Noodle Dish

This Vietnamese dish consists of a hearty broth that is filled with pieces of eel and cellophane noodles. The eel can be fried (gi&ograve;n) or steamed (mềm) before it is added to the dish. Additional elements often include banana flowers, morning glory, and bean sprouts. Miến lươn is usually accompanied by lime wedges and nước chấm sauce.

Miến lươn

Miến x&agrave;o cua is a traditional dish of stir-fried glass noodles and crab meat. Other ingredients that are commonly used in the dish include wood-ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and bean sprouts. The ingredients are stir-fried in a big pan, then dressed with a combination of lime juice, minced garlic, sugar, water, and fish sauce. Once done, miến x&agrave;o cua is garnished with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving. This traditional dish often appears in restaurants, but it's also prepared at home for special occasions.

Miến xào cua

South Korea

In many ways similar to its North Korean counterpart naengmyeon, which is based on buckwheat noodles, this Busan specialty is differentiated by the use of wheat noodles. The dish usually combines icy cold broth with wheat noodles, while the toppings include boiled eggs, cucumbers, radishes, and beef. Although there are many theories about its origin, the most probable says that milmyeon first appeared during the Korean War when many North Koreans fled to Busan. In an attempt to recreate their favorite dish, they replaced buckwheat with wheat since it was widely available through the American army. Just as naengmyeon, the dish is offered in two versions: as a cold broth (mul milmyeon) or with a spicy, gochujang-based paste (bibim milmyeon).

Milmyeon

Japan

Mimi udon is a Japanese noodle dish originating from Tochigi. The udon noodles are folded into the shape of an ear and they're traditionally eaten for New Year. These ears symbolize a bad deity, and if one eats his ears, the bad deity won't be able to hear anything from your house, so no bad luck will come to your family for the rest of the year. The chewy noodles are boiled until cooked with various ingredients such as miso slices, shiitake mushrooms, leeks, dried bonito, carrots, and fresh greens before they're served with the broth and the vegetables in a bowl.

Mimi udon

Vietnam

This Vietnamese classic consists of a combination of flat rice noodles and yellow egg noodles that are served with a small amount of flavorful meat broth and crispy fresh vegetables and herbs such as banana blossoms, lettuce, cilantro, scallions, and Vietnamese coriander. The dish is incredibly versatile and usually comes topped with pork belly, chicken, shrimps, fish, boiled eggs, roasted peanuts, and fish crackers. Though it originated in Central Vietnam, more precisely the Quảng Nam Province, m&igrave; quảng is nowadays enjoyed throughout the country.

Mì Quảng

Miso nikomi udon is a Japanese dish prepared with udon noodles as the main ingredient. It originates from the Nagoya region. Other ingredients in miso nikomi udon include chicken, fish cakes, a miso-flavored dashi broth, shiitake mushrooms, eggs, long green onions, and aburaage or deep-fried tofu. Once prepared, this noodle soup is typically served in Japanese earthenware pots called donabe. It's especially popular during cold days because it's deeply savory and warming.

Miso nikomi udon

Miso ramen is a flavorful dish made by cooking the miso base, broth, and vegetables in a wok. The concoction is then topped with bean sprouts, chopped pork, garlic, sweet corn, and (sometimes) local seafood such as crabs, scallops, and squids. The dish was invented in 1955 in Sapporo, when a customer in Aji no Sanpei noodle house asked the chef to put noodles in his pork and miso soup. In the 1960s, miso ramen's popularity had skyrocketed, and Sapporo still remains a paradise for ramen lovers, taking pride in its Ramen Alley, with over a dozen ramen shops scattered through the street.

Miso ramen

Mori soba is a traditional noodle dish that&rsquo;s prepared with cold soba noodles. The name of the dish means piled noodles. These cold noodles are especially popular in the summer, and they&rsquo;re typically served on bamboo baskets or steamers in order for the excess moisture to drip off. The soba noodles piled on the bamboo basket are called zaru soba, while the ones served on wooden seiro steamers are called seiro soba, and mori soba encompasses both of them, but with one exception &ndash; zaru soba is topped with nori seaweed, while mori soba is not. When served, mori soba is accompanied by tsuyu dipping sauce consisting of soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and dashi.

