Category: Final Paper

First carried to Sicily by Arab merchants around the 12th century, pasta finally made its way to Naples about 300 years ago. For centuries, pasta was only consumed on special occasions by the wealthy and as a rare indulgence by the proletariat. The people of Napoli ate a diet primarily of meats and lots of vegetables, so much so that they were labeled as the mangiafoglia, the leaf-eaters. All that changed in the seventeenth century when macaroni-eating took to the streets of Naples after Spanish misrule caused an increase of poverty and hunger. Through small technological innovations such as the muller and the invention of the mechanical press, the Neapolitans were to produce pasta at greater speeds and lower costs. Pasta became the food of the people, and the Neapolitans went from mangiafoglia, leaf eaters, to mangiamaccheroni, macaroni eaters. Soon after, the whole of Italy was known as the mangiamaccheroni.

Up until the 1700s, the Neapolitans were known as the ‘mangiafoglia,’ which directly translates to leaf-eaters. Emilio Sereni writes in his essay “I napoletani da mangiafoglia a mangiamaccheroni” that ‘foglie’ in the Neapolitan dialect of that time, refers primarily to broccoli. The label of broccoli eaters was well merited as the vegetable was grown all year round in Naples to provide the city with a constant supply (Gentilcore, 33). In 1692, one of Naples poets showed appreciation for the broccoli by exclaiming: “Oh leaf so tasty! Oh leaf so sweet! You are our magnet, and our treat” (Dickie, 151). All parts of the broccoli were eaten; the leaves, stems, and flowers, and they were enjoyed by all members of society from the elite to the lazzaroni (peasants) (Gentilcore, 33). 

The Neapolitans also ate a variety of other vegetables as well. There are records that Ospedale dei Pellegrini in Naples, a charitable home called for pilgrims and the homeless, distributed a basic meal of cabbage, squash or turnip soup along with salad and fruit. In the case of religious institutions, they made a virtue of a vegetable-rich diet. Nuns will often be found eating a large quantity and variety of vegetable soups, seasoned with lardo, which is hard bacon fat. In southern Italy, the Poor Clares of Santa Chiara made 461 separate vegetable purchases during the year 1748 – 1749. The nuns of Santa Maria degli Angeli also made similar types of purchases and ate a vegetable soup almost daily—made from cauliflower, chicory, cardoons, escarole, or cabbage—as well as vegetables like squash, eggplant, broccoli rabe, artichokes, and lampaggioli (a small bitter onion) (Gentilcore, 34).

During this period, pasta was perceived as a delicacy commonly eaten by aristocrats and royalty. Ferdinand IV was well known for his passion for pasta that an Irish guest recalled: “He seized it inches fingers, twisting and pulling it about, and cramming it voraciously into his mouth, most magnanimously disdaining the use of either knife, fork, or spoon, or indeed any aid except such as nature had kindly afforded him” (Dickie, 161). Pasta was also so much of a luxury that in 1509 an ordinance was issued to forbade that making of “taralli, susamelli, ceppule, maccarune, trii vermicelli,” and other food products made with dough during times of “war, famine, or a bad season” as to not encroach on production of bread (Capatti, 56 – 57). Even in the ‘birthplace’ of pasta, Sicily, pasta was a costly product. In 1501, due to high prices, pasta was included among the basic foods subject to price control. In the middle of the sixteenth-century, macaroni and lasagne had cost three times as much as bread (Capatti, 57).

Pasta began taking a different role in the Italian diet during the course of the seventeenth century. By the mid 17th century, Naples was experiencing overcrowding due to Spanish misrule and due to corrupt annona officials. The Spaniards had implemented a tax system that further impoverished the already poor rural population, and this drew them into the city of Naples looking for food, housing, and work (Schwartz, 32). Additionally, Naples’ corrupt city magnates and nobles managed an annona, which is a system that is meant to maintain a stable supply of grain, by regulating the supply and demand, through buying and selling grains from farmers in the countryside of the Kingdom of Naples. Unfortunately, the annona officials began to hoard supplies of wheat and speculated on the rapidly rising prices, and the Spanish royal government was too weak to counter their influence (Dickie, 156 – 157). In 1763 as cartloads of grain arrived in the city of Naples, 40,000 peasants from the countryside followed to beg for food on the streets, continuing the overcrowding problem. For months, bread was impossible to find, or it was made from flour so heavily cut with ashes or grit that only the starving could bring themselves to swallow it (Dickie, 157). As hunger became more widespread in the Kingdom of Naples, the city of Naples resembled grotesquely swollen head on top of an emaciated body.

The overpopulation issue caused problems in production and the efficiency of the public market, which then caused the progressive decline of resources that had been the essential ingredients of the popular diet—meat and vegetables (Montanari, 11). In the late 17th century, the price of meat and vegetables increased while the price of wheat fell. This prompted a change in the diet of Neapolitans, with a big shift to carbohydrates. Poor Neapolitans who used to rely on meat and vegetables have now begun to turn to pasta: affordable, filling, and caloric. (Winke, “Mangiamaccheroni: A Surprising Neapolitan Street-Food Tradition”)

Pasta, in particular, grew in popularity due to the fact that, Naples, a rugged city on the Mediterranean coast, like Sicily and the rest of the Campania, was ideal for growing durum wheat due to the climate and soil. The alternating gentle ocean breezes and hot winds from Mount Vesuvius ensured that the pasta would not dry too slowly and risk becoming moldy, or so fast that it would crack or break (Shelke, 23 – 24). Additionally, due to the high demand of crops from the city of Naples, grain turned out to be the most economically rational crop (Dickie, 151). The number of pasta stores in Naples more than quadrupled between 1700 and 1785 as a tribute to the increasing popularity of pasta (Shelke, 24).

Perhaps even more important was the small technological revolution that brought about greater availability of the muller, and technological improvements in manufacture: in the early 1600s, the city witnessed the arrival of the first screw presses for squeezinguni dough through perforated plates to make macaroni, the invention of the mechanical press. This technology has made it possible to produce macaroni and other types of pasta at a considerably lower cost than in the past. For this reason, pasta has become increasingly important in the diet of the city’s poorer classes and encouraged its promotion as a “basic” food (Capatti, 57). If pasta was deemed as one of the many luxury foods up until this stage, it has now, for the first time, become a food of the people, the main meal in the life of the Lazzaroni. From the seventeenth century onwards, the Neapolitans acquired the nickname of “macaroni-eaters,” taking it from the Sicilians, who first embraced the Arab model of dried noodles in the Middle Ages (Montanari, 12). Pasta became cheaper and more abundant, offering a neat solution to Naples’ food shortage.

As pasta became more readily accessible to the city’s poor and became a working-class staple, it began to be served and prepared like most food in Naples: in the open-air and from street market stalls. When Goethe visited the city in 1789, he observed that “macaroni of all kinds … are found everywhere at a low price” (Winner, “Al Dente”). By 1785, Naples had 280 pasta shops, and the city seemed to be laced with pasta hanging over balconies and from frames on the street to dry (Winner, “Al Dente”). Following the drying, the noodles were then boiled in a large cauldron set over an open fire in tiny market stalls. The noodles were flavored with a dab of pork grease, a handful of salt to taste, and hard cheese grated over the top (Winke, “Mangiamaccheroni: A Surprising Neapolitan Street-Food Tradition”). While it may sound picturesque, many aristocrats on the Grand Tour (a coming to age trip of Europe made by young, wealthy, European men), viewed the preparing pasta outdoors to be filthy and unsanitary (Dickie, 145-149).

The Grand Tourists were, on the other hand, very amused by the fact that the urban poor ate their street food, like any proper street food, with their bare hands. Andrea de Jorio, a Neapolitan clergyman and ethnographer, explained in his 1832 ‘La mimica degli antichi investigata nel gestire napoletano’ that to eat macaroni “the Neapolitan way” requires the noodles to be picked up in one fistful, lowered into one’s mouth and “swallowed down in a single, uninterrupted mouthful.” De Jorio further reveals that the macaroni should be eaten “with both hands in such a way that there is no interval between successive mouthfuls, except what is necessary to allow the macaroni to reach the oesophagus.” This method of eating pasta became so famous that watching the lazzaroni eat pasta with their bare hands became a popular Grand Tourist attraction by the 1800s. It also was a spectacle that was largely depicted in paintings, prints, and postcards (Winke, “Mangiamaccheroni: A Surprising Neapolitan Street-Food Tradition”). 

During the Grand Tours, many tourists arranged shows of the lazzaroni’s pasta eating for entertainment. Tossing a coin or two at the lazzaroni, the street beggars, would create a rush to the nearest maccheroni stand to consume the macaroni in their distinctive way. One night while riding through a market, John Lawson Stoddard, an American visitor to Naples, wrote that he had stopped to purchase 20 plates of macaroni in order to watch the Lazzaroni eat them. “The instant that one wretched man received a plate a dozen others jumped for it; [they] grabbed handfuls of the steaming mass, and thrust the almost scalding mixture down their throats,” he wrote. “I had expected to be amused, but this mad eagerness for common food denoted actual hunger.” The spectacle, as Stoddard discovered, was a poignant testimony to the poverty that has impacted Naples’ working-class families for generations (Braun “Eating Spaghetti by the Fistful Was Once a Neapolitan Street Spectacle”).

Despite the displays of poverty throughout Napoli, pasta the food item that helped the Neapolitans survive through periods of famine. According to “Pasta: the Story of a Universal Food,” a report from 1758 reveals that the volume of raw macaroni material consumed in Naples at that time was roughly 1,132 tons, which would yield roughly the same weight of dry pasta. It is estimated that this to amount to no more than about thirty-one pounds per person per year—that is, only a little more than the average per capita consumption in Italy today. When adding the context of the poverty of that time, the figure is remarkably high (Serventi, 123 – 124). Even when famine and plague hit in the late eighteenth century, Neapolitans didn’t die in large numbers as others did elsewhere (Winner, “Al Dente”). Pasta had saved the city.

Soon, with the unification of Italy in 1860, the label of “macaroni-eaters” had acquired a broader meaning, representative not only of Neapolitans but of Italians in general. In the 1930s, in an attempt to make the country more self-sufficient, Mussolini initiated the growing of durum wheat in central and northern Italy. Factories in the north of Italy began making pasta, and electric drying tunnels replaced sea and volcanic breezes. Naples became less essential in the production of pasta, and today the province of Campania is the country’s sixth-largest pasta producer (Kummer, “Pasta”). Now, all across Italy, Italians enjoy a more unified cuisine of pasta. Additionally, outside Italy, the stereotype of the macaroni eater was already perceived as part of the Italian character in the broadest sense. With the emigration of Italians in the nineteenth century, the consumption of pasta was seen as a distinctive element of the Italian “difference” (Montanari, 11).

Many nineteenth-century Italian poets have since gone on to show their appreciation for pasta in many of their musical compositions. Mela’s Don Matteo from Verona sings:

“Oh dearest, dear maccheroni, exquisite victual, beloved food, our bellies are prepared to celebrate you!… Now they are ready and how thick they are! I will surely swell the sweet Reginella!” (Parzen, 81).

In Bologna, Maritini writes,

“How delicious are maccheroni! O you who hear, o you who eat…” (Parzen, 82)

Finally, in an anonymous poem published in Milan:

“One cannot reach any higher nor can one hope for anything greater than the great consolation of eating maccheroni… Neapolitans, Genovese, Sicilians and Milanese and every other nationality. Everyone loves maccheroni” (Parzen, 82).

All these poems and lyrics represent the culture of pasta, where the first traces of a truly national identity begin to arise in the life of Risorgimento Italy.

Through Spanish misrule and through corrupt annona officials, famine and poverty were brought to the city of Naples, where meat and vegetables, the Neapolitan’s predominant diet was no longer readily available. Fortunately, through the innovation of the mechanical press, Naples became a producer of affordable pasta, and its people were able to power through moments of economic turmoil that risk famine and hunger. The people of Naples soon retired its label of the leaf-eaters to now obtain the label of macaroni-eaters with a characteristic way of eating pasta by the fistful. However, soon enough, ‘macaroni-eaters’ becomes an Italian identity. The rest of Italy may not have much in common with the Neapolitans. They differ in language, traditions, wines, and gastronomy, except for on aspect which all Italians culinarily embrace: pasta.

Through globalization and the spread of people, items, and ideas, cross-cultural patterns naturally occurred throughout the world. Chinese immigrants came to America in search for the American Dream, especially prosperity and success for not only themselves but also for the family and future generations achieved through hard work. Being a first-generation Chinese-American and from my family owning a Chinese restaurant, I have been able to experience and observe the differences within authentic Chinese food and the Americanized Chinese food. Chinese and American cuisines are distinctive with the key differences that have caused for this phenomenon including, but not limited to, the ingredients, style of cooking, flavors, social eating, definition of eating, and other social and cultural differences, causing the shift and creation of an Americanized Chinese cuisine. These differences have led to the significance to deeper cultural connections through the Americanization of Chinese food to the overall Chinese American identity.

Traditional and mainstream Chinese cuisine is complex with the multiple use of ingredients, flavors, and style of cooking as they pay great attention to it and will not settle for bland or identical taste every day because food is supposed to be valued as enjoyment. This leads to the constant change in variety and combination. Along with globalization, which is the transfer of ingredients and styles of cooking, this allows the integration of different regions in china with different styles and preparations. Chinese homemade dishes, especially dinner, are not easy to make. Chinese cooking is an integral part of life and is a source of health and energy by using the rawest and natural ingredients. Due to the prioritization of health and regional availabilities, the Chinese daily life consists of no excessive meat dishes and people prefer inexpensive vegetables. Meat dishes are divided into 4 categories- chicken, duck, fish, and meat- and unlike Westerners, they use all parts of animals and are often considered as delicacies (J. Liu, 41). Based on the diner’s preferences and time of year, a chef focuses on keeping the food healthy and emphasizes on balancing the 5 flavors in harmony: saltiness, sourness, pungency, bitterness, and sweetness and fresh essence (J. Liu, 67). Fresh essence is considered with importance and is also defined as umami, a taste derived from a natural state and juice . Dishes can be stir-fried, fried, stewed, steamed, braised, simmered, roasted, deep fried, and etc. to bring out different textures and tastes based on the food type and goal of the aesthetic and flavor (J. Liu, 41).

