Noodle Dish

This Vietnamese dish combines marinated grilled pork, rice vermicelli noodles, and fresh leafy green vegetables and herbs. The ingredients are usually placed in a bowl and are then combined with nước chấm &ndash; a fish sauce that is typically enriched with lime or lemon juice, water, and sugar. B&uacute;n thịt nướng is usually associated with Southern Vietnam, and it is closely related to b&uacute;n chả, which is regarded as a local specialty in Hanoi. Apart from its basic form, the dish has several regional varieties that may employ tofu or other types of meat and seafood.

Bún thịt nướng

Vietnam

B&uacute;n thịt nướng chả gi&ograve; is a Vietnamese dish that combines marinated grilled pork, rice vermicelli noodles, crispy fried spring rolls, vegetables, and herbs. The dish is served in bowls and it's typically accompanied by nuoc cham fish sauce for dipping. B&uacute;n thịt nướng chả gi&ograve; is associated with Southern Vietnam and it's praised for its contrast of hot and cold flavors and textures. Apart from this form, the dish also has several other regional versions that may employ other types of meat, seafood, or tofu.

Bún thịt nướng chả giò

Japan

Burnt miso ramen or kogashi ramen is a traditional ramen variety. It&rsquo;s usually made with a combination of sliced pork, pork lard, ramen noodles, cabbage, fish cakes, poached eggs, roasted nori seaweed, soy sauce or miso, and stock. The dish originates from Hakata and it was created in 2000 by Shigemi Kawahara. The broth is black, rich, slightly bitter, and full of umami, and it&rsquo;s the main characteristic of this ramen variety. The noodles need to be a bit thicker in order to withstand the intense heat of the broth. When served, burnt miso ramen is slowly sipped, while the noodles should be slurped as they cool down with the help of the air that you suck in while eating them.

Burnt Miso Ramen

Cao lầu is a signature dish from Hội An consisting of noodles made from fresh, locally grown rice, lye solution made with ashes of local trees, and water from the local well (Ba Le). Along with the steamed rice noodles, a bowl of cao lầu also consists of thinly sliced roasted pork (char siu), greens, bean sprouts, croutons that are made with the same ingredients as the noodles, and just a splash of flavorful stock. The origin of the dish is vague, and while some believe it was inspired by Chinese cuisine, some claim that it was modeled on Japanese culinary tradition. Regardless of its origin, cao lầu remains a unique delicacy that is not found outside Hội An.

Cao lầu

Champon is a Japanese noodle dish and a Nagasaki specialty made by frying pork, seafood, and various vegetables in lard, then adding a chicken-pork bone soup and boiling the noodles in the combination. The dish is based on Chinese cooking and takes its inspiration from a dish originating from the Chinese province of Fujian. Its name, champon, comes from the Fujian word shapon, meaning to eat a meal. It was originally served in Nagasaki as an inexpensive, filling meal for the students of the city. The first version of the dish was a combination of pork and bamboo shoots, but eventually came to include ingredients such as squid, oysters, and shrimp.

Champon

Char kway teow is one of the most popular street dishes in Malaysia and Singapore. Despite numerous regional varieties, it is usually made with flat rice noodles, shrimps, eggs, cockles, bean sprouts, chives, and Chinese sausage. All the ingredients are usually fried and coated in soy sauce, while some versions also incorporate shrimp paste, garlic, fried pork lard, and sometimes even yellow wheat noodles. Among the numerous theories about the origin of the dish, the most popular claims that it was invented in the Singaporean Teochew community by Chinese immigrants, while the name stems from Hokkien, char meaning fried and kway teow denoting flat rice noodles. Classic Teochew variety that is lighter and slightly drier than the Singaporean counterpart is especially popular in Malaysian Penang where it is considered to be a signature dish of the region. Originally, char kway teow was a poor man&rsquo;s dish made by farmers and fishermen out of leftover ingredients. Realizing how delicious this combination is, they started selling it on the street, and it quickly caught on. Apart from Singapore and Malaysian Penang, a variety of char kway teow is also found in Indonesia. In Penang, some vendors still serve it on banana and palm leaves, the way it was traditionally served from its beginnings.

Char kway teow

Although food historians can't really agree on who made the first chow mein and when, this stir-fry dish whose name comes from the Mandarin chǎomi&agrave;n and Taishanese chāu-m&egrave;ing (lit. fried noodles) had probably originated in Northern China. And even though there are as many varieties of chow mein in China as there are regional cuisines, the method of preparation is basically the same. The noodles are boiled and fried until crispy on the outside but still soft in the middle, then tossed with shredded pieces of meat (chicken, pork, beef or seafood) in a classic stir-fry sauce, which is often flavored with rice wine. Lastly, they are served topped with cabbage, celery, onions, mushrooms, or bean sprout shoots. Brought to the United States by Chinese immigrants in the 1850s, chow mein showed up on the menus of numerous Chinese restaurants not long after the Americans had already gone crazy about chop suey. Soon after, to win over Western palates, chow mein was - like many other foreign foods - heavily Americanized. Over time, it became more of a meat dish with deep-fried egg noodles smothered in thick gravy, having little resemblance to the authentic Chinese chow mein. However, with the culinary trends slowly reversing, people are nowadays turning to more traditional recipes.