Mori soba

Muroran curry ramen is a Japanese curry-flavored noodle dish originating from Muroran. The dish was invented in 1965 at the Aji No Daiō restaurant. There are about 30 ramen restaurants that serve this curry ramen in Muroran, but Aji No Daiō is still the most popular and well-known. The dish contains sliced roasted pork, green onions, cabbage, fried bean sprouts, dried seaweed, and thick and curly noodles made from Hokkaido flour, as well as the tangy and rich curry-flavored broth. And even though Muroran curry ramen is more than 50 years old, it gained massive popularity when both the restaurant and the curry ramen were endorsed by Natsumi Abe, a singer in the band Morning Musume.

Muroran Curry Ramen

Nabeyaki udon is a traditional dish consisting of thick udon noodles and vegetables that are cooked in a flavorful dashi stock and served with various toppings. The dish was named after a specific cooking style in which the ingredients are cooked and served in small clay pots called donabe or nabe. The most common condiments served on top are tempura shrimps, fish cakes, boiled chicken, and poached or boiled eggs. Since it is always served hot, nabeyaki udon is considered to be a comforting winter dish and can be found on the menus of traditional Japanese udon restaurants throughout the country.

Nabeyaki udon

North Korea

It is enough to read this combination of ingredients to make a gourmet salivate: buckwheat and starch noodles placed into a cool beef broth accompanied by pickled radish, slices of hard-boiled eggs, and Korean pear, all of the ingredients seasoned with mustard and vinegar. That's naengmyeon, a cold noodle soup and a favorite summertime treat in Korea. In the past, the dish was typically consumed during winter with radish kimchi, obtained from the pots buried in the yard where kimchi was left to ferment. Buckwheat noodles originate from North Korea, since it was the main production center of buckwheat, but after the Korean War, the dish became popular throughout the country and was consumed regardless of the season. According to local customs (and a bit of superstition), these long noodles should be consumed without cutting, as they are a symbol of good health and longevity. More than just a flavorful dish, naengmyeon is a cultural and gastronomical bridge between two divided Korean countries.

Naengmyeon

Nameko soba is a traditional noodle dish. It&rsquo;s made with a combination of soba noodles, nameko mushrooms, mentsuyu broth, and sliced scallions. The broth is made from soy sauce, mirin, sake, and dashi. The soba noodles are added to the broth, and the dish is then topped with saut&eacute;ed nameko mushrooms. This noodle soup is typically served immediately, while it&rsquo;s still hot, but it can also be served cold. It&rsquo;s usually garnished with sliced scallions.

Nameko soba

Nishin soba is a traditional dish made with soba noodles. In order to prepare it, herring is served over buckwheat soba noodles in a hot tsuyu broth. The ingredients include soba noodles, herring filets, shiitake mushrooms, sake, sugar, mirin, soy sauce, and dashi. The noodles are placed into bowls, followed by the tsuyu broth, and the dish is then topped with the fish and shiitake mushrooms. Depending on the weather or season, people eat their local specialty noodles hot (when it&rsquo;s cold outside) or cold (when it&rsquo;s hot outside). Nishin soba is usually served hot.

Nishin soba

An authentic Taiwanese noodle dish called &ocirc;-&aacute; mī-s&ograve;a combines thin misua noodles with oysters in a thickened, savory soup. This noodle specialty typically consists of red misua noodles cooked in a broth, seasoned with minced garlic, bonito flakes, ginger, rice wine, oyster sauce, basil leaves, and cornstarch for thickening. It is usually consumed hot, accompanied by blanched oysters and (optionally) braised pork intestines. Packed with flavors and garnished with chopped spring onions or fresh cilantro leaves, this noodle dish is usually laced with black rice vinegar, soy sauce, and chili sauce. Oyster vermicelli is a very common street snack sold at Taiwanese night markets.