            The Chinese do not draw any distinction between food and medicine by viewing food as nourishment because they deeply value their health. “Only when food fails, then he prescribes medicine” (Lin, 250). Chinese culture attests to the fact well-being is reliant on whatever one consumes. There is a saying where one eats light in the morning, full in the afternoon, and nourishing at night. Unlike Western medicine, where people only go to the doctors when they are sick just to be provided with medicine, Chinese medicine consists of soups with multiple ingredients, such as different herbs or parts of animals in a stew to nourish and strengthen the body holistically and not to attack the disease solely. (Lin, 251) Westerns have recently discovered the multiple animals’ parts with greatest nourishing food value, such as kidneys, stomachs, intestines, blood, bone marrow and brains, while the Chinese have known for ages and never waste. The Chinese not only uses animal parts and food as medicine, but also for tastes and flavor. Bitterness is said to release heat in the body, improve vision, and detoxify the body, while pungency can regulate bodily fluids, blood and chi (Lin, 252). This emphasis of eating for preventative health has long term benefits, and ultimately leads to the ideals in living a long life.

Food in Chinese culture also allows for strengthening and developing social connections . A distinctive Chinese eating characteristic is the idea of shared dining where everyone sits around a round table and shares multiple dishes of food (J. Liu, 37). This social aspect may be related to the close attention the Chinese pay to blood relationships and kinship where they can see everyone’s faces and be able to communicate and interact with each other. “Chinese stress the aesthetics of food, the refinement of dining ware, and the elegance of the dining environment” (J. Liu, 32) in which there are social rules within eating such as obeying dining table rules when eating together, such as the noises produced or chopstick placements (J. Liu, 65). While the experience of eating is enjoyable in of itself, food is also an expression of love, content, and joy .

            On the other hand, American cuisine, eating culture, and lifestyle are deeply influenced and reflected by the history of the United States due to the mass migrations of foreign people and cultures, which is also now known as the melting pot of cultures. The early years were deeply reliant on the availability of resources based on the geographical resources, which was often meat, animals, agriculture. The early 1900’s, the basis of American diet consisted of the “three M’s”: meat (salt pork), corn, meal and molasses (Dyson, 4) It typically consists largely of meat and potatoes with some sauces and condiments, small portion of vegetables and fruits, and lots of heavy sweets. This heavy meat and potato diet even transfers over to even breakfast. Men and women consisted of “heavily padded figures” popularized by the upper class and believed that a weighty figure demonstrated good health, which therefore caused the lower class followed suit with fatty meats and bottles of beer (Dyson, 2). Even early nutritionists emphasized on high protein products such as meat and saw little value in fresh fruits and actively opposed greens because they require more bodily energy to digest (Dyson, 3). Western cuisine when compared to Chinese cuisine, according to Lin, is seen as pretty dull and insipid and extremely limited in variety, especially when preparing vegetables. Vegetables are extremely limited in variety and style of cooking as they are merely boiled in water and always over-cooked until they lose color and look mushy (Lin, 253). According to studies from 1914 to 1928, the working class workers averaged 2 pounds more food per day, ate more refined sugar, bread, and starch products which lead to obesity and health problems (Dyson,4).

Scientific and technological advancements with food production, processing, and transportation revolutionized food in America. This led to increased industrialized and highly processed food, such as canned and dried fruits, vegetables, grain products. Economic productivity and convenience in the United States became more of a priority than taste, which soon led to injections of vitamins, antibiotics, and growth hormones for mass productions, lower cost in food, and increased portions, whereas the Chinese emphasis on the natural. Working women were expected to be married and full-time homemakers, but as both parents became employed, the slow complexities of food became an inconvenience at home. This led to frozen meals, dubbed “TV dinners” consisting a portion of meat, starch, and vegetables with increase synesthetic chemical additives (Dyson, 5). With the increased popularity and demands of frozen food, it led to more opportunities for variety and innovations due to the introduction of microwaves as a household technology to “zap” frozen dinners after work (Dyson,7). Similarly, take-out restaurants also became popular alongside fast-food restaurants and drive-thrus. “Today, Americans eat and average of five meals away from home every week, expending more money on food prepared outside the home than on that made in their own kitchen” (Smith, 25). With the fast-pace of society and more individualization of food, families are no longer eating with each other and are replaced by TV screens for efficiency, leaving no time for conversation.

            The American cuisine has been impacted by ethnic influences, which has resulted in a melting pot of dishes, cooking styles, and fusion cuisines. Some dishes, such as burger and hotdogs that are typically considered All-American, actually originated in other countries or cultures like Germany, but it has become customized to American tastes through different cooking style. The newly developed categorization of New American cuisine consists of the Americanization of various foreign cuisines through mixing and matching flavors, ingredients, techniques, and other elements from other cultures but cannot be categorized into one specific region. It is based upon “reinterpretation, reinvention, eclectic, inventive, mashup” and taking risks and inspirations in order to create a new narrative and represents the melting pot of America (Armstrong, 2016).

The word “American” itself is associated with race, which also means white. “Globalization is equally capable of maintaining and creating cultural heterogeneity or diversity because it brings a defense of the local, the creative invention of tradition, blending old and new ideas, things, and proactive” (Crowther, Intro). This consist of negotiations between cultures, but in some case, assimilation is a more accurate term. Immigration was practically closed for many years, so when the Immigration Act of 1924 came about, people held on to the connection to the “old country American” food. People, such as teachers, school lunch planners, and advertisers pushed second and third generation immigrants to assimilate and “Americanize” their diets (Dyson, 4). People that assimilated and adapted to the “white” culture are the ones that are able to gain success the fastest, however, that does not come without racial and social prejudice. With the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the Chinese faced constant racial harassment and discrimination in their economic and social lives (H. Liu, 2). When other jobs were not available to them in the United States, most Chinese immigrants were driven into the restaurant trade. In order to expand outside of the populated Chinatown community filled with racial prejudice, there was the urge to Americanize their food to reach a wider audience. As the Chinese have adapted themselves to American society, some elements of their home cultures remained, others have completely disappeared, and others have changed.

            The abundance and popularity of Chinese restaurants throughout the US has integrate itself as an integral part of the American life. However, all this began in the mid-1890s and early 1900s with the dish called chop suey that spoke to non-Chinese patrons across racial boundaries and was the first purposefully synthesized cooking style presented to American eaters that amounted to a nationwide culinary craze (Mendelson, 100). What constituted chop suey’s culinary identity in America were a number of social expectations in which American clients desired Chinese dishes to be genuine and Chinese owners hoped to accommodate to American tastes. This led to chop suey’s authenticity as a locally constructed invention. The success and popularity of the Chinese American restaurants revolves around the food still feeling Chinese and foreign enough without actually delving into real Chinese food of taste and delicacies. The calculated equilibrium of flavors and textures is unlike anything that the new consumers have experienced which along with the fast preparation, service, and affordability became useful when competing with other fast food restaurants. This ultimately made Chinese food associated with comfort food because of the convenience, fattening, and umami flavor with the mix of sweet, salty, and spicy because society would not allow them to ascend to fine-dining. The term “chow” is similar to the idea of stir-fry which was foreign to the westerners and consists of short blast of powerful heat with pieces of food cut into right shapes and sizes and added in lightning-fast stirring and tossing of the ingredients as they hit the hot fat metal of a wok (Mendelson, 107). The Americanization of fried rice, chow mein, and lo mein soon followed suit after this cooking style from chop suey and also based on home-style village food. Some even regard these dishes as “a culinary joke at the expense of the foreigner” (Dyson, 6). Compared to Chinese dish counterparts, these have much more pork, meat, and is greasy. By focusing on quantity instead of quality, a large menu was created to cater to customer’s desire for options, with essentially all the same process, just slight variations in meat, base, or sauce.

            Chinese American cooks substituted ingredients for profitability, flavors, textures to parallel the flourishing trends in mainstream American cuisine, which the Chinese discovered through working as cooks in private homes. Cheap and readily available cornstarch gave: sauces a translucent gloss while thickening them to non-Chinese desired degree, the addition of food coloring or dye, and batter dipped and fried boneless nuggets of pork or chicken. In order to please America’s sweet tooth, the sweet-and-sour sauces was invented due to the notion that the higher the sugar content, the happier the audience (Mendelson, 117). To further tailor to the American standards, Chinese restaurateurs removed unpopular items as bean curd, whole fish, chicken feet, and most steamed dishes that are seen more as more daring, adventurous, and daunting to non-Chinese (Mendelson, 123). However, these items can still be found in Chinatowns, which are perfect the adventure-seeking tourist in search for authenticity. This reveals the clear disconnect between the authentic and the Americanized version with the Chinese food being inaccessible and out of touch with American tastes, culture, and identity.

            The Chinese American success in assimilation to the “American character” has transcended to them being called the “model minority” through educational success, achievements, occupational status, and incomes (Wang, 181). However, this has not come without racial discrimination and seclusion and being called the model minority is basically saying that the US culture is superior and that those who assimilate and let go of their own culture are the ones who will be praised. The identity, status, and destiny of the Chinese people abroad are not homogenous nor static. One of the first waves of Chinese immigrants were laborers to seek new opportunities and were seen as “useless, undesirable, and unassimilable immigrants” (Tow, 31). With the strong anti-Chinese sentiments and the feeling of detachment from their roots, these laborers only objectives were to advance their own economic wellbeing on the behalf of their families in order to eventually return to their ancestral villages for retirement due to their loyalty to traditions and culture (Wang,186). Through further exclusion and segregation, the birth of second generation Chinese Americans were forced to choose between being Chinese and American, but most chose to be Americanized and conform to values and behaviors in pursuit to be accepted by the white society. This includes aligning their loyalty to the dominant countries they are assimilating to as minorities. The Chinese are hardworking and aspired to improve their conditions to develop their communities and advance Americanism through learning the English language in their spare time and learning the American cultures from their children who attend schools. Chinese people in America are often seen as honest and low-abiding citizens as most Chinese Americans still adhere to their old teaching of modesty. Due to the nature and nurture in training of Chinese homes, the parents pass along the traits of politeness, respectfulness, and gratefulness from their culture to their children which may also be why Chinese Americans are also so easily vulnerable to being victimized through racial persecutions (Tow, 65). However, Chinese-Americans also gained status in their middle-class ranks through the American-born generations and the educated and affluent Chinese immigrants, while also being exemplary and “ideal pupils” (Tow, 77). Through the profitability of Chinese restaurants, work ethics, and low start-up costs, Chinese Americans were able to start building their success and achieve the American Dream of democratic and capitalistic ideals and transcend through the social and economic classes and difference. Today, the modern Chinese merchants, students, and white collar workers are no different than that of American counterparts in their methods of conducting businesses and way of living.

            Consequently, through the acts of globalization, migration, and overcoming racial discrimination, Chinese immigrants in the United States have wholly contributed to the Americanization of Chinese food that all started with chop suey. With hard work, creativity, and behaviors, Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans revolutionized what Americans know about Chinese food and has become a staple in the American culture and cuisine. The differences in Chinese and American cuisines are prominent through expectations and use of ingredients within eating behaviors and attitudes, cooking style, and flavors. America would not be where it is today without the existence of immigrants who provide a solid foundation with a backbone of strength and diversity, especially through food. Because of those such as Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans chasing the American dream, America is now largely powered on the product of one’s long history of hard work and grit. In essence, American’s are feeding America.

 

References:

Armstrong, Mindy. “The New American Cuisine.” Flavor & The Menu, 2 Nov. 2016,        www.getflavor.com/new-american-cuisine/.

“Chinese Take-Out.” Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA, by   Robert Ji-Song Ku, University of Hawai’i Press, 2014, pp. 49–78. JSTOR,        www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wqw82.6.

Crowther, Gillian. Eating Culture: an Anthropological Guide to Food. University of Toronto         Press, 2013.

Dyson, Lowell. “American cuisine in the 20th century.” Food Review/National Food           Review 23.1482-2016-121404 (2000): 2-7.

Liu, H. (2009). Chop Suey as Imagined Authentic Chinese Food: The Culinary Identity of  Chinese Restaurants in the United States. Journal of Transnational American Studies,        1(1). Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2bc4k55r

Liu, Junru. Chinese Food. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Lin, Yutang. The Importance of Living. Harper, 1998.

Smith, Andrew F. Eating history: 30 turning points in the making of American cuisine. Columbia  University Press, 2009.

“The Birth of Chinese American Cuisine.” Chow Chop Suey: Food and the Chinese American        Journey, by Anne Mendelson, Columbia University Press, New York, 2016, pp. 99     -137. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/mend15860.11.

Tow, Julius S. The Real Chinese in America: Being an Attempt to Give the General American        Public a Fuller Knowledge and a Better Understanding of the Chinese People in United         States. New York City: Academy Press, 1923. Print.

Wang, L. Ling-chi. “Roots and Changing Identity of the Chinese in the United         States.” Daedalus, vol. 120, no. 2, 1991, pp. 181–206. JSTOR,            www.jstor.org/stable/20025379.

