ITAL376 Noodles

This blog tells the legend of a Yunnan province specialty known as guoqiao mixian (or Crossing the Bridge Noodles), where the noodles, vegetables, meats and broth are prepared separately and then added later by the consumer.

This is a Chinese food tutorial youtube channel that I have been watching for almost 2 years. I used to check this channel for update every night before I went to sleep when I was in America. For me, these videos are way more than cooking tutorial videos, these video can ease homesick when I am away from China. For people who are not Chinese, these are great videos for you to get a sense of how Chinese food are made and maybe learn how to cook an Chinese cuisine from this channel.

This is a really interesting article that demonstrates the technique and skills behind noodle-making. I think you do not normally think of noodle-making as an art form, but the people this article's author interviewed dedicated their lives to making noodles. It is a craft that they spent years mastering and they are very proud of it. The main noodle dish that is featured in this article is the famous Lanzhou beef noodle soup, which many swear is the best in all of China. It is made with hand-pulled noodles, lamian, which has origins along the Silk Road. It is a spicy dish that is usually eaten for breakfast. There are other varieties of lamian, including one served in a tomato sauce that is as closed to spaghetti as you can get in Chinese cuisine. Many of the recipes also contain lots of spices that are reminiscent of Mediterranean cuisine. There are several methods to making hand-pulled noodles that employed twisting and pulling with the hands. Chefs practice extensively to perfect their fare.

This piece from Italy Magazine talks about specific attributes of Italian cuisine and eating culture. It talks about a number of Italian traditions and food related superstitions. It also looks at what dishes you might see during a certain holiday or time of day. It covers a lot of the very basic attributes of Italian food culture.

This site talks about the history and development of pasta through time, from the possibility of being originally developed by the ancient Etruscan civilizations to the modern pasta industry.

This page has information on a book entitled Food is Culture. The author asserts that every step in the process of food - finding/growing, preparing, and eating - is a piece of culture. Whether it is the economics of what to gather or grow (where things like scarcity and demand come into play), or the act of consuming a nutritious diet, these are acts that are derived from and shape a societies culture.

This article touches on many of the cultural and historical aspects of pasta that we will be talking about in this class. Although pasta did not originate from Italy, pasta is still so closely associated with Italian culture and has become a global phenomenon.

Dim sum is a Cantonese style of cuisine that consists of snacks and appetizers served with tea, typically around morning and brunch time. Dim sum is historically linked to the custom of yum cha, which means tea drinking. The practice of drinking tea has been documented in China for centuries. In ancient times, teahouses sprung up along the Silk Road to provide a place for weary travelers to eat and rest. Farmers would also gather at teahouses after a long day of work for refreshments and conversation. However, it was a long time before tea drinking was combined with eating food. Since the Guangdong/Hong Kong region dim sum is tied to has British influence, dim sum is also connected to English high tea. These days, dim sum is served not just all over China, but all over the world. Some common food items are various kinds of dumplings, buns, pastries, and small plates of meat and seafood. I think dim sum is a very unique and diverse style of cuisine and it is very interesting to read and learn about.

This is an episode of a British guy traveling in Beihai, China. Beihai is a city in Guangxi province and it is close to Vietnam. Stu introduced the building in Beihai, which can reflects the Chinese maritime history. Beihai is also the earliest departure port of Silk Road. Stu tried authentic Beihai food such as sand worms, Xiezai noodles, and fried ice! It is a very informative video!

This article cites a study comparing the baking properties of four different cheeses used in making pizzas. The study used software to perform image analysis on these cheeses and quantify certain qualities, determining that mozzarella's properties prove superior for pizza-making. It's always refreshing to see science catch up with something we already knew deep down, isn't it?

This is a long life noodle recipe with pictures showing steps of making it. Hong