Noodle Dish

Phở g&agrave; is a traditional pho variety made with chicken. It can usually be ordered as b&igrave;nh thường (normal) with white breast meat, dark meat, fat, and skin, or g&agrave; nạc (lean chicken) with sliced breast meat. The broth in phở g&agrave; is much lighter and clearer than the one found in phở b&ograve; (beef pho). Other ingredients used in the preparation of chicken pho often include ginger, fish sauce, rice noodles, shallots, green onions, and cilantro. Garnishes include lime wedges, mint, sliced chili peppers, bean sprouts, and Thai basil sprigs. It is believed that this pho variety was invented in the 1930s, when beef wasn't available in Vietnamese markets on Mondays and Fridays.

Phở gà

Vietnam

Phở sắn Quế Sơn trộn sốt cay is a traditional noodle dish originating from the province of Quang Nam. The noodles used in the dish are made from tapioca, giving them a unique texture. They&rsquo;re served with a spicy sauce and tropical herbs such as basil, mint, coriander, and bean sprouts, which give this noodle dish a stimulating flavor.

Phở sắn Quế Sơn trộn sốt cay

Phở trộn or mixed pho is a classic Vietnamese pho variety. This type of pho is dry, meaning that it doesn't contain broth &ndash; instead, it's a salad with meat (beef or chicken) and noodles. The dish is typical of Hanoi and it's especially popular during summer. The sliced meat is marinated in salt, ginger, pepper, garlic, lime juice, and five spice powder. It's then browned in a pan and mixed with fresh greens (mint, Thai basil, lettuce, cilantro, bean sprouts), fried shallots, rice noodles, and a dressing consisting of vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and tamarind paste. The noodle salad is often garnished with chopped peanuts and red chili peppers, while lime wedges are usually served on the side.

Phở trộn

North Korea

As the name suggests, Pyongyang naengmyeon is a version of a traditional North Korean noodle dish called naengmyeon or raengmyeon that is typical of Pyongyang. It usually consists of a combination of buckwheat noodles, thin strips of cucumbers, Korean pears, vegetable kimchi (often radish kimchi), and thinly sliced beef, chicken, or pork served in a cold, tangy broth (either meat broth, dongchimi broth, or a mixture of both) with ice chunks in it. This specialty is traditionally enjoyed chilled in a large metal bowl, and it is typically finished with slices of hard-boiled egg and cold beef on top. Typical condiments added to the dish before consumption include spicy mustard, vinegar, and sugar. In North Korea, it is customary to eat the long buckwheat noodles without cutting them as they are symbolically associated with longevity and good health. This custom isn&rsquo;t usually practiced in restaurants because it's more convenient to consume the noodles after they've been cut. In South Korea, the broth for this specialty is made exclusively with beef, while the addition of sugar is not typical.

Pyongyang naengmyeon

Wheat noodles made with alkaline water, served in a hot broth that has been built over hours or days, seasoned with a tare of soy, salt or miso and finished with slices of pork, a soft egg, spring onion and nori: ramen is Japan's everyday noodle soup and the most argued-over bowl in the country. It arrived from China in the late nineteenth century as shina soba, became a cheap post-war meal built on American wheat, and split into regional styles that still define the map: Sapporo's miso ramen with butter and corn, Hakata's tonkotsu with thin straight noodles in milky pork-bone broth, Tokyo's shoyu with a clear chicken and dashi base, Kitakata's thick wavy noodles, and dozens more. The instant version invented in 1958 is the same name and a different food. A ramen shop usually makes one style and is judged on that style alone.

A bowl has five parts and each is a separate job. The broth is simmered from pork or chicken bones, sometimes with dried fish and kelp, for anything from six hours to two days; tonkotsu is boiled hard until the collagen and fat emulsify into something opaque, while a shoyu or shio broth is kept clear. The tare is the concentrated seasoning spooned into the bowl before the broth, and it is where the shop's identity lives. The noodles are wheat, water and kansui, the alkaline salts that give them their yellow colour, chew and ability to stand up to hot soup, cooked to order for between forty seconds and three minutes depending on thickness. Aroma oil, chicken fat, black garlic oil or chilli oil, goes on top. Toppings are chashu pork braised in soy and mirin, an ajitama egg marinated so the yolk stays jammy, menma bamboo, negi and nori. The bowl is assembled in under a minute and eaten in under ten.

Taste the broth alone first: it should be deep, with body you can feel on the lips, properly salted by the tare and tasting of what it was made from, not of MSG alone or of stock powder. Then the noodles, which should be springy and distinct, not soft or starchy, and matched in thickness to the broth. The egg should have a set white and a soft, seasoned yolk; the chashu should be tender enough to break with chopsticks and have some fat. Mark down a thin or greasy broth, noodles that were cooked ahead and have swollen, a cold or hard-boiled egg, dry grey pork, and a bowl where the soup has gone lukewarm before it reaches the table. Slurping is expected and the noodles should be finished before they soften; a bowl that takes twenty minutes to eat is being eaten wrong, or was served wrong.