Final research paper on Suzhou noodles:

The reasons behind the popularity of noodles in Suzhou

Alex Shen

 

My final paper for this course is also on the noodles of Suzhou, specifically, about the reasons behind the seemingly unusual passion of people of Suzhou for noodles. Since I have been dealing with noodles this whole course and have written several essays or conducted project on noodles of Suzhou, I might as well dig deeper in this direction and take my own comprehension for noodles to another level. I used the phrase “seemingly unusual” because noodle, or wheat, have never been and never will be the main source of food for the southern part of China, instead, rice is the everyday food for people here. Noodles can be found anywhere in the south, but it never acted as a major food source or dominated the dining table. However, as far as I know, the city of Suzhou consumes noodles no less than any other cities in the north (it is estimated that people of Suzhou consume five hundred tons of noodles on a daily basis), which is quite hard to explain given the facts above. A famous writer from Suzhou once wrote in his book “Epicure” that “the first thing came to my mind after I woke up was to go to Zhu Hong Xing for a bowl of noodles”, which also shows how much love people of Suzhou have for noodles and how common and routine it is to have noodles for breakfast in Suzhou. So, this paper will be me trying to understand the reasons for this phenomenon by conducting a fieldwork to one of the noodle restaurants in Suzhou, while deepening my comprehension of noodles of my city of Suzhou.

 

To be able to talk about noodles between the north and the south, I first need to go for the history of it. It is believed that wheat was introduced to Xinjiang, China about four thousand years ago, and was already ubiquitous throughout the entire China after about another thousand years. The wisdom of Chinese people quickly helped them invent flour, which was made by grinding wheat into white powder. Because of the climate difference between northern and southern China, wheat was cultivated in the north whereas rice in the south. It was the Song dynasty when China’s economic center shifted to the south around the city of Hangzhou. All the business men from the north swarmed to the south, bringing their own food with them, and caused a prosperous diversity of food in the southern area.

 

This was the story of noodles being introduced to the south, and noodles rooted here ever since. Next, I will try to analyze why noodles could stay here and thrive to become one of the main food sources of people of Suzhou. In order to do so, I conducted fieldwork to a noodle restaurant in Suzhou. The place is called Lu Zhen Xing, a famous noodle brand in the city. My father is a friend with the owner of this brand, and he introduced me to him and provided me the chance to conduct this fieldwork. This fieldwork is different from an interview in that I didn’t sit down with the owner and did some Q&A. Instead, I asked the owner for permission to stay in the restaurant for a whole day to observe. I could wander the kitchen, dining place and the cashier in order to fully glean all the information I needed. After the day, I concluded some reasons I thought was crucial to the popularity of noodles in Suzhou: the good taste of the noodle dish, the dainty of the food and the process of enjoying it, and how the cultural and economic factors of this region affected people’s decisions.

 

The kitchen was the first place I observed. Through the process of making the dish, noodles and toppings are separately prepared. First, we need to put the noodles into the carefully prepared soup, and then precisely fill the bowl of soup with how much noodle the customer needs. Finally, the toppings are put onto the top of everything and the noodle can be served. During the whole process, there were several important points that were decisive to the good taste of the noodle: the soup and the noodles. The toppings were already made and extraneous to some extent compared to the former two. The soup is made from stewing big and chicken bones, finless eel, shrimp and snails together for three to four hours, and rich flavor combined with clearness will be the signs for successful and authentic soup. I knew that some customers have the tendency to arrive early for clearer and more fresh soup, which people of Suzhou call “the first bowl of soup”, so I arrived at the restaurant at 6am that day to hope to be able to ask the them the reasons for coming so early and, fortunate enough, caught up with the first customer. He was a man in his fifties, wearing clothes that looked like a school teacher to me. His answer to my question was that he always starts his day early and a bowl of noodles with freshly made soup would wake him up and better prepare himself. The restaurant owner also told me that the only thing Suzhou noodles had in common with northern noodles it that they both put the noodles in a big bowl(usually southern noodles uses smaller bowls), because the soup of Suzhou noodles is so good that customers just cannot have enough of the soup after finishing the noodles. The noodles are also hard to make—-each customer has his or her own preference for both how the noodles should be cooked and how much noodles they want—–this sets up a challenge for the noodle handlers, that they must be experts in cooking the noodle to perfection and precisely dredge up the amount of noodles asked by the customer. To become a qualified noodle handler, one must go through each stage of learner, intern, and finally handler, which would take up to years to for this process to be finished.

 

I called the toppings “extraneous” compared to soup and noodles not because they are not delicious, but because they were made ahead. However, the huge variety of toppings is equally astonishing: bamboo shoots, stewed pork cutlet, deep fried and smoked fish, crab meat, spicy pork, duck and so on. All the different topping can satisfy customers with different tastes, providing important freedom in choosing the food they like. Making the topping is also arduous. For example, there is one topping that in order to prepare it, one needs to pan fries the head, body and egg of river shrimps together in order to make a dish, which would take several hours to finish. I mentioned the process of making the noodles and the challenge behind it to emphasis that only through such arduous and professional process of making the noodles can it taste so good, thus attracting the long-lasting love of people of Suzhou for it.

 

The good taste of the noodles of Suzhou can be easily understood as one of the reasons behind the popularity of noodles in Suzhou, since delicious food is always welcomed, but the rituals when eating it and the daintiness of this dish need to be further explained. After the observations of the first-arriving customers and the morning preparation of soup and toppings for the day, I went home for a nap and went back at lunch time. People of Suzhou usually choose to have noodles for breakfast or lunch (we don’t usually have it for dinner), and I sat at the cashier near the entrance of the restaurant to observe the customers, specifically how they ate their noodles. People of Suzhou have a lot of rules and rituals when eating the noodles, among which some might sound strange and inexplicable. Some of the rules or preferences were mentioned above, like asking for specific amount of noodles and how the noodles should be cooked. Others like whether to have abundant soup, choice of having green onions on top, or to drop some vinegar or spicy oil to enrich the flavor are all options to personalize the eating process. I personally like to have less soup, harder noodles, no green onions, and some sliced ginger immersed in vinegar as a side. I saw one elderly customer have so much preferences that the cashier had to write it down on a paper and pass it to the kitchen so that his demand could be perfectly met.

 

These were just the options that one can choose, there are also other rituals or rules that people of Suzhou like to follow. The preciousness of the noodles of Suzhou is that it reached a perfect balance between being a common dish in terms of the price and staying dainty at the same time. People of Suzhou have always had a reputation for living a fine or exquisite life, and noodles of Suzhou is a perfect annotation to that. Even the noodle is not expensive and cannot be considered fine dining, people of Suzhou, especially the elderly, like to put on proper cloths for a visit to a noodle restaurant early in the morning. After sitting down and being served a cup of tea, customers can call the servant and express his or her preferences for noodle. This is crucial because otherwise the chef would cook the noodles based on his choice. When the noodle is served, first put in the seasoning or sauces like spicy oil or vinegar to highlight some of the flavors that each individual customer like. Then, stir the noodles so that it can be evenly immersed in the soup, meanwhile put the topping into the soup as well because the toppings are usually cold. Although these rules for eating noodles may seem irrelevant to enjoying the noodles, there are things that you do not know why but still do it anyway. Even if you are new to this city and unfamiliar with the rituals and rules for having noodles in this city, you will get proficient with it because you will be surrounded with people doing it every time, every day you go into a noodle restaurant. Nine out of ten people of Suzhou would say they do not know the reasons why if you ask them why they should follow the rituals, but I guarantee that ten out of ten people would follow them when eating noodles. That is the interesting part of our rituals, that they are fascinating and somewhat quirky at the same time—-one would enjoy following them but at still sometimes ask themselves why they should do it and reach no conclusion. However, the reason behind the rules are not my primary concern, but what is expressed or masked behind the very behavior of doing them. I think it should be reasonable to say that when doing something that is mainstream with certain degree of delicacy, one would feel somewhat honored and grow more passionate in doing so. If at first the noodles came to Suzhou and after justification of it to better serve the taste of people of Suzhou, rituals are just as important as taste later on to hold this enduring passion.

 

One last reason for the popularity of noodles in Suzhou is due to the economic and cultural uniqueness of this part of China. Suzhou is in the Yangtze river delta area of China, located in the south-eastern part of China, where Yangtze river meets the East China Sea. This area was one of the first to be open to the world after the time when China shut the world off for several hundred years. So, people of this area have something unique: the ability to absorb what is from outside and take it as our own after some modification. When Song Gao Zong, the emperor of China, fled to Hangzhou back in Song dynasty, he quickly fell in love with the southern part of China, about which a poet wrote that he was mistaking Hangzhou to be the capital of China. So along with him, many officers and business men came to the south, some of them to Suzhou. According to data from Fudan University, 75% of immigrants to Suzhou were from Henan province, where noodles is considered the first choice of food. So these business men and officers, due to their distinguished identities, didn’t yield to the food customary here in Suzhou, but on the contrary, brought noodles with them and even influenced people here. As I mentioned before, people here can accept new culture quickly, so did they do with the noodles. They swiftly took this food in and started making it their own food. And the nature of business men in the DNA of people here helped them start noodle industries: there are traceable records of noodle restaurants in Suzhou back to at least three hundred years ago. In 1757, the city of Suzhou already had its first noodle association.

 

After both digging deeper into the history of noodles regarding Suzhou, and observing the noodle restaurant for a day, I now have a better understanding to why the noodles can become so popular in Suzhou. Not only did people here make it so delicious, but also there is now culture related to it, which is masked by the rituals and rules of eating it. And making it possible for everything to begin, the open-mindedness of people here played a crucial part, that it made people of Suzhou accept noodles at the first place.     

 

Hana Keith

8/9/19

Bite-sized Snacks Wrapped in Chinese Culture

            A tornado of steam swirls up into the air, mouth-watering aromas come from the towering stacks of bamboo baskets.  Multigenerational families eagerly await the flavorful assortment of dumplings, steamed buns, rice noodles, and more.  Dim sum, a popular style of Cantonese cuisine, has a rich history as a prevalent part of Chinese cuisine culture and has evolved to be enjoyed throughout the world.  Dim sum, which translates to “touch of heart”, is used interchangeably with yum cha (drinking tea) because it was initially served as a snack accompanied with tea.  Pride and artistry are on full display with over one thousand varieties of these bite-sized dishes.  The rich history, artistry and serving style of Dim Sum magnificently showcases all aspects of Chinese cuisine culture.

 

History and Evolution of Dim Sum

These special Chinese appetizers have a rich history dating back to the Six Dynasty period (Knechtges 447) and has lasted throughout hundreds of centuries to become a popular cuisine throughout the world.  The exact timeframe of when dim sum originated is uncertain because dim sum is not just one specific dish, but encompasses many different dishes. The first accounts of what was then called “bing”, were recorded in poetry and music.  In Shu Xi’s poem, “Rhapsody on Pasta”, written in the late 200’s, he mentions dumplings, steamed buns, and noodles.  Shu Xi eloquently describes dumplings stuffed with meat as well as mantou (馒头) which is generally called bao or baozi, a stuffed bun that can be filled with differing ingredients.  Both steamed buns and dumplings are key components of what is today considered dim sum.  Dim sum is associated with Cantonese cuisine, yet it is interesting to note that one of the earliest references in literature of dumplings and steamed buns is from this poet who lived in the northeastern region of Yuancheng. 

Another contributing factor leading to the birth of the dim sum tradition was when the ancient theory of a third century physician who claimed that combining food and tea led to weight gain was replaced with the notion that tea actually helped with digestion (Parkinson). It was at this point when tea houses began offering small pieces of food were offered with tea. 

Further, in Noodle Narrative class discussions, Dr. Li shared that invasions played a huge role in the vast diversity of food in China.  Different regions of China are known for different flavors and styles of food based on the influences from these invasions.  During the Mongol invasion of China in the thirteenth century, China’s emperor and his people were forced to southern China in the Guangdong province. Originally made for China’s emperor, his family and other wealthier citizens, the custom of dim sum or yum cha (drinking tea) was then established in the Guangdong province. 

The establishment of tea houses along the Silk Road also played a major role in the development and spread of the dim sum culinary experience.  The Silk Road (established during the Han Dynasty) was a network of trade routes connecting China with other surrounding countries.  People traveling on the Silk Road would take breaks in their journey by stopping at tea houses along the way to indulge in small snacks and tea.  Tea houses remain a major part of Chinese dim sum culture where multigenerational families gather to eat, drink tea and socialize. 

Between the silk road and with the immigration of the Chinese to the western world, the tradition of enjoying dim sum and tea has expanded way beyond the Cantonese region to include all parts of Asia and worldwide where Chinese communities exist.  Traditionally, dim sum was typically enjoyed in the morning and early afternoon as a snack or appetizer, However, in the twentieth century, dim sum has expanded to also be served as full meals and offered during dinner hours as well.  Larger and starchier dim sum dishes were intended for the day workers who needed a meal during their labor.  It took many centuries for dim sum to evolve from a simple snack served with tea to a huge assortment of flavorful and artistic delicacies that can be enjoyed as an appetizer or a satiating meal. 