Chow mein

Apart from the traditional chili crab and black pepper crab, Singaporean cuisine offers another delicacy that features the prized crustacean - crab bee hoon. This hawker-style dish consists of rice vermicelli (bee hoon) and succulent Sri Lankan crab meat. Both are cooked with an aromatic chicken or seafood stock. Depending on the cooking process, the dish may come in two different versions: a dry version or a soup. Infused with a smoky wok-hei flavor, the first version calls for the ingredients to be stir-fried and braised in a wok over high heat, resulting in a dish of noodles and crab meat doused with gravy. Often served in a clay pot, the other version is a type of soup in which the noodles and pieces of crab are more or less submerged in clear or milky broth. Interestingly, the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain highly recommended the stir-fried version of crab bee hoon served at the Sin Huat Eating House on his show.

Crab bee hoon

Crab bee hoon soup is a Singaporean delicacy that consists of bee hoon noodles (rice vermicelli) and succulent crab meat drenched in a silky, aromatic broth. Sri Lankan mud crabs are most commonly used in this dish, while the broth is usually made with a combination of chicken broth, butter, evaporated milk, ginger, garlic, white pepper, sesame oil, fish sauce or oyster sauce, and a splash of Chinese rice wine, brandy, or XO Cognac. The soupy broth is also typically enhanced with leafy vegetables such as baby bok choy or chye sim, scallions, and cilantro leaves. This savory specialty is often served in a clay pot, while chili-based dipping sauces usually accompany it on the side.

Crab bee hoon soup

The instant snack known as cup noodles is a key part of Japanese culinary heritage, an invention consisting of noodles and seasonings in a styrofoam container. It is only necessary to add hot water to the pot, and the flavorful snack should be ready in a few minutes. Cup noodles were invented on August 25th, 1958 by Momofuku Ando, a Taiwanese-Japanese businessman who was also the founder of Nissin Foods, a company that is known all over the world for its instant noodles. Ando wanted to feed the masses because he was inspired by food shortages in the post-World War II period. The first cup noodles were flavored with chicken, sold under the name Chikin Ramen, and soon became a staple in Japan. In the 1970s, Ando expanded his business to the United States of America, creating ramen for busy people to eat on the go. Today, the trademarked noodles are sold under the slogan Much more than a soup, coming in a variety of flavors such as mashed potatoes, kimchi, tom yam chicken, and panipuri. In the United States, cup noodles are a huge hit among the college population, and a special, vacuum-packed noodles edition was even consumed in space, on the Discovery space shuttle, when Ando created Space Ram for a Japanese astronaut named Soichi Noguchi.

Cup Noodles

Curry mee is a spicy noodle soup commonly eaten in Malaysia and Singapore (where it's often called curry laksa). It is a true fusion dish, influenced by Indian, Chinese, and Southeast Asian culinary traditions. It is one of the numerous varieties of laksa, the quintessential noodle soups of Southeast Asia. The basis for this creamy dish is made with curry and coconut milk which form the unusual sweet and spicy sauce. Although very similar to curry, the sauce for curry mee is usually much thinner, but still has a strong and rich flavor. Traditionally, thin rice noodles are used in curry mee, and they are often cut into smaller pieces in order to ease the consumption. Other ingredients include tofu puffs, prawns, and fishcakes. The most traditional versions of curry mee also include a very unusual ingredient - cockles, saltwater clams which are usually served raw. Before serving, the dish is spiced with a dollop of traditional chili sauce and chopped coriander leaves. Curry laksa is the favorite variety in Singapore, where it is often referred to only as laksa. In Singapore, it is the most common hawker-style dish, and many vendors prepare curry laksa as their signature dish.

Curry Mee

Dango-jiru is a traditional dish originating from Oita, Kyushu, where it's considered a specialty of the city. The dish is made with a combination of hand-kneaded thick wheat dango noodles, onions, leeks, taro, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and a broth that's often flavored with miso and niboshi (dried baby sardines). The sweetness of the vegetables enriches the flavors of the soup, which pairs well with the noodles. The word dango means ball or dumpling, while jiru means soup, hence the name of the dish.

Dango-jiru

Filipino spaghetti is a dish that has slowly become a national dish in the Philippines, showing up on menus across the country at least once a week. Unlike the Italian version, Filipino spaghetti are sweet, combining the noodles with ground meat, hot dogs, banana ketchup, and sugar. It is believed that the dish was invented by Filipino mothers who noticed that their children love sugar, so they put a spin on the classic spaghetti dishes. Today, this inexpensive meal is known as the one that unites families, and is consumed by both poor and rich people.

Filipino Spaghetti

This simple Thai stir-fry combines glass noodles and whole shrimps. The dish is usually prepared in clay pots with larger tiger prawns or freshwater shrimps and comes topped with soy sauce, peppercorns, coriander, and ginger, while variations may include bacon slices, oyster sauce, garlic, shallots, or different herbs and spices. Although it is believed that the dish was created under Chinese culinary influence, it is now a staple in numerous seafood restaurants in Thailand.