Ô-á mī-sòa

Ohn no khao sw&egrave;, meaning noodles with coconut milk, is a traditional dish that is believed to have inspired the creation of Thailand&rsquo;s khao sai. It consists of boiled egg noodles and pieces of curried chicken smothered in a creamy coconut-milk-and-chicken soup. The soup is typically thickened with chickpea flour, and it usually comes with an array of different garnishes and condiments. Typical ingredients added to this dish for enhanced flavor and texture include slices of hard-boiled eggs, crispy fried noodles, bean or chickpea fritters, fresh cilantro, green onions, soaked yellow onions, lime or lemon slices, ngapi fish sauce, and red chili flakes. In Myanmar, this specialty is a popular street food item, and it is commonly enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Ohn no khao sw&egrave; can also be found in numerous eateries, restaurants, caf&eacute;s, and hotels across the country.

Ohn no khao swè

Okinawa soba is a variety of Japanese noodle soup originating from the Okinawa prefecture. Although the name soba traditionally encompasses buckwheat noodles, buckwheat is rarely used in Okinawa, and the noodles incorporated in this authentic dish are primarily made with wheat flour. They range from round and long varieties to the thicker and wider types. Pork, most commonly pork belly cooked in soy sauce is most often utilized in Okinawa soba, and the dish is usually topped with fish cakes, fish paste, sliced scallions, and pickled ginger. Finally, all ingredients are covered in dashi; an aromatic broth flavored with konbu seaweed, fish flakes, and pork. The first recorded mention of the dish goes back to 1902, but it was only in the 1960s that it became popular and commonly eaten by all social classes. Different varieties can be found across Okinawa, including additional ingredients such as extra ribs or the unusual pork&rsquo;s trotter. The dish is served sizzling hot in traditional pots and eaten with chopsticks.

Okinawa soba

Onomichi is a ramen style that consists of soy sauce-based broth that is occasionally flavored with pork, seafood from the Seto Inland Sea, chicken, or dashi. The broth is served hot with flat wheat noodles of medium thickness and a generous serving of seabura - pork back fat. The toppings may vary, but they typically include spring onions, roast pork, and bamboo shoots. Although it first appeared in the late 1940s, Onomichi ramen became popular in the 1990s. It still remains a local specialty of Onomichi.

Onomichi ramen

Pad kee mao (more commonly known as drunken noodles) is a stir-fry noodle dish originating from Thailand, similar to phat si-io. It is made with broad rice noodles, chicken thighs (or breast), garlic, red chilis, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, baby corn, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and holy basil. Other versions of the dish use squid or different seafood as the main ingredient. There are many theories as to the origin of its name, but the most commonly accepted one is that pad kee mao is a popular food of choice for late-night drinking. Nowadays, the dish is also found in Thai-fusion cooking, with some versions made with instant noodles or even spaghetti.

Pad kee mao

Pad Thai is Thailand's national dish, a flavorful stir-fry (pad in Thai) dish consisting of rice noodles, tofu, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, and eggs. If it's made with meat, chicken and pork are some of the most popular choices. The flavors are an intricate combination of sweet, sour, and salty, with a well-balanced contrast of textures. Pad Thai is probably one of the most popular Thai dishes abroad. Its origins can be traced to a period of nationalism in the country, after the 1932 revolution that ended the absolute monarchy. There was a public contest to find a new national noodle dish, and the winner was a Pad Thai consisting of noodles, radish, sprouts, peanuts, and eggs. Tender rice noodles are additionally flavored with sugar, tamarind, lime juice, vinegar, and fish sauce, and the dish is traditionally served with ground red chilis, white vinegar, sugar, fresh lime wedges, and fish sauce on the side, so each consumer can garnish the meal to their preference.

Pad Thai

Pad woon sen is a traditional noodles dish. It consists of silky glass noodles that are stir-fried with vegetables such as carrots and cabbage, then topped with Thai bird chili and cilantro. The noodles should be soaked before the preparation. The sauce is made with water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Other common ingredients used in the dish include eggs, onions, garlic, bean sprouts, spring onions, and sometimes chicken, if desired. Before serving, it's recommended to garnish the dish with cilantro and sliced chili peppers.