 

Harmonizing and Artistry of Dim Sum

            Harmonizing and blending flavors as well as artful presentation are crucial elements of Chinese cuisine culture.  Dim sum demonstrates these important principles like no other dish.  There are so many different varieties, the opportunity to harmonize and mix flavors are endless.  The five flavors (sourness, sweetness, bitterness, pungency, and saltiness) are of the highest importance in Chinese cuisine, and chefs must know what flavors go well together to create a distinctive and tasty dim sum dish.  According to “Chinese Food”, dishes can assume more than five hundred different tastes just from these five flavors (Liu 66).   Further, as Dr. Li shared in Noodle Narratives class discussions, there are regional differences in Chinese cuisine.  For example, Shanghai food tends to be sweeter than food in Beijing, and Sichuan is known for more spicy food.    Further, the differing cooking methods of steaming, pan frying and deep frying also adds to unique flavors and tastes.   All of these factors contribute to make each dim sum dish taste uniquely different than the next, some may be sweet like a dessert while others may be savory.  The serving size of each dish is typically small, similar to an appetizer, and is meant to be shared.   The dim sum culinary experience allows the customer to try a variety of delicious dishes, creating another level of the mixing and harmonizing of different flavors.    Enjoying the many flavorful dishes that encompass dim sum results in an immersion in the cultural importance of harmonizing flavors. 

Similar to the importance of the harmonized taste of dim sum, the artful appearance is equally important and takes on a variety of forms.  Dim sum chefs pride themselves on the presentation of their dish.  Shrimp dumplings (har gow in Cantonese) is a popular dish that demonstrates the art of dim sum.  Shrimp dumplings are challenging to prepare because the wrapping can easily break apart.  I had the opportunity to observe shrimp dumplings being prepared at my local authentic dim sum restaurant (Ginger Bistro).  The precision the chefs used while making these dumplings was fascinating to watch.  Two chefs worked harmoniously together, one flattening the dough into a perfectly round circle, and the other filling the wrappers with the shrimp mixture and carefully closing the wrapper in an artful design. 

Two chefs at Ginger Bistro making shrimp dumplings

If the flattened dough was not perfect, the dough was rolled back up into a ball and then re-flattened until flawless.  The end result was a beautiful tray of appealing dumplings.  The artistry and mastering of dim sum was also on display when my family and I visited De Fa Chang in Xi’an, China.  De Fa Chang was a most memorable experiences due to the impressive artwork of dim sum on our table.  The dumplings were shaped to look exactly like leaves, walnuts, fishes, birds and more, truly demonstrating the importance and emphasis of artful presentation in Chinese cuisine culture.  In addition, during a Noodle Narrative class discussion, Dr. Li spoke about the symbolism of food and how food is linked to what a person values.  The word for both fish and prosperity is “yu” in Chinese.  Perhaps the dim sum artwork reflects this symbolism as well.

Fish, leaf, walnut dumplings

Proof of the important principles of harmonized flavors and artistry can be found in the artistry of Shu Xi’s poem “Rhapsody of Pasta” where he expressively describes the harmony and artistry in these bite-sized delicacies;

“Lovely and pleasing, mouthwatering,

The wrapper is thin, but it does not burst.

Rich flavors are blended within,”

…

“The aroma swiftly spreads far and wide.

People strolling by drool downwind.”

This beautifully written piece of art demonstrates that the Chinese valued harmonized flavors and artistry centuries ago as they still do today. 

The elegance and sophistication required to make these harmonized and artistic masterpieces make dim sum one of the most challenging cuisines to master.  It may take decades for a chef to truly master this art as it is very labor intensive and complicated, and requires the upmost attention to detail.  The Chinese principle of hard work resounds with the preparation of dim sum.  For example, Yu Seafood’s head dim sum chef (Chef Fung) has been making dim sum for more than 32 years.  He states in his interview video with Toronto Star “Dim sum is easy to learn, hard to master…you have to put your heart into it.”  Dim sum chefs typically start their work in the early hours of the morning to open their restaurants early.  Imagine the work ethic involved in having to perfect the hundreds of dishes that make up dim sum.

Of all of the many varieties of dim sum dishes, some of the most popular are rice noodle rolls, shrimp dumplings, shumai (shrimp and pork dumpling), and bao.  Out of all of the magnificent dim sum dishes, rice noodle rolls seem to make a very common appearance on dim sum tables.  It is impossible to go into detail for each of the many varieties of dim sum dishes.   While each dish has its own unique story, exploring one popular dish should provide some understanding as to the deep history, tradition, flavors and preparation involved.  Based on the anthropological method of observation, rice noodles are a very common appearance on dim sum tables.  Many Chinese families order this dish not only in restaurants in China, but also in San Francisco’s famous dim sum restaurant, Yank Sing, as well as an authentic restaurant in my home town (Ginger Bistro).  Rice noodle rolls can be filled with different ingredients such as shrimp, eggs, or pork and they are wrapped in rice noodles.  To make the rice noodle rolls, one must first prepare the fillings to go inside the rice noodle.  Then, lay the rice noodle sheet out on a pan.  Place the filling in a straight row across the rice noodles, making sure to leave space between the each of the rows.  Next, cut the rice noodle into separate pieces and roll up the ingredients.  Douse the rice noodle rolls in soy sauce and finally eat!  Rice noodles are a traditional food in China and originated during the Qin dynasty.  Records from history show that when northern China invaded southern China, they were not used to eating rice so they preferred noodles made from wheat flour.  Adapting to the more southern ways, the northern cooks started to make their noodles using rice.  As time went on the rice noodle evolved and became a very popular dish all across the world especially in Southeast Asia (Traditional Chinese Rice Noodles: History, Classification, and Processing Methods 123).

Shrimp Rice noodle roll

 

Serving of Dim Sum

            In addition to the harmonizing and artistry that make dim sum special, the way that it is served makes for a unique experience as well.  Many varieties of dim sum are steamed in bamboo baskets that play a dual purpose as a serving vessel.  Originally, a variety of these baskets and plates would be carried to the waiting patrons by waitresses using a tray with a strap around their neck to help support the weight.  This serving method evolved to what many believe to be the traditional and authentic way of serving dim sum on push carts.  Waitresses push these carts filled with a variety of dishes to each table allowing the customers to decide which dishes to choose.  The waitress then stamps the card to record what was selected.  Observing this in a dim sum restaurant in China, it seemed like an uncontrolled storm of carts swirling around the room.  However, there is an order to how dim sum is served.  The lighter, steamed dishes come first, then the more exotic dishes, then deep fried dishes, and then finally the dessert or sweeter dishes.  This is consistent with a passage from “Chinese Food” by Liu Junru where the author states “Chinese cuisine is particular about matching vegetable and non-vegetable dishes, and there is a proper order for serving cold and hot dishes and savory and sweet” (38).  In some ways, this mixing of carts together is a metaphor for the mixing and harmonizing of flavors. 

Interestingly, many restaurants have never used or have moved away from the cart method to a menu or checklist style of serving dim sum.  This is the method used in the authentic dim sum restaurant in my town, Ginger Bistro.  The customer marks what they would like on the checklist menu and the food is brought directly to the table in steamer baskets.  My family and I also visited one of the oldest tea houses still in existence, Luk Yu Tea House in Hong Kong, China.  This tea house has been serving dim sum for over 86 years, and the restaurant’s quaint booths and smartly dressed waiters made up for the fact that they used the menu system instead of the “traditional” cart system. 

My father and I at Luk Yu Tea House

There are a number of possibilities why restaurants may lean more towards using the menu/checklist system.  First, carts may require more space to navigate the tables, which would lessen the number of tables and chairs, and therefore customers, leading to less profit.  Another possibility could be that the cart system is more expensive and requires more staff to push the carts around.  Further, some restaurants may not have the volume of customers to warrant in this cart system as it could lead to much food waste.  From the customers’ point of view, preferences differ.  Some prefer the traditional cart system for its authenticity and ability to visually choose dishes, while others prefer the menu with the perception that it allows them to have dishes made specifically to their order.  Regardless of which method, a constant is the hustling of the waitresses.  While at Ginger Bistro, waitresses are always on-the-go, hard at work while serving the customers.

Cart System 

Waitress at Ginger Bistro serving using menu system

Recently, the dim sum experience has also expanded outside of a traditional restaurant setting.  The use of food trucks to serve dim sum as well as frozen and packaged dim sum dumplings are becoming increasingly popular.  Though these ways may be easier and faster, they are not conducive to the authentic and traditional experience that should be felt while eating dim sum.

 

Dim Sum Love and Connection

            In “Chinese Food” Liu states, “The idea of having families and friends enjoying great food at the table, for the Chinese, is full of warmth and creates a harmonious atmosphere… Dining together is an important way for the Chinese to have increased interpersonal understanding and communication” (37).  This quote resonates directly with the communal experience of eating dim sum.  While the preparation and artistry of dim sum is important to the Chinese cuisine culture, gathering for dim sum with family and friends demonstrates this importance of connection and love.  Dr. Li stated in a Noodle Narrative class discussion that Chinese people normally do not say “I love you”, rather they show their love through favorite meals.  An example of this is from the short film “Bao” where the mother cooks her son a table full of Chinese dumplings and bao to show her love for him.  It can also be seen at the end of the film when the whole family is bonding over preparing bao together.  Throughout my travels from China to San Francisco to New York to even my home town, I have consistently observed multigenerational families sitting around huge round tables with Lazy Susans indulging in massive amounts of dim sum usually served with oolong or jasmine tea.  The love, connection and warmth felt around these tables truly exemplifies this crucial part of Chinese culture. 

Further evidence of the importance of this type of cuisine to Chinese culture is its role during special occasions such as the Chinese New Year.  On Chinese New Year’s Eve, family members bond over making dumplings.  At the start of Chinese New Year, they connect with one another while eating the dumplings together.  It is stated in “Chinese Food” that the southern part of China’s first meal of the Chinese New Year is usually not dumplings but usually glutinous rice balls, which is another dim sum dish.  Regardless of a special occasion or a simple meal with family it is clear enjoying dim sum cuisine demonstrates the connection and love so important in Chinese culture.

 

In Dim Sum(mary)

From its earliest beginnings centuries ago to its popularity today, dim sum cuisine is steeped in Chinese culture.  Dim sum dishes epitomize the harmonious flavors, beautiful artistry, connection and love like no other.  It is fascinating to see how much dim sum has evolved over the years, however, the underlying Chinese principles have remained the same.  Centuries ago, Shu Xi wrote beautiful poems about dumplings and steamed buns that are still relevant and relatable today.  The translation of dim sum as “touch of heart” is apropos.  Chef Fung says, one must put their heart into mastering dim sum creations.  Equally important is the love that is shared when connecting friends and families over a table full of steaming bamboo baskets. 

 

References/Work Cited

“CANTONESE KITCHEN.” Cantonese Kitchen – Treasure Dim Sum, www.dimsum.nl/dim-sum/history/.

“Dim Sum History, about Carts vs Check Sheets, and Their Future – General Discussion – Dim Sum.” Chowhound, 12 Dec. 2010, www.chowhound.com/post/dim-sum-history-carts-check-sheets-future-719520.

Jaaksola, Sara. “A Brief History of Dim Sum in China.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 25 Jan. 2017, theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/a-brief-history-of-dim-sum-in-china/.

Liu, Junru. Chinese Food. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Noodle Narrative Class Discussion

Parkinson, Rhonda. “Your Complete Guide to Dim Sum, the Traditional Chinese Brunch.” The Spruce Eats, The Spruce Eats, 27 June 2019, www.thespruceeats.com/delicious-dim-sum-chinese-brunch-694544.

Radez, Wes. “What Is Dim Sum?” Dim Sum Central, www.dimsumcentral.com/what-is-dim-sum/.

R. Knechtges, David. (2014). 26. Early Medieval China Shu Xi’s “Rhapsody on Pasta”: A Sourcebook. 10.7312/swar15986-035.

“Silk Road.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 3 Nov. 2017, www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/silk-road.

Star, Toronto. “The Art of Dim Sum Explained and Demonstrated by Master Chef.” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAcp-lbFVwo.

Tai, Gloria. “The Art of Dim Sum.” China Live, chinalivesf.com/art-dim-sum/.

“Traditional Chinese Rice Noodles: History, Classification, and Processing Methods.” Traditional Chinese Rice Noodles: History, Classification, and Processing Methods, www.aaccnet.org/publications/plexus/cfw/Documents/CFW-60-3-0515.pdf.

Williams, Claire. “History of Dim Sum.” Yauatcha Life, 19 Jan. 2017, www.yauatcha.com/life/home/home-featured/history-of-dim-sum/.

Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is a local food that is famous for its peculiar odor, but it is one of the most popular food in China in recent years. Among many bands that produce prepackaged Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle and are popular on the e-commerce platform, the brand “the King of Snails” has the highest selling; its online sales of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle of a single day are about 100,000 packs(Mo). Moreover, it has been exported to the United States and it is always sold out online. My paper aims to demonstrate what Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is and the reasons behind its popularity.

It was a cold day last semester, for the first time I realized that Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle, a Chinese local food, has now left its home from China and had its international influence. At the snow day break, even though there was absolutely no snow, the frigid weather in early February pre vented me and my roommate from getting out. The plan was to lounge in the room, until an intolerable huger interrupted our idleness. After thoroughly rummaged our drawers, we finally found the last pack of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle that I brought from China  several months ago. We borrowed a pan from our sophomore advisor, went down to the kitchen and cooked the noodle immediately. It was a delightful meal. We washed the pan thoroughly and returned it to the SA. He took it, had a sniff of the pan, and asked us: “did you just have Snails Rice Noodle?” We were so shocked and confused, “how did you know?” He told us, “I had it before, and was very much impressed by its peculiar odor.” We laughed, and agreed to have Snails Rice Noodle together next time.

The experience made me notice the popularity of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle and begin to wonder the reasons behind it. I found that though Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle doesn’t have a very long history, it can enter into the public is because of its special taste, the production of prepackaged food, the use of internet, the government support and its cultural meanings.

Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is delicious. Authentic Snails Rice Noodle uses dried rice noodle made by aged rice. The noodle was dried out of water when it has the shape, so it keeps the freshness of rice and thus the noodle itself is tasty and chewy. What’s more, the noodle is famous for its terrible smell. When we cooked the noodle in the kitchen of the dorm, the whole dorm could smell it. And everyone who walked closed to us and had the noodle before could find that we just had the Snails Rice Noodle. The peculiar smell is came from the pickled bamboo shoot. After pickling, the bamboo shoots have the special and annoying smell. But if you have a bite, you would find it sour and fresh. Moreover, the soup is very special that you could find many taste from it: sour, spicy, salty and sweet. Simply the soup is worth the price of the bowl of noodle.

Traditionally, the noodle is hard to make. Due to the variety of the ingredients and the complexity of the preparation, people usually have Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle at noodle houses. To cook a bowl of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle, the chef need to cook bone soup, soak and wash the snails, fry the beancurd skin, then cook pickle shredded vegetables, bamboo shoot, hot pepper and many other ingredients together and put them into the bone soup. After that, make the soup with snails and pepper for an hour. And finally, mix the noodle, bone soup, snails with soup, vegetables and so on. A bowl of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is made. The troublesome process is what makes the noodle so delicious but also what prevents it from spreading all over China, don’t even talk about all over the world.

Fortunately, thanks to the development of technology, prepackaged products appear in the market in around 2013. Liuzhou businessmen catch the opportunity. They produce prepackaged Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle and make the quality guarantee period as long as half a year. A pack of prepackaged Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle has around 9 packs of ingredients, including dried noodle, pickled bamboo shoots and pickled green bean, vinegar, pepper sauce, snails and so on. The various ingredients make the taste of the noodle similar to those cooked in the noodle house. Most importantly, it is very easy to be made at home. It takes about 10 minutes to cook a bowl of prepackaged Snails Rice Noodle; it allows people to enjoy the interest of cooking and it is not so complex that may bother people.

In order to “gain an insider’s or emic perspective”(Crowther) about the Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle, I employed the method of participant non-observation. I opened one pack of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle and cooked it for my mom and myself. Firstly, I boiled a pot of water and cook the dried noodle with it for 5 minutes. Then I picked out the noodle into a bowl, poured out the water. After that, I opened all the other small packs in the package, including pickled bamboo shoots, vinegar, chili sauce, snails soup, peanuts and so on. I put them all into the pot with water and boiled for another 5 minuets, then I put the noodle in and soaked for 2 minutes. Finally, I found it may be not enough for two people, so I added an egg and some vegetables. It’s not a difficult dish, but it’s definitely delicious and taste like authentic Rice Snails Noodle that we used to have in noodle house. Both my mom and I liked it so much. My mom praised my cook though I didn’t do anything skillful and it took me no more than 15 minutes. I was very satisfied with the experience, I enjoyed the process of cooking and was proud that I could cook a delicious meal for my mom. I believe many other people liked the prepackaged Rice Snails Noodle for the same reason.

But producing prepackaged Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is far not enough for it to be popular as much. Qingshi Liu, chairman of a brand that produce prepackaged Snails Rice Noodle, said, “many years ago, we went to Chengdu Sugar and Cocktail Fair, no matter the agencies or the customers, everyone asked us where Liuzhou is, what Snails Rice Noodle is. At that time, the popularity of this noodle is zero.” People from places other than Guangxi province didn’t know the noodle and thus wouldn’t buy it and talk about it.

Fortunately, in 2012, the documentary “A Bite of China” saved the noodle from dying down. “A Bite of China” is a documentary series about the pursue of the Chinese people to food and life, using the stories of specific people to show the food ecology of all parts of China. Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is part of the documentary. The documentary swept across the whole country, so as the Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle. Many people in other cities know the noodle from the documentary, and they try it because of curiosity, and fall in love with it because of its taste. More and more people try it and introduce the noodle to their friends and post it on the internet.

Furthermore, the companies that produce prepackaged Snails Rice Noodle caught the fashion of posting and watching short videos and blogs. They cooperated with popular bloggers and youtubers, these online celebrities share their experiences and thought of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle with their fans, posting the videos of their reactions when eating the noodle on all kinds of social media(Whytui Marketing). I looked up online for some data: in Bilibili, a Chinese website like Youtube, there are thousands of videos related to the noodle, including videos posted by Chinese, Japanese, American and Korean bloggers. Some of the videos have over 2.5 million hits. In 2017, famous blogger “Zhang Dou and Zhang Hua(张逗张花)” who studied in Emory University also made a video about some American Emory students’ reactions to the noodle, and the video had about 771,000 hits. Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is not only popular in China; there are around 12,000 search results of “Snails Rice Noodle” on Youtube. The use of network propaganda successfully catch the heart of people, especially of young people. As the noodle began to be more and more popular, interesting news about the noodle began to show up on the “trending” of Weibo, the Chinese version of twitter, including news like “a Guangxi high school begin to provide Snails Rice Noodle in their cafeteria” and so on, catching people’s attention again and again.

The employment of the e-commerce platform also plays an important part in the popularity of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle. The customers of prepackaged Snails Rice noodle are mostly young people as they like interesting food and don’t have a lot cooking skills. Another character about these young people is that they like to buy things online. Many brands of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle have online flagship stores in taobao, an e-commerce platform like Amazon. This allows people to buy the noodle easily. Young people are lazy, their curiosity about the noodle may not support them to go out to shop, but if all they need to do is a click, they would happily order it and try it. Not only in China, Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle are also sold in many American e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Yamibuy, a website that specifically sell asian food in the United States.

The popularity of a local food cannot be separated from the relevant policy and government support. On August 20, 2018, Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle gained the trademark of National Geographic indication, protected by “Regulations on the Protection of Geographical indications products” passed by National Administration of quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. With the protection, the name of “Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle” cannot be used randomly, so the reputation of the noodle is protected. Moreover, there’s an agency in Liuzhou government that is specifically to support the development of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle, the policies includes providing grant-in-aid to inheritors of hand-making the noodle, financially supporting the companies to spread the culture of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle and so on (Liuzhou Business Committee). What’s more, in January, 2018, Liuzhou government opened a museum about Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle, showing the culture and skill of making the noodle, and there’s also a room for visitors to participate (Guo).

Liuzhou Government supports the development of the Snails Rice Noodle is not only because of that it boosts the economic development of Liuzhou, but also that the noodle contains the heart of Liuzhou’s culture.

The story of the birth of Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle demonstrates the creativity of Liuzhou people. Compared to many other kinds of noodle, Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle has a short history of about 40 years. It was originated from Liuzhou night market. At the end of late 1970s, after the Great Cultural Revolution, business began to recover, including the Liuzhou night market. It was a tradition that Liuzhou people loves to eat snails and noodle, so some clever businessmen began to provide both cooked snails and noodles in their noodle houses. After movies, some hungry customers occasionally asked the chefs to put some snails and the soup that used to cook snails into their noodles(VC). The combination had magical powers; they found it so delicious! So there it came the Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle.

Nowadays, Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is the signature dish of Liuzhou, Guangxi Province. In 2008, the skill of hand-making Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle was selected for the second batch of intangible cultural heritage list in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region and it is gradually applying for national and world-class heritage.
Snails Rice Noodle may sounds weird at first, but eating river snails(田螺) has a long history in Liuzhou. “About 20,000 years ago, the ‘Liujiang people’, who lived in Bailian Cave, began fishing for snails and learned to use fire. Now the site of Bailian Cave still leaves the remains of the primitive man ‘burning snails’ at that time.” Liuzhou City Bailian Cave Science Museum curator Jiang Jinyuan said. Nowadays, eating snails in night markets is still part of Guangxi people’s life. Night markets are streets that have many kinds of food and people like to eat food, drink and talk on the street sides. And when eating snails, people need to use toothpicks to pick out the meat inside the shells. The process of picking out the meat is the heart of eating snails; if somebody else help you pick out the meat and place them in a bowl, then you lose the interest of eating snails.

There’s a saying: “human beings are shaped by the land around them,” and even the character would be along with the local food to send out unique local characteristics. Both the fried snails and Snails Rice Noodle are hot and spicy, they symbolize Liuzhou people’s characteristics. Liuzhou people are outgoing,  straightforward and don’t care about trifles; they enjoy the atmosphere in night markets where everyone is happy and talking loudly, though the place may be simple and a bit dirty.

Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle, a distinctive food originated from Liuzhou night market, is gradually walking out from its hometown and spreading its influences internationally. The Snails Rice Noodle doesn’t get its popularity for no reason. This significant progress should be attribute to several different causes, including its own deliciousness, peculiar odor, the development of prepackaging technology, increasing network propaganda, and the support of the government. The most important factor, however, is intangible. Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle has come a long way since created; it is the profound cultural connotation that made it a great success. The Snails Rice Noodle is a fruit of habit and thought of the society in Liuzhou, and is a representation of the reinvigorated food culture of China. It serves as a bridge between Chinese and various other cultures. Liuzhou Snails Rice Noodle is only a small part of the splendid Chinese civilization. There are more to be explored.

 

 

Work cited

Crowther, Gillian. Eating Culture: An Anthropological Guide to Food. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013. Print.

Guo, Kaiqian. 广西柳州螺蛳粉：非遗美味做成全球产业. 2018 https://baike.baidu.com/reference/1455359/47d9APf3Be1ODWB7cqBdAa7pB06x6eI9YT-toTF7-zx6F92rQsdV5V4GL2jmtn7YeGBnViCkHGDnExdjXsaAVroUiF998QWEdrBDexqg3aOwlcq16NFsMmKQaDIv5KXXcVsoRXvGrok

Liuzhou Business Committee. 关于公布柳州螺蛳粉产业若干扶持政策联系方式的通知. 2018  http://www.liuzhou.gov.cn/xwzx/notice/201807/t20180730_1137600.html

Mo, Zhiye. “互联网+”时代柳州螺蛳粉网络营销传播研究. Diss. 2018. http://xueshu.baidu.com/usercenter/paper/show?paperid=1r1w0m30h27e0vw00f3402s0k5050780&site=xueshu_se

VC. 又爱又恨的螺蛳粉. 2019 https://baike.baidu.com/vbaike/又爱又恨的螺蛳粉/26403

Whytui Marketing. 螺蛳粉走红品牌大揭秘. 2019 https://www.whytui.com/news/pinpai/8809.html

Abstract: This paper outlines the impact ramyeon noodles have on the Korea. The noodles that originated from China found its way to Korea and today is an integral part of the Korean culture.  Ramyeon has greatly impacted Korea both economically and culturally. It has become an important part of the Korean eating culture; it has become a staple food; and it has become a part of Korean pop culture. It is intertwined with our culture, our family histories, and our lives. Ramyeon noodles today greatly impacts cultures all around the world. It has become a popular and affordable way to satiate hunger for people not just in Korean but to everyone.

            These days it may be hard for the whole family to sit down and enjoy one meal. Now a days, both parents in the household have jobs. This also applies to my family. Moreover, my parents’ work schedules are so different that we only have two or three meals when the family sits down and puts everything else in their life aside to eat and talk face to face. My sibling and I call these meals “family sit-together” meals. When my sister comes into my room saying “It’s family sit-together time” I stop what I am doing and join my family. I usually help my grandmother and my siblings set up the table by putting the spoons and chopsticks out, one for each person. Then, for the final step, we get the trivet set up. Korean instant noodles, or formally called ramyeon (라면in Korean), is the perfect meal for times like this. It is a simple but filling meal that is quick to make and eat. It takes less than 15 minutes to make and all the instructions are listed on the back of the packaging. However, for me, as a person who does not know how to cook, it is still hard to get myself to make the ramen. My mother tried to teach me, but she says it does not taste the same when I make it. I remember the last time we had a family sit together, we ate my favorite type of instant noodles, Chapagetti. Chapagetti is the instant noodle version of the black bean noodle, jjangmyeon. This noodle dish is similar to the Beijing Fried Sauce Noodles. Our family did not even bother to put the cooked Chapagetti into bowls before serving it. We have a certain ritual like procedure when eating ramen. First, my mother, who usually cooks the ramen, brings the pots with the ramen and boiling broth. The smell is amazing and nostalgic. Whenever, I smell this outside of my home, it reminds me of these small yet meaningful dinners. Then, everyone grabs their chopsticks and waits to get a few chopsticks of the Chapagetti on the small side plates. But of course, we wait for my grandmother to take her first bite and then we start eating. Ramyeon has played a significant role in my family and in my memories, despite the fact that it is such a simple and inexpensive meal to prepare.

            Ramyeon surprisingly has a long history to it. And when I researched the history of ramyeon, I was surprised it did not originate from Korea. Especially since, “Koreans now lead the world in instant ramyeon consumption, eating about 80 packages a year per capita at home and at restaurants, which add toppings for their customers” (Hurwitz). Moreover, according to Nongshim, a Korean food and beverage company, “Korea’s annual consumption of ramen per capita…is number one for decades.”

            The first traces of noodles were found in China approximately four thousand years ago. “The beautifully preserved, long, thin yellow noodles were found inside an overturned sealed bowl at the Lajia archaeological site in northwestern China” (Roach). Then, from China the noodle was brought to Japan during the Meiji era (Hurwitz). The style of noodle dish that was brought over consisted of noodles with broth made from a variety of different ingredients.  According to Hurwitz, making the broth may take a couple of days to prepare to make the taste. This style was brought to Korea during the early 1960s. A former member of the Board of Directors of the United States Committee of the Council for Security, Kongdan Oh describes the life of a Korean in the 1950s and 1960s. “The Korean economic miracle that was achieved under President Park’s leadership in the 1960s and 1970s is a story of dazzling national transformation from poverty to wealth” (Oh). However, as Koreans were earning money, they had less time spent to enjoy meals. They relied on quick, simple meals. At this time, the instant food companies started to build their profiles. All you need to make ramyeon is the noodles, a pack of sauce or seasoning, and boiling water. The simplicity aspect of making ramyeon helped it boom in industries. Similarly, in Japan “ramyeon’s popularity is due in part to the fact that it is simple to make and quick to eat. It is also inexpensive, making it an ideal lunch, dinner or after-a-night-on-the-town snack for businessmen and budget-conscious students” (Hurwitz). And ever since, the popularity of ramyeon has been on the rise. Today, “by value, instant noodles were the top-selling manufactured food in South Korea in 2012, the most recent year figures are available, with about 1.85 trillion won ($2 billion) worth sold, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety” (Klug). Ramyeon has greatly impacted Korea both economically and culturally. It has become an important part of the Korean eating culture; it has become a staple food; and it has become a part of Korean pop culture.

