Final Project: Noodle Narrative
[What Noodle means to Whi Jung]
Noodle is defined as “food in the form of long, thin strips made from flour or rice, water, and often egg, cooked in boiling liquid” by Cambridge dictionary. Yet in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is defined as “a food paste made usually with egg and shaped typically in ribbon form”. Like so, noodle has different meanings to different people.
To Whi Jung, a 22 years old college student at University of Washington who is originally Korean but has lived in China for 8 years, noodle means “a long string of flour dough or other ingredients like rice that is usually boiled to be mixed with other ingredients to be served as a one-time meal.” When she thinks about noodle it brings her joy and happiness. It even sounded like it brings her a sense of nostalgia. She says noodles reminds her about her family and the times they used to eat noodles altogether.
Noodle to Whi isn’t just one of her favorite food, but it also something that shows her identity. More specifically, her background and her cultural identity. Her parents are Korean and so is she. Yet, because she lived in China for many parts of her life, she believes she encompasses a sense of Chinese culture within her too. She mentioned two stories that she remembers most specifically that explained how noodle revealed her culture – both Chinese and Korea.
As for the Chinese culture, she claimed that she learned most during the two years she spent with a Chinese host family. Her mother’s friend was married to a Chinese man, and she had the opportunity to live a life with them for two years. During the two years, she mentioned that “Yi mian” that is also known as the “E-fu mian” was one food that had a strong sense of Chinese culture. She said for two birthdays she “spent in China with them, [her] host mother prepared that long life noodle on my birthdays. They said in festive days they eat that “Long-life noodle.”” She claimed that it was a simple fried noodle with onion chives, but it was her favorite food. Upon further research on Yi-mian, I figured out that Yi mein “symbolize longevity and can always be found on the banquet table at Chinese celebrations.” (The Worksoflife) Here I believe Chinese societal and cultural belief of their hopes of longevity is well represented by Yi-mian noodle.
Along with her Yi-mian story, she also talked about her story related to “Janchi-gooksu” a Korean traditional noodle directly translated into the “Festive noodle.” She talked about her grandmother who always forced her to finish a bowl of Janchi Jooksu – as that would bring her luck. In fact, it is actually a Korean myth that because noodles are physically long, eating them helps people live long lives. I thought it was interesting as the Chinese Yi-mian and Korean “Janchi gooksu” both are culturally significant as they emphasize the idea of longevity and the well-lived life for people. Whi also agreed as mentioned that both noodles have cultural symbols. She believes both noodles often symbolize “long life and are thought of as lucky food that helps people be healthy and live a longer life.”
I then questioned her about how Chinese society affects noodles or the diet. I wondered if there were specific noodles designated for different class structures and I believe the class structures are divided rather clearly in China. Whi claimed that Chinese noodles aren’t divided by class structure but more by region. She mentioned the Sichuan hot noodle or Lanzhou beef noodle. This was interesting as in class we also learned that there are different types of noodles in different regions and such originated from the difference in the ingredients they can get from the region or the climate. Yet, she claimed that there are different levels of noodles – not necessarily the type of noodle, but the general kind. For example, she believes relatively lower-class people enjoy street food noodles like chow-mian. She further claimed that classy and more expensive noodles served in restaurants are usually soup-based while street food she saw was mostly fried. I then questioned her about how societal changes in China affect noodles or if they do make changes in the first place. She claimed that she “recently visited Beijing, China again, and thought there were much less street food.” She mentioned her reminisces as her family and herself enjoyed eating street food noodles. Yet, she noticed that today, even those getting the street food mostly do take out.
When I brought the story of noodles down to a more personal level, she mentioned her very own favorite soul food noodle – Jiajiang mian. It is also known as “noodles with soybean paste”. It is originally from China but there is also a Korea styled Jia-jiang mian. When I asked her about the difference between the Korean-style and Chinese style Jiajiangmian, she claimed that the Korean style is sweet and has more sauce. While Chinese style only put a little bit of oily sauce on it and it is less sweet and saltier comparatively. Yet, she mentioned that when she visited China again last summer, she found many of the Chinese noodles had the Korean-Chinese fusion styled and so was the Jiajiangmian. She could see Korea styled Jiajiangmian in many parts of Beijing too. This she and I believe is also one societal change that happened in China as Korean culture manifested itself in the Chinese noodle’s cultural DNA.
Overall she claimed that culture and noodles are tightly related. I also agree that food isn’t just a method to gain energy and nutrition but encompasses much more. Whi mentioned that her stories regarding “Janchi-gooksu” or “yimian” also is interesting as both noodles hold Korea and Chinese, respectively, cultural identity. Whi further mentioned that her preferences for food are also highly based on her tradition and culture.
It was genuinely interesting to see what noodles mean to my friend who experienced various cultures and believes has multiple countries’ identity. Through my interview with Whi Jung, I felt that noodle isn’t just one type of food but reveals one’s sense of national tradition, family culture, or individual characteristics. Different types of noodles hold different meanings, whether it is a family story or a traditional myth. And different noodles further give different feelings to different people.
Reference
(https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/noodle)
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noodle)
(https://thewoksoflife.com/long-life-noodles-yi-mein/)
Interview Video Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3AaSmwCNgw&feature=youtu.be
+ Interview Questions+
1) Can you introduce yourself? Your name, age, where you live now, occupation?
2) Could you describe a little bit about your background? How long how you lived in China? How was your experience there?
3) What does noodle mean to you?
++ Definition or just personal meaning noodle has for you.
4) Do you associate noodles with any kind of emotion?
5) Do you have any stories or myths you recall associated with noodles?
6) Would you say that cultural rituals or symbolism are associated with noodles?
7) In China, did you associate different kinds of noodles with different levels of education and class structures?
++ How about comparatively lower-class people?
++So there are no specific menus designated for different class people?
8) Do you maybe see any changes in noodles as the Chinese society changes?
9) What is your favorite noodle?
10) You mentioned “Korean style” Jiajiangmian. Are Korean style and Chinese styled Jiajiangmiang different? Which do you like better? Is there fusion styled Jiajiangmian in China?
11) How do you think one’s culture and noodles are associated? How are they associated specifically for you?