Ramen

Algeria

Rechta is a traditional dish consisting of thin and flat noodles and chicken sauce. The noodles are made with a combination of flour, salt, and water, while the sauce is made with chicken pieces, onions, garlic, oil, chickpeas, ras el hanout, cinnamon, turnips, potatoes, and zucchini. Once cooked, the rechta noodles are placed into a large dish and topped with the sauce (marga). The dish is especially popular during festive events such as weddings, Eid al Fitr (end of Ramadan), and Ashura.

Rechta

China

Reganmian, or more commonly hot dry noodles, is a traditional dish originating from Wuhan, the capital of the Chinese Hubei province. It is one of the five most common and popular noodle dishes in China. The noodles in reganmian are cooked in a mixture of water and sesame oil, cooled, tossed and warmed in the same mixture right before serving. The process results in a delicious serving of noodles which are coated with a strong sesame flavor. The dish is sold by numerous street vendors across the city, who sell it from the early morning until late in the evening. Additional ingredients and garnishes vary among the vendors, who use different elements such as peanut or sesame oil, soy sauce, and chili to create their signature reganmian. Although commonly regarded as a breakfast dish, it can also be eaten as an afternoon snack or a light dinner. This inexpensive and simple dish has been a 50-year-old tradition in Wuhan and is still considered to be the most popular dish in the area.

Reganmian

Croatia

Rezanci na žufi is a traditional dish originating from the Slatina area. The dish consists of noodles and the brothy concoction in which they're cooked. The noodles are made from flour, water, and eggs, while the broth consists of water, salt, and pounded pumpkin seeds. The pumpkin seeds are typically mixed with hot water, then brought to a boil and combined with the noodles until they become fully cooked.

Rezanci na žufi

Japan

Sakata ramen is a traditional noodle soup originating from the city of Sakata in Yamagata Prefecture. What makes this ramen unique are homemade noodles, which are made in about 80% of local restaurants. The thin and curly homemade noodles are served in a simple soy sauce-based broth that's flavored with seafood stock, pig's feet, and chicken stock. The ramen is finished off with the addition of fatback, which gives the ramen a thick and velvety consistency. Many restaurants also add wontons to their Sakata ramen.

Sakata Ramen

Sansai soba is a Japanese noodle dish prepared with soba buckwheat noodles and sansai &ndash; a mix of wild mountain vegetables which are often used in Buddhist cuisine &ndash; as the main ingredients. The broth is typically made with dashi stock that can be flavored with mirin and soy sauce. The noodles are placed in the broth with sansai, and the dish can be enriched with other vegetables such as asparagus, spinach, or mushrooms, as well as fishcakes, eggs, and strips of dry seaweed. The vegetables should be crisp and not mushy when prepared correctly. Sansai soba is especially popular in winter, and it belongs to traditional Buddhist cuisine&mdash;in Japan known as shōjin ryōri.

Sansai soba

Sara udon is a Nagasaki specialty dish made with crisp-fried noodles, which can be thin or thick, depending on which restaurant serves the dish. The noodles are topped with fried prawns, squid, pork, and a variety of fried vegetables such as bean sprouts and cabbage. When prepared for large groups of people, the dish is often shared communally, straight from the central plate, and it is so beloved that it is sometimes even served at grade schools in Nagasaki as a school meal. It is believed that sara udon was invented by Chin Heijun, the owner and founder of a Chinese restaurant called Shikairo.

Sara udon

This hawker-style Singaporean dish earned its name because of the similarity between the peanut sauce used in it and satay peanut sauce. Satay bee hoon consists of blanched bee hoon noodles (rice vermicelli) served with a sweet, salty, and spicy peanut sauce. A paste based on roasted and ground peanuts is combined with a mixture of ingredients such as dried chilis, spices, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, candlenuts, galangal, tamarind juice, and shrimp paste, and the combination is then simmered to make the sauce. Typical accompaniments to this dish include water spinach (kang kong), fried beancurd puffs (tau pok), prawns, shelled cockles, strips of cuttlefish, and slices of pork. Although the exact origins of the dish are unknown, satay bee hoon might&rsquo;ve been introduced to Singapore by Teochew immigrants.