            Eating ramyeon has become so common in Korea. According to Tim Alper, a writer from the U.K., “Many also have plastic chairs and tables outside, mostly used by noodle fans. In fact, you will very rarely pass a Korean convenience store at any time of day or night without spotting a keen ramyeon eater” (Alper). Ramyeon has inevitably become an important part of the Korean eating culture.  There is now a “Korean custom of eating yasik, or a late-night snack, according to the Korea Tourism Organization” (Hurwitz). The most popular yasik is ramyeon. Interestingly, it “is often called “the food of the people” since it is liked by almost every Korean. It takes only a few minutes to cook. Bring 500ml of water to a boil and put in the ramyeon noodles and seasoning. Stir with chopsticks and let it boil for three to five minutes. Let it cool off for a bit and enjoy” (Hurwitz). Moreover, there are ubiquitous convenience stores that sell ramen ranging from 50 cents to 2 dollars. Inside the store, they have stations that serve hot water so that you would be able to make ramyeon and eat it right away. Unlike the convenience stores in the United States, those in Korea have eating areas both inside and outside the store. At Hangkang Park in South Korea, there DIY (do-it yourself) ramyeon making stations. All you have to do and scan a barcode. Then, the machine will automatically pour in the correct amount of water, set a timer, and tells you when to put in the egg. I have seen these machines on Youtube and I think it is very fascinating. Since it is so easily accessible and easily made, ramyeon bring pleasure to all ages ranging from students who are having a late-night snack after studying to businessmen who are looking for something to eat after long hours of work. At Emory University, I made new friends through eating yashik with classmates who were studying late at the library. Gathering and eating the ramyeon was a spontaneous thing. If it were not for ramyeon, I might not have the friends I am close with today. But the most surprising thing was the fact that they sell Korean instant noodles, Shin Ramen, at Pete’s in the Woodruff Library.

            According to the businessdictionary.com, a staple food is one in which “is regularly consumed in a community or society.” Ramyeon has become Korea’s staple food. Statistics confirm that Koreans consume the most ramyeon each year for the past ten years and it is estimated that each Korean eats up to eighty packages of ramyeon a year (Hurwitz). Ramyeon has also become a food that Koreans need on a daily basis. “Instant noodles carry a broke college student aura in America, but they are an essential, even passionate, part of life for many in South Korea and across Asia” (Klug). Mostly because of how affordable, convenient, and simple ramyeon is. Whenever, my family goes on a vacation, we always pack a couple of ramyeon packages as a safety food. According to my mother, if she eats American food three meals a day, she starts to feel sick. At times like this, eating a pack of ramyeon helps her feel better. I also agree with this. Being away from home and Korean food at Emory, ramyeon provides some relief from eating American food all the time. Ramyeon also comes in many different ways. The basic flour-based noodle part is the same, but “some add chopped leeks or bean sprouts, others add an egg, while still others add a slice or two of processed cheese, which melts into the spicy soup. In fact, there are almost as many ways to customize this dish as there are stars in the sky” (Alper). This reminded me of the noodles that we learned during our class discussions. Noodles are also staple foods in China and Italy. For example, there are different types of Bing for a certain season. Mostly because the Chinese believe that with different seasons, there are different needs and the Bing for each season is able to give you the appropriate nutrients to nurture the body and the mind for each season. This shows us how regularly Bing is consumed by the Chinese and reveals important Chinese cultural values.  The Italians have pasta as a staple food. Pasta comes in many different shapes and sizes to fit the ingredients and the sauces used in the pasta dish. Most importantly, all these staple foods serve as culinary connections to our past and they evoke a sense of nostalgia when consuming the comfort foods. They serve as reminders of our roots and help reinforce our different identities other than our American identity.

            Finally, ramyeon has become a part of the Korean pop culture. Mukbangs are very popular in both Korea and the United States. “Mukbang is a mashup of two Korean words: “mukja,” or “let’s eat”; and “bang song,” meaning “broadcast.” It originated in South Korea, but it’s gone on to garner international attention and recruit legions of mukbangers and fans alike, all united by the desire to watch ordinary people consume extraordinary amounts of food” (Matthews). There are literally millions of these broadcasts online streamed live and on Youtube about ramyeon. When I am at Emory, Korean restaurants that serve this dish are a thirty-minute car ride away so during the semester, I see a lot of Chapagetti mukbangs. Mukbangs are very popular today. They are videos people upload on social media and Youtube of them eating specific foods. Some people to an ASMR version, in which I recommend listening to the video with headphones or earphones on. Some people may say that watching people eat makes them hungrier, but for me I feel better. There is a specific challenge called the Fire Noodle Challenge that became really popular. Many famous Youtube channels participated in this challenge like Buzzfeed, REACT, and the World of Dave, just to name a few. “The noodle, officially called buldak ramen, became popular in Seoul after YouTube users took on the “fire noodle challenge,” which requires a person to consume the incredibly spicy food as fast as possible” (Lee, H.). In most of the videos people are panting, running for a glass of milk, and some end of tearing up because they cannot handle the spice. I personally tried this noodle and there is also a “nuclear” version of the buldak ramen, which is two time spicier. It was very spicy and the pain seemed to never end. Through these challenges and the birth of mukbangs, ramyeon has become the most popular it has ever been. “It was just a spicy ramen kids like. But in the second half of last year, it began to reverse. The jackpot exploded abroad. More and more people are looking for products in China, Thailand and Malaysia. Revenue, which increased by 5% annually, soared 30% last year. I didn’t do much marketing” (Lee, J.). Ramyeon is an integral Korean dish that helped further share the Korean culture.

            Not only did ramyeon help spread the Korean culture but as it became more associated with pop culture, it also became more popular in Korea. In the United States, the advertisements we see online and on television, rarely feature celebrities. They usually consist of normal people. On the other hand, there are a lot of advertisements that feature celebrities or influential people in Korea. In Korea, “they’re a means of persuading viewers that celebrities are just like us, to encourage us to make associations with them in our minds. After all, why else would companies…. present celebrities in such unglamorous situations as getting food all over their faces while slurping noodles” (Turnbull).  Even a former LA Dodgers baseball player Ryu Hyun-Jin shot an advertisement for ramyeon in 2014.  An interesting trend I noticed was that the models for the ramyeon changes often. If another celebrity’s profile is on the rise, the ramyeon companies will most likely shoot another advertisement with the new celebrity.

            Last but not least, ramyeon became the center of a new Korean slang term which holds the same meaning as “Netflix and Chill” in the US. The phrase “Ramyeon meokgo galrae?” translates to “Do you want to eat ramyeon at my place?” This phrase was taken from a movie called “One Fine Spring Day” released in the year 2001. Saying this enables “young people to ask their date to come over to their place without having to muster up the courage to say the words out loud” (Yim). Ramyeon has also infiltrated Korea’s dating culture and also Korean dramas. This phrase is often said playfully and by young characters to check if feelings are mutual. A recent Korean drama “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?” released in June 2018, used this phrase. The short clip featuring this scene has up to 300,000 views. Hence, Ramyeon has become a part of the Korean pop culture in many different ways through its presence in Youtube videos, advertisements, and Korean dramas.

            For me personally, I realized that ramyeon plays a bigger role in my life than I thought. It is not just a comfort food, but a memory with family. Eight-hundred and sixty-eight miles away from home, ramyeon helps remind me of memories I had back at home. It is these memories that fuel me to get through everyday life. Not only do I think ramyeon this way but also the many people on social media. On Instagram, people use the captions like Ramyeon: ten percent noodles and ninety percent love and No ramen, no life. Last semester, I had a disagreement with my roommate. It was really awkward when we were both in the room and I tried to avoid her from time to time. However, by having a bowl of ramyeon we were able to put our differences aside. We apologized to each other and reconciled. Moreover, the act of eating ramyeon together forced us to sit face to face and eat. By doing this, it made it impossible to ignore her and eat my noodles. I felt like I had to talk to her. At first, it was uncomfortable, but I broke into laughter when we were both slurping up the noodles so loudly. Ramyeon reminded us that we are similar, and we were not all that different inside. It served as a common ground and through establishing that my roommate and I were able to connect to each other. Of course, I did not realize this at the time. I was just happy I had my friend and room mate back. But the class discussions and the assignments reminded me of this event. I come to realize how heavily my life is impacted by noodles- from my Korean culture to my everyday life things like reconciling with a friend.

            In the final analysis, ramyeon has become an important part of the Korean eating culture; it has become a staple food; and it has become a part of Korean pop culture. Ramyeon may not be one of the healthier foods in South Korea, but as the many Koreans believe that “there’s no way any study is going to stop me from eating this,”… his red face beaded with sweat as he adds hot water to his noodles in a Seoul convenience store” (Klug). I recently saw a Youtube clip about ramyeon. In a Korean variety show called, New Journey to the West Season 5 (Shin Seo Yu Ji in Korean), there is a game in which a show participant had to guess five different brands of ramyeon correctly. I was shocked when the participant got them all right without any hesitation. This is how prevalent and important ramyeon is to Koreans. All Koreans know the taste of ramyeon and it goes to the point where we can decipher which companies make which ramyeons. It is intertwined with our culture, our family histories, and our lives. It is a staple food, an affordable way to satiate hunger for people not just in Korean but all across the world in many cultures. The following statement from an enginner from Seoul really sums up what ramyeon is to Koreans. “Ramyeon is like kimchi to Koreans,” says Ko Dong-ryun, 36… referring to the spicy, fermented vegetable dish that graces most Korean meals. “The smell and taste create an instant sense of home” (Klug). Although ramyeon may be an instant food, the effects it has on us are timeless and forever.

Works Cited

Alper, Tim. “Instant Success: Why Koreans Are Crazy for Instant Noodles.” KOREA.NET, 13     July 2016, www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Column/view?articleId=138467.

Hurwitz, David. “They Call It Ramen, We Call It Ramyeon.” Stripes Korea, 19 Nov. 2014,          korea.stripes.com/travel/they-call-it-ramen-we-call-it-ramyeon.

Klug, Foster. “South Koreans Defend Instant Noodle Diet despite Health Warning.”         Thestar.com, 21 Aug. 2014,            www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2014/08/21/south_koreans_defend_instant_noodle_die  _despite_health_warning.html.

Lee, Jung-jung. “불닭볶음면 2500억 ‘화끈한 매출’… 삼양식품 간판라면          꿰찼다.” Hankyung.com, 4 Dec. 2017,            www.hankyung.com/economy/article/2017120485741.

Lee, Hakyung Kate. “Foodies across the Globe Are Taking Part in the ‘Fire Noodle Challenge’.”  ABC News, ABC News Network, 5 Dec. 2018, abcnews.go.com/International/foodies           globe-taking-part-fire-noodle-challenge/story?id=59594235.

Matthews, Melissa. “These Viral ‘Mukbang’ Stars Get Paid to Gorge on Food-at the Expense of   Their Bodies.” Men’s Health, 22 Jan. 2019,            www.menshealth.com/health/a25892411/youtube-mukbang-stars-binge-eat/.

Oh, Kongdan. “Korea’s Path from Poverty to Philanthropy.” Brookings, Brookings, 14 June         2010, www.brookings.edu/articles/koreas-path-from-poverty-to-philanthropy/.

“Ramen History.” 메인페이지, www.nongshim.com/ramyun/history1.

Roach, John. “4,000-Year-Old Noodles Found in China.” National Geographic, 12 Oct. 2005,     www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/4-000-year-old-noodles-found-in-china/.

Turnbull, James. “The Korean Ad Industry’s Celebrity Obsession.” Haps Magazine, 9 Apr. 2012, hapskorea.com/korean-ad-industrys-celebrity-obsession/.

Abstract: This paper discusses the diversity of ramen in Japan by focusing primarily on regional delicacies, while also showcasing the broad array of ramen dishes worldwide. I breakdown what the ramen noodle is, the components of the dish (i.e. broth and noodle type), as well as the various condiments that uniquely define the region the ramen noodle dish is from. Also, I provide examples of how the ramen has evolved over time by describing unique ramen dishes created outside of Japan. My primary goal in this paper is to bring awareness to how the Japanese ramen various throughout the country, and how it has changed, adapted, and evolved over time.

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It’s a quarter past seven as I stare at my computer screen, my fingers struggling to type out the first words of my final research paper. The thoughts in my mind wander, drifting away from the prompt typed on the sheet of paper lying motionless next to me. My stomach is alive, gurgling and grumbling. I am starving. I push back my chair and plod my way over to the kitchen table. Grabbing my car keys, I make my way to the garage and sink into my car seat. Swiping right to unlock my phone, I punch in the address to Hajime. My five senses are awakened as I step into this umami palace. The waitress catches my eye and motions me over to my usual spot in the corner. No menu needed; I know exactly what I want. Closing my eyes, I take in the aroma of the atmosphere, the sizzling of the teppanyaki grill, and the hollering of the bachelors as they down sake shots. Excuse me sir, may I? Opening my eyes, I am greeted by the most beautiful, divine, piping hot bowl of my all-time favourite comfort food…Ramen. As I sit there, face full of hot savoury noodles, I remain ignorant to the tumultuous history that brought this very dish to my table.

