FOOFOODD + + CULCULTTUREURE ++ DDINIININGNG ++OO WW IINE + ENTERTENTERTAIAININGNING ++ HOHOMEME Use Your Noodle +

SMART RECIPES

Blissful Bali

LITTLE ALLEY STEAK TRIPLE FALL 2017 $4.95 CREAM MAC & CHEESE (recipe on page 23)

Display until December 1 NOODLES: The Long and the Short of It

A HISTORY OF THIS

Flavors pairing suggestion: STARCHY Tsingtao beer STAPLE

Written by Shelley Skiles Sawyer / Photographed by Kyle Ripley, Haigwood Studios

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AS PUBLISHED IN FLAVORS FALL 2017 ISSUE FLAVORSMAGAZINE.COM oodles are a staple food Experts widely agreed that is how the around the world, having noodle made its way to Europe. Historians been a part of some locales for also peg the first production of dried Nthousands of years. Derived from the noodles to fifth-century Arabs, who were German word nudel, they are made with looking for portable sustenance for long unleavened dough, usually flattened, that’s journeys along those busy routes. Wheat cut into strands and cooked in boiling flour also originally came from the Middle water. Italians popularized pasta — their East. It was the Italians, however, who catchall name for noodles — in much of popularized pasta for the rest of the world. the Western world, including the United Keng explains that the main States, so it’s a common assumption that distinction between Asian noodles and Italy was their birthplace. But the consensus European pasta is the source ingredient. among those who “use their noodles” “With Asian noodles, there’s much more regularly is that either China or the Middle variety in what we make them with. The East gets the credit for the delicious shape isn’t really the focus. Asian noodles invention. Renato De Pirro, former may be made from wheat flour, rice corporate executive chef for the Lombardi flour, millet, mung bean, buckwheat, Family Concepts who hails from Tuscany, sweet potato flour or a combination of acknowledges that noodles made their first them,” she says. The majority of Asian SAUCY SECRETS appearance thousands of years ago, but not noodles are fashioned into strands that Chinese Southern Belle’s Natalie in his boot-shaped homeland. “It was way can be long, short, thick, thin, straight, Keng and her mom have adapted before we started calling it pasta,” he says. curly or wrinkly. their family recipes for pantry staples While the earliest written history into a line of all-natural, locally-made sauces to be used alone or mixed of this doughy favorite appears during Cold Sesame Soba and matched. You Saucy Thing, a soy, China’s Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago, Buckwheat Noodles ginger and Vidalia onion mixture, can be used in place of soy sauce. Wild in 2005, a well-preserved 4,000-year- Recipe by Natalie Keng, Founder/Owner, Chinese Southern Belle Wild East, similar to teriyaki or Asian old bowl of noodles was unearthed in BBQ sauce, makes noodle and chicken northwestern China. They were made Yield: 3-4 side dish servings dishes really happy. My Sweet Hottie, from two kinds of millet that were a mild, sweet chile peach sauce (think sweet-and-sour without the high cultivated 7,000 years ago. “Now we have 8 ounces soba (buckwheat) noodles* 3-4 tablespoons tamari or naturally brewed fructose corn syrup or similar scary hard evidence that noodles originated in soy sauce ingredients), is great with salmon, as China,” says Natalie Keng, founder and 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil or hot a salad dressing or for dipping. Find owner of Chinese Southern Belle, a mainly sesame oil them at The Cook’s Warehouse, some Whole Foods and the natural section experiential entity formed as a gateway to 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (may substitute balsamic) of some Kroger locations. connect people to food history and culture 1 teaspoon sugar through cooking demonstrations, classes 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes (optional) and market tours. sesame seeds to taste 2 scallions, chopped, for garnish According to Keng, if you trace the language back, noodles were first referred to Boil and drain noodles according to package as “soup cake” in Chinese culture. Different directions. Mix remaining ingredients together, then toss with hot noodles. Marinate in references in the language apply to wheat refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Serve garnished and dough, so the “cake” implies dough, with scallions. like a dumpling. “It probably started as a *Buckwheat is not related to wheat or a grass. It’s dough ball or chunk that was steamed or cultivated for its grain-like seeds that are highly boiled and eaten in soup or a broth,” says nutritious with a rich assortment of vitamins and minerals and contain no gluten. Buckwheat flour and Keng. “Then maybe they decided to roll, noodles have been eaten in mountainous regions of Tibet, northern China and Japan for centuries and pull and cut it. The rest is history!” enjoyed chilled or in soups and stir fries. Arab merchants first journeyed to the Guangzhou province in China in the CHINESE SOUTHERN BELLE NATALIE KENG fourth century and established trade routes chinesesouthernbelle.com between Asia, India, Africa and Europe.

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AS PUBLISHED IN FLAVORS FALL 2017 ISSUE FLAVORSMAGAZINE.COM On the other hand, European pasta is usually made from wheat, but visually, the results can be almost endless. In addition to being rolled, flattened and cut into strips, it is also often shaped, stuffed, snipped, folded, flipped, pinched, pursed or twirled. “Italy is a multicultural and multi-ethnic place, so throughout the country pasta took on multiple forms. There are almost a thousand shapes of pasta in Italy,” says De Pirro. After World War II, pasta proved to be a much-needed, cheap and filling source of food in Italy. “Everybody was making pasta. These days there’s no Italian family that doesn’t have pasta and a can of tomatoes in its house,” says De Pirro. Pasta now holds an important place as the base of their food pyramid as well as a cultural symbol. In China and other Asian countries, noodles symbolize longevity. “You want the long strands, which represent long life. That’s why you don’t want to cut your noodles,” says Keng, whose mom, Margaret, who works with her at Chinese Southern Belle, makes them for her on her birthday. Margaret remembers eating noodles in rural China where she picked Flavors pairing suggestion: Chateau Ste. Michelle up a strand that was so long it reached Eroica Riesling the floor unbroken when she stood on her chair. (above) Mom’s Chinese Spaghetti; (right) Spicy Sweet and Sour Cellophane Noodle Salad. Find both of Keng's recipes at flavorsmagazine.com.

“You want the long strands, which represent long life. That’s why you don’t want to cut your noodles.”

Flavors pairing suggestion: Albrecht Pinot Gris

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