to eat, since they will not splash gravy onto your clothes. When the fried noodles have gravy or noodle soup, you will need a spoon to help you. Many websites tell you to slurp up the soup noisily (the louder, the better) to compliment the host. However, that practice is outdated. We Asians have adopted the Western ways of eating quietly. The only noise we should hear is that of friendly chatter, not slurping. Even the Japanese today will frown on someone slurping up his soup. It just isn't the norm anymore.

So before you go anywhere new, do read up on the Do's and Don'ts of a culture, but don't take what you read as truth. It's best to observe the locals and ask as many questions as you like. What impresses your host most is not how much you know about their culture but how eager you are to learn about them.

Have fun! Learn the language in the process and impress your hosts even further!

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