Contrary to popular belief, Japanese ramen is not in fact native to Japan. Like noodles and pasta from all over the world, they originated from one place: China. The Japanese were introduced to the noodle in a rather violent, and politically charged manner. Prior to the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan’s doors to the outside world were firmly shut. However, it was during the period between 1868 and 1912 that Japan experienced major political, economic and social change, following the death of the feudalistic military government (Kushner). As their doors were opening to foreign culture, the Japanese saw the rise of Chinese migrants in their cities. These migrants did not come empty handed or without gifts. The Japanese port cities of Yokohama and Nagasaki were introduced to shina soba from the Chinese who began selling this unique noodle to local workers. In 1910, the first noodle restaurant opened its doors, selling this newly introduced shina soba (Kushner). It rapidly grew in popularity, especially amongst workers as it was a relatively cheap and filling dish. However, during World War II, food restrictions drastically impacted the selling of shina soba in Japan.

Following a post-war economic boom, a saint-like individual by the name of Momofuku Ando invented the antidote to starvation, instant-noodles (Wei). During this economic boom, people were working overtime to keep up with the fast pace industrial expansion. The need for fast, convenient, and filling food was at an all-time high, and Momofuku’s instant noodles was the answer to their prayers. While no longer being called shina soba, “ramen” was rising in popularity again. As early as the 1980s, local ramen dishes were readily available, and in 1994, the first ramen museum open its doors in Yokohama (Japan Centre). Nowadays, ramen dishes are available in every city, town, and village in Japan. Similar to Italian and Chinese culture, each major region of Japan boasts its own unique take on this widely globalised dish. In this paper, I aim to highlight the diversity of ramen in Japan by focusing primarily on regional delicacies, while also showcasing the broad array of ramen dishes worldwide.

Growing up, I had the great privilege of traveling to Japan with my family, and anyone who has every visited Japan or interacted with Japanese people, knows how much ramen means to them. Ramen to the Japanese, is on par with ‘pasta al pomodoro’ for Italians, or ‘Beijing soybean paste noodles (Zha Jiang Mian)’ for the Chinese. In short, ramen is their national dish and a cultural icon (Japan Centre). Visiting Japan, and eating at various ramen-ya, I could feel the soul of Japan in each bite. It was truly a magical feeling. When I was younger, my father’s closest Japanese friend taught me the secret to ramen in Japan: the broth. Throughout Japan, ramen broth was classified into four separate categories: shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso (fermented bean paste), and lastly, tonkotsu (pork). In addition, the broth can also be classified by its heaviness, soup base, and seasoning.

Heaviness can be broken up in to kotteri (rich) or assari (light). A richer broth is usually thick, opaque, and filled with emulsified fats, vitamins, and proteins. What I found rather fascinating is that, “opaque white bone broths are also known by their transliterated Chinese name, paitan” (Kenji). On the other hand, lighter broths are thinner and clearer, and are usually mixed in with vegetables and fish. The soup base is prepared by simmering the main ingredients, which can range from animal bones to sea kelp or dried seafood (Kenji). That delicious aromatic smell that we love so much is a result of the infusion of onions, garlic, scallions, and mushrooms. Seasoning is one of the most important aspects of a ramen dish and is the primary source of salt used to flavour the ramen soup. When I was in Japan, I noticed that a few restaurants would opt out of mixing the seasoning directly into the soup base, and instead add it to each individual ramen dish per the customers requirements and desires. One of the most popular and oldest forms of seasoning is shio or sea salt. In Hakodate, a Southern Japanese city, many of its local dishes such as shio ramen are heavily influenced by Chinese traditions and Chinese style noodle soups. Another ramen seasoning that I personally find delicious is called shoyu. This type of seasoning is prevalent in the Kanto region of Central Japan. While it is now commonly paired with creamy Tonkotsu pork broths, traditionally shoyu seasoning would have been mixed in with clear to brown chicken or seafood broths. Originating from Hokkaido, and only gaining popularity in the 1960s is miso. Being one of the youngest ramen seasonings is also one of the most popular, and being from a colder region like Hokkaido, it boasts a bolder and heartier robust seasoning.

While both the broth and seasonings are vital components of ramen dishes throughout Japan, the most important aspect of the dish is the ramen noodle itself. I have eaten my fair share of ramen noodles throughout my life, and while this may be completely inaccurate, I believe there are more types of noodles in Japan than there are shapes of pasta in Italy. The ramen noodle itself can come in various forms, some of which include straight, thin, narrow, thick, wavy, wide, or flat. In order to pick what type of noodle they want to use, chefs look for its, “bounciness, ability to cling, and their texture in the mouth, searching for a noodle that interacts harmoniously with the soup in the bowl” (Kenji). Fun fact: I was once told that a piping hot bowl of ramen noodles should not take any longer than 7-15 seconds to make its way from the kitchen to the dining table otherwise the meat broth will lose its unique umami flavour.

In order to continue our exploration of the various kinds of ramen dishes across Japan, and eventually, across the globe, we must first define what a ramen noodle actually is. Similar to how other noodles and pasta is made, ramen noodles are made with wheat flour, salt, water, and kansui. Kansui is an, “alkaline water which gives the noodle their characteristic bounce and their yellowish hue” (Kenji). Nowadays, there are three types of noodles globally: Fresh, Dried and Instant. Fresh ramen noodles are very common in many up-scale restaurants around Japan and are made from scratch. They are quite chewy in texture which gives it a far more authentic taste as compared to dry and instant ramen noodles. Fresh noodles are also usually thin and straight and can be found in many tonkotsu broths. The reason why chefs opt to use thin and straight fresh noodles in tonkotsu broth is because the noodles do an effective job at clinging together and holding the soup in through a capillary action, which delivers, “plenty of hearty pork flavour with each slurp” (Kenji). On the other hand, fresh wavy noodles are best paired with miso broth as their waves are better designed to hold the miso’s nutty bits of fermented bean (Kenji). Trying to say which type of ramen, straight or wavy, is the best is a rather foolish task, which is almost like trying to say that spaghetti is inherently better than linguine or tagliatelle.

While one would find an abundance of fresh ramen noodles in restaurants across Japan, dried ramen noodles are primarily reserved for at-home cooking and are made by drying fresh uncooked noodles. Dried ramen noodles can also be found in many ramen packets in supermarkets across Japan. The thinner and straighter dried ramen noodles are, the better they taste, albeit the fact they are far oilier in texture than fresh noodles (Schweitzer). The third, and most global type of ramen noodles, is instant noodles. As a college student, I can fully relate to the craze behind instant noodles. Not only are they extremely convenient to prepare, but they burst with flavours, and are relatively healthy. In 1958, Momofuku Ando blessed the world with this genius invention, which completely revolutionized how people view the Japanese ramen.

Japan is made up of over 6,800 islands along the Pacific coast, with the five main islands being Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Each island or region boasts its own unique twist on Japanese ramen, and there are so many variations of ramen that classifying each unique twist would be almost impossible. However, the three regional Japanese ramen variations that I was taught to be the most important are Tokyo-style ramen, Sapporo ramen, and Hakata-style ramen.

Tokyo-style ramen is made predominantly with curly, wide noodles in a pork and chicken broth. When I was in Tokyo, I found many ramen broths that are heavily flavoured with a regional delicacy: dashi. Dashi is a, “broth made from dried smoked bonito flakes and sea kelp” (Kenji). What I find fascinating is that the dashi broth from the Tokyo-style ramen is actually a mix of traditional Chinese-style soup broths with broth from traditional Japanese buckwheat soba noodles which is very light yet rich in flavour. The deliciousness of Tokyo-style ramen comes from the generous portion of shoyu seasoning, and is traditionally served with chashu (pork), kamaboko (white and red fish cake), egg, and preserved bamboo shoots.

 

On the other hand, Sapporo ramen originates from Japan’s most northern province of Hokkaido and is one of the most influential styles of ramen in Japan. Usually Sapporo ramen is prepared with a very rich, and hearty, chicken, fish, or pork broth. What makes it especially unique is that it is also flavoured with akamiso, which is a red soybean paste. The addition of the red soybean paste gives Sapporo its rich flavour, which makes it the perfect dish for the cold weather up North. The region of Hokkaido is known for its massive vegetable and dairy farms, as well as several fishing ports. Utilising the geography and vegetation that Hokkaido offers, chefs specifically prepare Sapporo ramen with ingredients native to this Northern Region. As a result, this delicious dish’s umami is enhanced with the addition of stir-friend bean sprouts, cabbage, sweet corn, roasted scallops, and butter (Kobi’s Kitchen).

Hakata-style Tonkotsu ramen may be one of the most unique ramen dishes in the entire world. Originating from the warmer Southern Japanese island of Kyushu, this dish is commonly referred to as the standard of tonkotsu ramen. This type of broth is seasoned well with shio in an effort to preserve the milky white colour of the soup (Kenji). Usually Hakata-style ramen is served with chashu, wood-ear mushroom, beni-shoga (a type of Japanese pickle), and spicy mustard greens. Chefs who make this style of ramen are famous for their use of bold flavours and textures that they believe can stand up well to the intense pork flavour.  

All these types of ramen dishes just go to prove how diverse Japanese ramen culture really is, and how similar to Italy and China, each region in Japan due to their cultural, societal, and agricultural characteristics, produce a unique twist and style of ramen noodles. As we all know, ramen is stereotypically that cheap fast food dish you order at odd hours of the night to satisfy night-time cravings, but it also is a highly complex pillar in Japanese society. A simple bowl of ramen represents the political, cultural, and culinary importance of the Japanese, and as such it is often considered to be a national cultural icon (Goulding).

In 2004, tourism in Japan skyrocketed, and as a result, the ideology behind a ramen dish transformed to be inclusive of various elements of global culture. One such example is of Ivan Orkin; a famous ramen aficionado who spent years in Tokyo understanding and learning the history and craft behind ramen. In his NY ramen restaurant, Ivan put together a speciality dish called Maze-men. Of the reviews and articles that I have read surrounding this dish, many have noted that it is quite similar to abura soba, however he adds his own unique Italian background twist by adding an egg and bacon. Mixing it all together forms this beautiful sauce, almost like a Japanese carbonara (Kenji).

One of the most diverse, and creative takes on ramen, which I have in fact have had the great pleasure of eating is located at Yuji Ramen in New York. Once again, we see the cross culturalism of Italy and Japan coming together to produce a dish like no other. The basic premise behind this dish is that the chef uses Japanese ramen-style alkaline water dough, but instead of making them into the ramen noodle strands we have grown accustomed to, the chef actually shapes the dough into Italian pasta shapes (Kenji). Not only are the noodles Italian-Japanese, but the beautifully delicate sauce is textually inspired by Italian sauces but seasoned with Japanese ingredients and techniques. The result is a fusion ramen dish that ties in the best of both Italian and Japanese noodle/pasta cuisines to create a scrumptious dish like squid bolognese ramen orecchiette.  

Ramen shops are no longer confined to the tight geographic and political boundaries of Japan. Nowadays, one can find a Japanese ramen restaurant in every major city in the world. What once started off as a cheap, immigrant dish has now catapulted itself into every college student’s dorm rooms. Everyone around the world shares their love for ramen as the ultimate comfort food. Now as this iconic Japanese symbol of cultural identity evolves and tailors itself to the specificities of cultures and societies, the ramen that was once loved by merchants in Imperial Japan, is now loved by billions all over the world.  

 

Works Cited

Goulding, Matt. “Super Noodles: the Rise and Rise of Ramen.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Feb. 2016, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/22/the-rise-and-rise-of-ramen-noodle-soup.

“Japanese Ramen, How to Make and Different Types.” Japan Centre, www.japancentre.com/en/pages/62-ramen.

J. Kenji. “Guide to Ramen Varieties.” Guide to Ramen Varieties | Serious Eats, Serious Eats, 18 Apr. 2019, www.seriouseats.com/2013/09/the-serious-eats-guide-to-ramen-styles.html.

Kushner, Barak. Slurp!: a Social and Culinary History of Ramen – Japan’s Favorite Noodle Soup. Global Oriental, 2012.

Schweitzer, Sharon. “The Cultural Significance of Ramen.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 27 Oct. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/the-cultural-significance-of-ramen_b_59f33f8ce4b06acda25f4939.

Wei, Clarissa. “An Illustrated History of Ramen.” First We Feast, First We Feast, 1 June 2018, firstwefeast.com/eat/2015/07/illustrated-history-of-ramen.

 

 

The United States has often been referred to as, “the melting pot” of culture. Due to its relatively recent discovery, colonization, and freedoms, the American society is best described by this term. With influence and immigrants from across the world, different aspects of culture like art, architecture, food, and customs have combined, adapted, and evolved into a morphology of multiculturalism that has highlighted our rich national diversity. Italy, for example, is one such influence as millions of immigrants over the centuries have re-established their homes in the land of liberty. Italian food culture, with pasta at the forefront, has travelled with these immigrants to arguably become one of the staples of American cuisine. Of course, changes have occurred since the first “Little Italy” was organized, so it is important to determine whether the differences in mainland Italian and Italian-American noodle cuisine are different enough to be appraised as separate bodies of culture.  This question will be investigated through a brief historical overview of Italian immigration with an analysis of ethnic centers such as Little Italy in Manhattan, an identification of evidence both for and against the continuation of noodle recipes, an analysis of American-based marketing of the noodle, and an identification of evidence for a reinvigoration of traditional Italian cuisine in the United States.

