Know your noodles

Noodles are everywhere, well, not literally, but they are a global staple. There are hundreds of varieties made from dozens of ingredients, served hot or cold and served for breakfast and even for dessert.

There’s hand-pulled, rolled, extruded, gluten free and vegan noodles. With so many varieties, here at GetAway Travel we urge you to not fear the noodle and go forth and adventurously try them where ever you may roam.

The difference between noodles and pasta is primarily the ingredients. Italy has the market cornered on pasta with more than 350 varieties made from durum wheat semolina. Pasta can be sheeted, extruded and rolled. Noodles, traditionally Asian, are made from a variety of flours or starches and are usually rolled, pulled or cut.

Iconic noodles include Japanese ramen and udon, Chinese chow mien, Vietnamese pho, Italian pasta, Thai pad Thai and Filipino pancit.

Order them at restaurants, try them from street vendors and embrace the noodles of the countries where you travel. GetAway Travel stands ready to help you plan your next travel adventure and rest assured, noodles are included.

Basic noodle knowledge

 Noodles were invented in China, (gasp, not Italy? — no, China). The earliest recorded kind of noodles was from about 4,000 years ago in China. The noodle concept traveled across Asia and eventually landed in Europe. In Japan they evolved into soba and udon, Korea made them as japchae and they became a main ingredient in Vietnamese pho.

Italy took the noodle concept and ran with it. From the somewhat pedestrian spaghetti to the ear-shaped orchiaetta, Italy knows how to noodle.

The instant noodle dish, Ramen, is a late comer to noodle history. It started out as a street food sometime before 1910 but evolved into the dried noodle with broth packaged variety in 1958.

East and Southeast Asia

 China lays claim to a wide variety of noodles from hand-pulled wheat and egg to cellophane or bean thread noodles.

Vermicelli noodles can be found throughout Asian countries. Vermicelli noodles are thinner than spaghetti, but are made of wheat in Italy and rice in the Asian countries. Their delicate shape goes well with bright sharp flavors, like in protein bowls, rather than with thick, heavy sauces.

Ho fun noodles in China are wider rice noodles and they are used in stir fry or soups. You will also find dishes featuring cellophane noodles which are thin, almost transparent noodles made of starch and water. The glossy noodles are found in other Asian countries and can be made from sweet potato, potato, tapioca, arrow root or mung bean starch.

Thick, chewy buckwheat noodles are called udon noodles in Japan. Soba noodles are thinner and are served in hot or cold dishes. They have a nutty, earthy flavor, a texture softer than spaghetti and are gluten free. Somen noodles are made of the same dough, but they are stretched and the dough is oiled making them thin and lighter. They are most often featured in cold, summer dishes.

Japchae noodles in Korean dishes are made from sweet potato starch or the fiber of the konjac yam and in the Philippines noodles dishes are referred to as pancit and the dishes are usually stir fried.

The most popular noodle dish in Indonesia is Soto Ayam, a chicken noodle soup.

Europe, the Americas and the Mideast

 Italy is the epicenter of the noodle world. There are shapes made to absorb sauces and handle heavy as well as lighter dishes.

In Germany and Hungary you can find thick egg noodles and also, a softer and almost dumpling-like noodle.

Spain’s favorite noodle dish is fideuà, a seafood dish with thin, short noodles similar to vermicelli.

The U.S embraces noodles from around the world, from ramen to spaghetti to macaroni and cheese.

A pan-fried noodle dish, where the noodles are then simmered in a sauce, is sopa seca and you find it in Mexico.

Peru’s comfort food noodle dish is tallarines verdes. It is noodles with a green sauce of spinach, basil, fresh cheese, garlic, and evaporated milk.

Ptitim is a toasted pasta dish in Israel and in Lebanon, macaroon bil taum is dumpling-like noodle in a lemon garlic sauce.

Some noodle notes

 The rarest noodle is filindeu. It is made in the Barbara region of Sardinia and it is made by pulling and folding semolina dough into very thin threads which are then laid in three layers on a tray. They dry to an almost textile-like sheet.

Vietnam leads the world in noodle consumption.

One of the most popular noodle dessert dishes is Vermicelli Kunafa, a Middle Eastern dessert. It is roasted vermicelli with sugar syrup layered with cream cheese, cream, nuts and dried fruit. And in the Persian Gulf region, you can have noodles for breakfast. Balaleet is sweetened vermicelli mixed with cardamon, rose water and saffron. It is usually served with an omelet with sautéed onions or potatoes.

Now that you know a little about noodles, GetAway Travel can help you learn a lot about travel. Your travel advisor is ready to plan your trip, and perhaps give you some noodle advice. We can be reached at:  (262) 538-2140, e-mail: sue@getaway.travel or paul@getaway.travel