Goong ob woon sen

China

Over the bridge rice noodles (guo qiao mi xian) is a rice noodle soup, a specialty of Yunnan cuisine. When broken into segments, the soup consists of chicken soup, rice noodles, sliced meat, and vegetables, as well as some additional ingredients used for garnishing and seasoning. The dish originated from Mengzi County over 100 years ago. What's peculiar about this soup is the way in which it is prepared; a bowl of hot soup, a bowl of rice noodles, and a platter with sliced ingredients are brought to the table where the dish is assembled and cooked. Ingredients are added one by one, starting with meat. Next are quail eggs, squid, and tofu skin, followed by vegetables, often only bok choy, Chinese mushrooms, and herbs. Rice noodles are saved for the end, and the finished soup gets divided into individual bowls. Given that the soup can be somewhat bland, the taste can be adjusted to personal preference with soy sauce, vinegar, pickled vegetables, and chili sauce. The rice noodle soup is often served in restaurants and sold by street vendors, but the price is determined by the number of ingredients - the more, the pricier.

Guo qiao mi xian

Hadaka soba is a traditional noodle dish. It&rsquo;s made with soba noodles, which are made from buckwheat. This type of soba is probably the purest in form &ndash; hadaka means naked, referring to the fact that the noodles are cooked and served on their own, without any toppings or broth. Hadaka soba is always served cold, and the dish is favored amongst soba purists.

Hadaka soba

Hailing from Fukuoka, hakata is one of the most famous ramen variety in Japan. The base of the ramen is tonkotsu (which is why it is sometimes, especially in Fukoaka, refered to as tonkotsu ramen, although there are various other regional varieties of tonkotsu ramen), the creamy pork bone broth which gives the dish its incredibly rich and layered taste. It is often only seasoned with shio (salt), and occasionally with shoyu (soy sauce) and miso (fermented soybean) paste. Hakata ramen is typically served with ultra-thin, straight, and firm wheat noodles, though it&rsquo;s possible to choose the firmness of the noodles according to individual preferences. Although thin slices of chashu pork and chopped green onions are the most common, other typical additions to the broth include spicy mustard greens, ramen eggs, wood ear mushrooms, beni shōga (pickled ginger root), garlic, bean sprouts, mayu, and crushed sesame seeds. This ramen variety derives its name from the former port city and merchant quarter of Hakata, which, in 1889, was merged with the castle town of Fukuoka into one city that came to be known as Fukuoka city.

Hakata ramen

Hegi soba is a traditional noodle dish belonging to the group of soba dishes and originating from the Uonuma area of Niigata Prefecture. It consists of buckwheat soba noodles and funori seaweed. The noodles are boiled, mixed with the seaweed, wound into bite-sized portions, and layered on a traditional wooden tray called hegi, hence the name of the dish itself. When served, these noodles are usually accompanied by mentsuyu dipping sauce, hot Chinese mustard (a replacement for wasabi, which is not grown in the area), sliced scallions, and ground sesame seeds. The mustard is spread on one part of hegi soba noodles, while the other part is dipped in the mentsuyu sauce and topped with scallions and ground sesame seeds. It's recommended that the mustard and the mentsuyu sauce don't mix on the noodles.

Hegi soba

Hiyashi chūka is a Japanese dish consisting of cold, pale yellow ramen noodles combined with chilled tare sauce and a variety of toppings such as fried eggs, pickled cucumbers, and finely sliced ham. The name of the dish can literally be translated to chilled Chinese food. What is now a summertime staple in Japan began as a humble dish in Sendai about 80 years ago. It was originally a mixture of Japanese, Chinese, and Western cuisine, but neither Japan nor China claim the dish as their own. Hiyashi chūka is characterized by its careful arrangement and presentation, although it can also be bought pre-packaged in convenience stores. Apart from cucumbers, ham, and fried eggs, other toppings might include carrots, tomatoes, ginger, and bean sprouts. Because hiyashi chūka is typically unavailable throughout the year, once the consumers see the dish in restaurants, they are assured that summer has started.

Hiyashi chūka

North Korea

Hailing from the city of Hamhŭng, hoe naengmyeon is considered a variation on bibim naengmyeon made with cold noodles, slices of raw marinated fish, and gochujang sauce (a spicy red chili sauce). This dish typically uses potato starch noodles or sweet potato starch noodles rather than buckwheat noodles. Other typical ingredients used in the dish include various julienned vegetables such as cucumbers, ginger, and green onions, strips of Korean pears, and slices of hardboiled eggs. Different types of fish or seafood can be used in this dish, with skate and dried pickled squid being the most common choices. There&rsquo;s usually no beef in hoe naengmyeon, and the noodles are usually not served flooded with the cold beef broth but, instead, with a small bowl of the broth on the side. Common condiments offered to enhance the flavor of the dish include muchojeroim (vinegar-pickled radish), vinegar, mustard, sesame oil, and sugar.