Feed me noodles and tell me I'm pretty.
- Luanne
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
4000-year-old noodles were found in an overturned bowl sealed from the elements at a Bronze age archeological site on the banks of China's Yellow River, the Lajia site. And while 4000-year-old noodles may be super cool for history... eww; and also, wash your damn dishes. Anyway, these ancient noodles were shown to be made of millet, not wheat. Millets are generally considered more nutrient-dense than wheat, offering higher amounts of fiber, iron, calcium, and antioxidants, alongside a lower glycemic index for better blood sugar management. While wheat contains gluten and is a staple for baking, millets are gluten-free, whole-grain alternatives, making them ideal for managing diabetes, obesity, and gluten sensitivities... and apparently, existing for 4000 years in a mouldery old cave in China.
It wasn't until the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) that noodles made from wheat dough became more of a staple food. And even then, history shows that noodles may have been more like small boiled pieces of bread (more like traditional spaetzl) than anything resembling today's pulled and stretched slurping noodles.
By the 9th century, the popularity of noodles had spread along the Silk Road across Asia and began to be adapted into other Asian cultures. China continued to refine the hand-pulled versions of various cut noodles, while Japan adapted Chinese recipes to create succulent dishes such as udon, while still again, similar dried noodle-like foods began appearing in the Middle East and Italy. These early discoveries would later come to influence Italian pasta, despite the myth that Marco Polo introduced pasta to the Italians.
By 1958, Momofuku Ano invented instant ramen, transforming the noodle into a global, fast-food staple. And the rest, as they say... is history.
Here's a few of the "noodle" dishes SHL has made over the last year:
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