Slippery noodles: Good / global
Noodles: Cheap, filling, delicious, they slide across class and national boundaries. Almost anywhere you go in the world, there are noodles. They can be boiled, dried, or fried; served steamy hot or chilled; twisted on a fork or plucked with chopsticks, covered in sauce or sunk in broth, slurped noisily, or chewed silently; made of wheat, rice, devil’s tongue, corn, beans, kudzu root, or kelp: Spätzle (Germany). Eriste. (Turkey). Pasta, pizzoccheri, tagliatelle (Italy). Udon, somen, ramen (Japan). Idiyappam (India). Bánh pho, Vietnam. Naengmyeon, Makguksu, Lochshen, Kalguksu (South Korea). Raengmyon (North Korea). Itriyya (Aramaia). Sevai (South India). Zacierki, Lochshen (European Jewish). Bakmi (Indonesian Chinese). Lamian (China). Reshte (Central Asia, Persia, and Afghanistan).Thukpa, Wylie (Tibet). Khanom chin (Thailand). All noodles. All good.
Thubka! Cheap and filling, the inevitable supper at Kopan Monastery where I have often stayed. It’s sort of noodle soup-ish, and has lots of chopped vegetables, minus garlic and onions. It’s individually flavored with flaming chili powder, though.
Oh I love noodles, hot, cold any which way.