Satay bee hoon

Distinguished by the use of salt as the main seasoning in the broth, shio ramen is one of the four main flavor-based ramen categories. Like other ramen varieties, it combines three crucial elements: flavorful broth, noodles, and various toppings. Although pork is occasionally added, most versions employ seafood-based or chicken-based broths, which yield a light, clear soup with a strong, salty taste. The broth is usually paired with straight, thin noodles, and comes topped with Japanese-style pork belly known as chashu, scallions, hard boiled eggs, and wakame seaweed. Since salt is the oldest known seasoning used in ramen, shio is considered to be the oldest version of ramen, and although there is no substantial evidence, many believe that it was invented in Hakodate, where it is still the prevalent ramen variety.

Shio ramen

Uzbekistan

Shivit oshi is a unique Uzbekistani dish of bright, green noodles topped with beef stew. It is a specialty of Khorezm cuisine and can be found almost exclusively in the city of Khiva, on Uzbekistan's border with Turkmenistan. The noodles for shivit oshi are colored with dill infusion and, when cooked, covered with a hearty stew of beef, potatoes, and carrots. It is recommended to pair this dish with tangy yogurt or sour cream.

Shivit oshi

The soy sauce based shoyu ramen is one of the four major groups of ramen - noodle dishes praised for their exquisite flavors. Noodles, broth, and various toppings are the three essential elements in every bowl of ramen. The dark and salty soup is what distinguishes shoyu from other varieties. It usually employs meat or seafood broth, which is mixed with a fragrant combination of kombu stock and soy sauce. Fresh curly wheat noodles are typically used in shoyu ramen. Cooked separately, they are served in a bowl and doused in the rich broth. Standard condiments served on top of ramen are most commonly slices of braised pork, bamboo shoots, fish cakes, onions, and quartered boiled eggs. The beauty of ramen dishes is that they are easily adaptable, and many different toppings can be added according to personal preferences. It is still not clear whether ramen was invented in Japan or China, but due to the usage of wheat noodles and soy sauce, it has certainly been influenced by the Chinese culinary traditions. Shoyu ramen is usually associated with Tokyo, and it is believed that it was one of the first ramen varieties. The best way to consume shoyu ramen is immediately after it has been prepared.

Shoyu ramen

Taiwan

Siān-h&icirc; &igrave;-mī is a Tainanese specialty consisting of crispy eel noodles combined with chewy egg noodles and served in a type of brown sauce or a thick soup. A classic street snack, this dish is usually prepared with stir-fried swamp eels or rice-field eels, seasoned with black rice vinegar and soy sauce before being added to a thick broth alongside egg noodles. Sweet and sour in flavor, the noodle broth is typically enhanced with wood ear mushrooms. In Taiwan, plates of eel noodles are a common sight at numerous Taiwanese night markets, local eateries, and high-end restaurants. Although the dish can be found throughout the country, it is most popular in the southern part of Taiwan.

Siān-hî ì-mī

Soba are traditional Japanese buckwheat noodles that are served hot or cold. When served, the noodles are picked up with chopsticks, then slurped loudly, which is a part of common culture in Japan. They date back to the Edo period. One of the most common soba dishes is mori soba, in which cold noodles are consumed with tsuyu sauce. The most popular soba dishes include kitsune soba, tanuki soba, tempura soba, and kake soba. There are also regional soba dishes such as ita soba (Yamagata Prefecture), matcha soba (Uji), nishin soba (Kyoto Prefecture), and wanko soba (Iwate Prefecture).

Soba

Soba maki is a traditional dish in which soba meets maki sushi. In order to prepare the dish, sushi rice is replaced with chilled soba noodles, made from buckwheat flour. Ingredients such as wasabi paste, pickled ginger, chopped scallions, cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, and sesame oil are mixed together, while a sheet of nori seaweed is placed on a rolling mat. The soba mixture and the chilled noodles are placed on the nori along with a few slices of cucumbers and bell peppers. The dish is then rolled like sushi, cut into individual segments, and served as it is because there is no need for condiments or dipping sauces.

Soba maki

Italy

Spatzle Tirolesi (also known as spinatspatzeln) is an Italian version of the German sp&auml;tzle, traditionally prepared throughout the region of Trentino Alto Adige. One of the most classic ways of enjoying this rustic green pasta variety made with boiled spinach, eggs, flour, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and water is in a simple sauce consisting of heavy cream and crispy speck, previously fried in butter. Cooked spatzle are added to the sauce, then tossed until fully coated. Spinatspatzeln are best enjoyed immediately after preparation, topped with grated Parmigiano and a sprinkle of a freshly ground pepper.

Spätzle Tirolesi

Stamina udon is a Japanese variety of an udon noodle dish. This dish should be hearty and nutritious, hence the word stamina in its name. It's often made with meat, vegetables, and raw eggs in addition to the udon noodles. Popular additions to stamina udon include thinly sliced pork, cabbage, onions, fish cakes, shrimp, or chicken. When served, a bowl of stamina udon is usually accompanied by tsuyu dipping sauce on the side.