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Oodles of Noodles: The Story of How One DishTraversed AsiaMiriam [email protected]
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Recommended CitationCohen, Miriam, "Oodles of Noodles: The Story of How One Dish Traversed Asia" (2018). Pac Rim Posters. 3.https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/pacrim_posters/3
OodlesofNoodles:TheStoryofHowOneDishTraversedAsiaMiriamCohen
UniversityofPugetSound
PopularizationofNoodles
NoodleCulture
NoodlesasaReflectionofaNation
Adoption of Noodles
WhyNoodles?
NoodleshaveremainedpopularinAsiaforavarietyofreasons:vNoodlesareeasilypersonalizedvExternalforcessuchaswarandgovernmentintervention
vNoodletourisminAsiavInstantnoodlesdevelopinginconjunctiontofreshnoodles
TheestablishmentofnoodlecultureinthefiveAsiancountriesofstudycanbebrokendownintothreecategories:countriesthathaveestablishedtheirownspecificnoodleculture,countrieswhohaveafluiddefinitionofwhatnoodlesaretheirs,andcountrieswithoutanestablishednoodlecultureoftheirown.
China,Japan,andThailandfallunderthefirstcategorybecausetheycanallpointtodistinctnoodledishesastheirown.ThisisobviouslyapplicabletoChinaasnoodleswerefirstinventedthere.Sincetheircreation,noodleshavespreadalloverChinaresultinginawidevarietyofwellestablishedlocalvarietiesofnoodles.Japanhasfivemainnationaldishes(ramen,udon,soba,yakiudon,andyakisoba)whichcanvaryregionally,butnottothedegreethattheydoinChina.Thailandisabitofamiddlegroundbetweenthesetwonationsinthatithasbothregionalspecialties(khao soi)andnationaldishes(padThaiandpadseeew)thatareeatencommonly.
Malaysiahasamorefluiddefinitionofwhatnoodlesare“Malaysian.”Therearethreesignificantpopulationsofethnicgroups–Malays,Chinese,andIndians–asaresultofBritishcolonialism,andthecuisinesofeachofthesegroupscomplicateswhatexactlyMalaysiannoodlesare.Finally,Indiahasnoestablishednoodlecultureasnoodlesarealwayslabeled“Chinese,”andnever“Indian.”
HownoodleshaveadaptedtoseveralAsiancuisinesisatestamenttotheirflexibilityandalsoawayinwhichtogatherinsightontheculturestheyencounter.Noodleshavestoodthetestoftimeandtheirevolutiontellsmorethanarecipe,butthestoriesofnationsaswell.TheresilienceandmalleabilityofnoodleshaveallowedthedishtopersistallthroughoutAsia,aswellasactasamirrorofthenationstheyareincorporatedinto.
Noodlesaretheultimateadaptablefoodbecauseoftheirgenerallackofflavorandsimpleingredients.ChineseimmigrationbroughtChinesefoodallacrossAsia,andnoodlesaboveallelsewereablestickunlikeanyotherChinesefood.ThenewformstheyhavetakenonoutsideofChinaarereflectiveofhownoodleshavemanagedtoadaptinthefaceofdifferentcuisines,cultures,andexternalforces.
Adoptionofnoodlesintoacuisineisnotanimmediateprocess,ittakestimeatspecialization.Thisconceptisbestexplainedonacontinuumrangingfromnoodlesbeingmostintegratedintoacuisine,toleastintegratedintoacuisine.SincenoodleswereinvitedinChinaandhaveexistedthereformorethan4,000years,noodleshavebecomeverywellintegratedintothecuisine–evenbecomingastaple.IndiaisonthefarotherendofthespectrumastheyhavebeeneateninIndiaforacomparativelyshortperiodoftimeandareyettoeverbelabeled“Indian.”Japan,Thailand,andMalaysiacanbeplacedalongthecontinuumbetweenChinaandIndiainthatorder.
Theadaptablenatureofnoodlesnotonlymakesitpossibleforthedishtoconformtoacuisine,butalsoactasamirrorofthecultureofthecountryorregionaswell.Theyhelptorevealaspectsofthecountrylikeitsreputationandeatingculture.
Japan – DespiteramenhavingoriginallybeenmadeforworkingclassJapanese,itisnowsoldcommonlyinhigherendrestaurantsinJapanandabroad.ThisisreflectiveoftheglobalopinionofJapan.
China – Chinesenoodlesarecommonlypresentedwithlessglamour,restaurantsaresellinggood,cheapfoodandnotanexperience.ThispresentationofChinesenoodlesmaybereflectiveofChina’sreputationofbeingpoorercountrywhoproducescheapgoods.
Malaysia – ThewidevarietyofnoodleoptionsavailableinMalaysia,isrepresentativeofthemultiethnicmakeupofMalaysia.OnoneblockyoucanfindMaggigoreng,laksa,andChinesenoodles.
Thailand – Thailand’sownnoodledishpadThai,istheultimatemirrortoThaicultureasitisreflectiveofapowerful,manipulativegovernmentwhoaltersthecourseofthecountry’scuisineandacountrysodevotedtofoodthattheyareperhapsknownbestforthisonedish.
India –Themost“Indian”noodleavailableinIndiaisMaggi,acheapandeasyinstantfood.Withaboomingeconomydrivenbyalargeandhardworkingworkforce,IndiaisneedofaneasyeatandMaggifillsthatniche.
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PacificRimStudyAbroadProgramstudentsKamila,Gabby,Sara,andSophie(lefttoright)eatnoodlesatnightmarketoutsideofHwaNanWomen’sCollegeinFuzhou,China.
PorkramenfromramenshopHonke Daiichiasahi inKyoto,Japan.
China Japan Thailand Malaysia India
MostIntegrated
LeastIntegrated
“Malaysianfoodsoftencondensesymbolicmessagesabouthybridityinamulticulturalsocietywhereeveryonegets
alongandeatseachother’sfood.”- PennyVanEsterik,FoodCultureinSoutheastAsia
References
Greeley,Alexandra.“FindingPadThai.”Gastronomica 9.1(2009):78-82.ProQuest.Web.25May2017.Kushner,Barak.Slurp!aSocialandCulinaryHistoryofRamen:Japan'sFavoriteNoodleSoup.Leiden:GlobalOriental,2012.
ProQuestEbookCentral.Shelke,Kantha.PastaandNoodles:AGlobalHistory.Reaktion Books,2016.Wu,DavidY.H.,andChee-beng Tan.ChangingChineseFoodways inAsia.HongKong:ChineseUP,2001.Print.
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