Historically, Italian immigration occurred in the largest numbers following the Risorgimentothat culminated in the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy on March 17, 1861 (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998). While Italy was finally unified geographically, the people were not. “Decades of internal strife had left a legacy of violence, social chaos, and widespread poverty” (Library of Congress). After heavy taxation, newly titled citizens of the southern regions of Italy were often left with little choice but to emigrate. Word of prosperity from returning migrants quickly spread across the country, so America became a preferred place to relocate. As a result, between 1876 and 1930, 5 million Italians immigrated to America (Molnar, 2010). 4/5 of these migrants were from the southern regions of Calabria, Campania, Abruzzi, Molise, and Sicily.

Southern Italian cuisine has a greater focus on tomatoes, olive oil, eggplant, and peppers, so these ingredients, and the local dishes associated with them, took preference in the new world over the northern Italian items like risotto, gnocchi, and Florentine steak. The majority of Italian immigrants were contadini, or agricultural laborers, with less than 20% being craftsmen or higher status individuals (Molnar, 2010). Italians were the largest immigrant labor force to work in the mines, so many individuals who did not see an interest in that field decided to open small restaurants to make ends meet. Interestingly, around half of these immigrants ended up repatriating back to Italy. With such a promise for a return to their homeland, this suggests little motivation to assimilate into the greater body of American culture, thereby preserving the ethnic pasta recipes.

When foreign immigrants re-establish their homes in a new country, they often cluster together into ethnic centers. These large groupings of individuals tend to make the transition to a new way of life easier. The Italian-American ethnic group historically suffered through widespread discrimination as popular nativist theories marked Italians as outsiders. As a result, after passing through Ellis Island into America, many decided to group together into ethnic centers later known as “Little Italies” in an effort to preserve their language, culture, and food. More than 90 percent of Italian immigrants decided to congregate into urban areas in the northeast region, Midwest, California, and Louisiana (Pozzetta). Many of these centers, like the ones in New York City, Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago still exist to this day and are an excellent example of a flourishing Italian food culture. A walk down Mulberry and Mott Streets in Little Italy in Manhattan, for example, would show “shops selling fine Italian food products, ceramics, over two-dozen restaurants and cafes, and Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral” (Locker, 2012). It is clear that, at least in Little Italy, the culture surrounding the noodle has largely been respected over time. Menus at restaurants in these centers are mostly representative of southern Italian cuisine still found today, albeit with the tourist traps sprinkled in along the streets. As one example, a restaurant called Aunt Jake’s in New York City’s Little Italy has authentic handmade pasta in shapes like cavatelli, tagliatelle, pappardelle, and garganelli, with sauces like arrabiata, carbonara, and puttanesca. They also have the option to serve all of their pasta family style, which enhances the social aspect of the noodle that brings people together. Therefore, Aunt Jake’s is representative of traditional Italian dishes, suggesting that these ethnic centers have effectively preserved Italian noodle culture.

The preservation of southern Italian pasta across America can be seen through three dishes that are staples on the menus of most Italian-American restaurants: eggplant parmesan, spaghetti with marinara, and minestrone soup. The warm climate in southern Italy allows eggplants to thrive. In effect, parmigiana di melanzane, or eggplant parmesan, has become a classic Italian dish that can be seen across the world. This simple dish of battered and fried eggplant topped with mozzarella and parmesan over pasta has spawned various alterations like chicken or veal parmesan that also penetrated the American cuisine. In fact, eggplant has become so interwoven in the United States diet and agriculture, that New Jersey now grows 66 percent of the world’s yield (Bloom, 2015). Tomatoes are another important southern Italian crop. There are even specific breeds, like the San Marzano tomato, which are highly sought after and can only be grown effectively in the volcanic regions surrounding Naples. While there are countless sugo, or tomato-based sauces, from the southern regions of Italy, sugo di pomodoro, or spaghetti with marinara, is the most famous worldwide. Crafted with tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs, and olive oil, it is, “cooked vigorously and quickly to retain the zest and brightness of the tomatoes” (The Story Behind 5 Classic Italian Pasta Sauces, 2017). The quick and relative ease of the sauce makes it a perfect choice to be represented across the American working class. Finally, minestrone is another southern classic that has been well established in America. This thick vegetable soup with small pastas like orecchiette, elbow, or small shells has come to be a popular starter at Italian-American restaurants. These three dishes are evidence for the continuity and preservation of Italian pasta dishes in American culture, however, there is significant evidence promoting the uniqueness of Italian food in the United States.

With the majority of Italian immigrants coming from impoverished backgrounds, America provided exciting new opportunities for food. After visiting America, Massimo Bottura, chef of one of the top 50 best restaurants in the world, said that, “the best ingredient I discovered in America was ‘freedom.’ The freedom to experiment in the kitchen and the freedom to be open to those experiments in the dining room.” These immigrants were used to feeling disenfranchised by their more privileged neighbors from their homeland who could eat a richer diet, so they jumped on the opportunity to incorporate ingredients that they could not normally afford in Italy. While cucina di povera, or peasant cuisine, is delightful in its own right, many of these new Americans decided to expand their diet simply because they could now afford to do so. With the cost of beef drastically cheaper and more readily available in the United States, meatballs became a widely accepted topping for pasta that most people could afford. This was, “evident in the baseball-size meatballs that came out of the era, which could only have been invented by someone extremely excited by the prospect of an abundance of meat” (Horowitz, 2016). This new excitement from meat was not limited to meatballs alone. The traditional eggplant parmesan got adapted into chicken and veal varieties, and “Sunday sauce” took the title of the best sugo.Vastly different than the sugo di pomodorothat can be seen in Italy, Sunday sauce is stewed all day with meats like pork sausage and meatballs. Being such a hefty sauce, the noodle itself becomes more of an afterthought.

However, when appraising the Italian-American food culture as a whole, pasta is still more represented on menus. Following a traditional Italian meal order, pasta is served as a primi. It is designed to be only one small course in the greater overall meal, whereas in Italian-American food culture, pasta is commonly served in large portions as the main dish. Many Americans associate Italian food with just pasta, even though there is so much more to Italian food culture. While most of these Americanized items like spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, and Sunday sauce are not authentically Italian, they have come to be so instrumental in the greater American food culture that has incorporated ethnic cuisines and adapted items like the noodle to be representative of what the United States has to offer.

The culture and love of pasta in America has been enhanced and altered in response to marketing and industrialization of the noodle. While Italy is known as the birthplace of the Slow Food Movement, where local food and traditional cooking takes precedence, the United States takes the opposite approach. In working-class America, speed and ease of cooking are of the highest priority. With more full-time workers, both men and women, there is less available time to prepare dinners every night, so quick and simple meals have become lifesavers. Of course, noodle manufacturers and grocery stores have capitalized on this trend. An average trip to any grocery store chain in America will offer consumers with nearly 100 choices for pasta. Standard shapes like spaghetti, penne, and macaroni take up the most shelf space; however, it is never too difficult to track down the orecchiette, bucatini, or cavatappi that a recipe may request. The difference in America, however, is that most of these pastas are dried. Dried pasta is much more convenient to produce, has a longer shelf life, and can be stored at room temperature. Dry pasta can simply be thrown into a pot of boiling water, so there is little prep work required to have a pasta dish on the table for dinner. For example, boxed Kraft macaroni and cheese can be enjoyed a mere 30 minutes after starting, but the tradeoff is the loss of nearly all of the pasta’s cultural roots. The process of making pasta from scratch, while only using a few ingredients, is not convenient enough for the American lifestyle, so dry pasta has won outright.

To make pasta even more simplistic, companies have even found ways of developing canned versions of spaghetti with meat sauce that have become cult American classics. Hector Boiardi, an Italian immigrant, rose to fame as the head chef at the prestigious Plaza Hotel in New York City. After repeatedly being asked by patrons for a way to have his spaghetti at home, he decided to create, “take-out meal kits that included dried pasta, cheese and cleaned out milk bottles filled with marinara sauce along with instructions on how to cook, heat and assemble the meal” (Klein, 2015). These meal kits quickly surpassed dine-in revenue, so Boiardi decided to scale up his production. Capitalizing on the eagerness for quick meal options for Americans, Chef Boy-ar-dee outstripped Boiardi’s ability to run the company. After selling his business to American Home Products for six million dollars, the brand continued to expand and has become a mainstay on supermarket shelves in America and around the world.

Where fast and easy pasta dishes were saved for the home, Italian restaurants became a preferred dining spot to indulge in more time-consuming creations. Of the 800,000 restaurants in the United States in 2015, about 100,000 served Italian food (McMillan, 2016). In comparison to Chinese and Mexican restaurants that each numbered about 40,000, pasta definitely has made its mark on the American restaurant scene. However, with a much smaller subset of these Italian restaurants actually being authentic, the majority are run by big chains that have outposts across the United States. With 892 locations across the United States, Olive Garden is the largest chain of Italian-themed restaurants. Olive Garden prioritizes innovation and food trends in their menu creation, so they serve items like loaded pasta chips, sirloin over fettuccini alfredo, and chocolate brownie lasagna. They have also continued on the themes of indulgence that are present in American food culture. Servings are large and calorie ridden. Long gone are the days of the simple and healthy pastas with olive oil, garlic, and chili. Instead, Olive Garden serves their pastas as rich treats to the taste buds, likely being part of their marketing strategy as well. Fat enhances flavor and leaves people wanting more, so Olive Garden serves their pasta dishes laden with cheese and meat. However, they do still maintain a thorough understanding of the communal aspect that pasta creates. Their mission statement on their website reads that, “we believe that life is better together, and we know everyone is happiest when we’re with family. Whether that’s family by relation or by choice; traditional, blended or extended; neighbors, coworkers or teams; friends, groups or just “the gang.” We love everyone like family.” Pasta is a medium to connect people, and it is therefore the duty of Italian-American restaurants like Olive Garden to foster those connections around their dishes. While many of these Italian restaurants fall under the umbrella of Italian-American food culture, there has been a recent resurgence of authenticity in the United States.

With the turn of the century, Millennials kickstarted the foodie trend that has resulted in a reinvigoration of traditional Italian cuisine. This group of individuals, “love sharing experiences with their friends both in-person at the table and online” (Howe, 2017). With social media continuously on the rise, regional specialties of pasta like cacio e pepe or bucatini alla amatricianahave become mainstream and incorporated into the Italian-American body of food culture. Food photography has become an entire branch of social media, and as a result, new and exciting foods are sought out by this group. Regional specialties of pasta have filled this niche and the Italian food scene has become more authentic as a result. One such example is the Italian grocery market/restaurant complex called Eataly. The first Eataly opened in 2007 in Torino, Italy as, “a school, a market, a table to gather around: a place to learn about food and, through food, about life” (The Story of Eataly). At this one-stop shop, people can choose from a large selection of handmade pastas, cheese produced in Italy, beautifully selected produce, and end their experience with a scoop of gelato. With several locations in New York City and across the United States, this brand that emphasizes the Slow Food Movement’s tenants of quality ingredients and authenticity has become the perfect playground for foodie culture to flourish and be shared amongst individuals. The noodle has become rejuvenated and viewed as an art-form once again.

Noodles are a vessel for creativity that can be modeled and adapted to any nation’s agricultural availability, cultural preferences, or diet. The concept of the noodle is broad and open to interpretation, so the possibilities for a culture to take in the noodle as their own are endless. Southern Italians came to the United States in large numbers following the Risorgimento, and the greater body of ethnically diverse Americans took their classic Italian pasta dishes, kept some authentically preserved, and adapted others to this new and exciting land. With limited access to their homeland, Italian-Americans continued on in their new way of life, and as they changed as a people, the pasta did as well. Italian-American pasta has become a distinct entity with flavors and ingredients that are authentically American but still maintain the deep Italian roots. These roots are continuing to flourish as a more globalized and food enthused society has brought some of the classic Italian pastas to be cherished again in the United States.

Works Cited

Aunt Jake’s Menus. Retrieved from https://auntjakesnyc.com/menu/

Horowitz, G. (2016, December 7). The Illustrated History of Italian American Food. Retrieved from https://firstwefeast.com/features/illustrated-history-of-italian-american-food

Howe, N. (2017, July 20). How “Generation Yum” Is Stoking The Foodie Frenzy. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2017/07/20/how-generation-yum-is-stoking-the-foodie-frenzy/#2c421474613f

Klein, C. (2015, August 27). The Surprising History of the Real Chef Boy-Ar-Dee. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/the-surprising-history-of-the-real-chef-boy-ar-dee

Library of Congress. Italian – The Great Arrival – Immigration. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/italian3.html

McMillan, T. (2016, May 4). How Italian Cuisine Became as American as Apple Pie. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/05/04/how-italian-cuisine-became-as-american-as-apple-pie/

Molnar, A. (2010, December 15). From Europe to America: Immigration Through Family Tales. Retrieved from https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~molna22a/classweb/politics/Italianhistory.html

Napolitano, P. (2015, July 14). New Jersey is eggplant capital of the world. Retrieved from https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/life/food/2015/07/14/new-jersey-eggplant-capital-world/30132567/

Olive Garden – About Us. Retrieved from https://www.olivegarden.com/about-us

Pozzetta, G. Italian americans. Retrieved from https://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Italian-Americans.html

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Risorgimento. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/Risorgimento

(2017, March 27). The Story Behind 5 Classic Italian Pasta Sauces. Retrieved from http://www.italianmade.com/ca/the-story-behind-5-classic-italian-pasta-sauces/

(2019, April 4). The Story of Eataly. Retrieved from https://www.eataly.com/us_en/magazine/eataly-stories/story-of-eataly/