Noodle Dishes
1 min readIf noodles bring bliss, then China is noodle nirvana. Although noodles have been eaten in many parts of the world for at least 2,000 years, in 2002, archaeologists found an earthenware bowl containing the world’s oldest known noodles—4,000 years old!—along China’s Yellow River, ending the debate—at least for now—on who first invented these slippery delights.
While those well-preserved noodles were made from millet, one of the five sacred grains of ancient China, today’s noodles are generally made from wheat flour, rice flour, or mung bean starch. Wheat noodles are more commonly produced and consumed in northern China, while rice noodles are more typical of southern China; cellophane noodles, usually made from mung bean starch and, sometimes, other starches such as yam, potato, and tapioca, are eaten throughout the various regions.
In Chinese, miàn (often transliterated as ―mien‖ or ―mein‖) refers to noodles made from wheat, while feˇn (often transliterated as ―fun‖) refers to noodles made from rice flour, mung bean starch, or any kind of starch. From Cellophane Noodles in Spicy Peanut Sauce, to Mixed Vegetable Lo Mein, to Rice Noodles with Chinese Broccoli and Shiitake Mushrooms, they’re all here, and they’re all heavenly!
