By Jay Friedman
“Where’d you get your passion for noodles?” I asked Boom Noodle’s Executive Chef Jonathan Hunt.
Hunt mentioned a London meal at Wagamama, an Asian-inspired noodle chain with outposts around the world, recently arriving in the United States. He was struck by the atmosphere and the uniqueness of the restaurant, observing “all kinds of people sitting around and having a great time, eating good food that was eclectic and good on a lot of different levels.”
Excited, Hunt started his quest for noodle excellence. Ibuki showcased his ramen among many in the July/August 2010 issue. In the months since, Seattle’s symphony of slurping has continued to boom.
Such slurping is not limited to ramen
Ramen may be the most recognizable Japanese noodle, as many of us can relate to the Top Ramen that supported us through tough economic times, but there are others. U:Don just opened in the University District, introducing fresh-made udon noodles (like ramen, made with wheat flour, but without eggs) that are thick with girthy goodness. Soba noodles, made with buckwheat, are full of minerals, vitamins, amino acids and antioxidants. Somen are elegantly thin noodles generally eaten cold and quite refreshing in summer, while shirataki, typically added to sukiyaki and similar dishes, is made from Japanese yam and contains no calories and no carbohydrates.
Of course, noodles are found beyond Japan, and all over Asia. Pho is the popular Vietnamese dish of rice noodles in an anise-scented beef broth. (There are many other beef noodle soups in Vietnam; for example, I adore the lesser-known bún bò Hue, with pork blood, oxtail and much more in a very flavorful broth.) It seems that just about every country has its own version of beef noodle soup, from Cambodia to Thailand to Taiwan, where Taiwanese beef noodle soup is the subject of an annual national competition.
There’s a wide variety of Chinese noodle dishes that vary region to region. And a great diversity of noodles country to country, many of which are available here in the Seattle area. Take a culinary tour and you can try Indonesian mi goreng (fried egg noodles), Singapore noodles (curry-spiced, stir-fried rice vermicelli) and Malaysian laksa (noodles in velvety coconut soup). From the Philippines, there’s pancit, made with either egg or rice noodles. Perhaps poised for the next boom is Korean food, featuring japchae made from healthy sweet potato starch noodles (glass noodles), and naengmyeon made from buckwheat and potato starch.
This is just scratching the surface
Why are noodle dishes so popular? They’re quick and convenient, suiting our busy lifestyles. Noodles are often a meal in a bowl, though some people supplement them with gyoza or another side dish. And while some noodles dishes, particularly ramen, can be laden with salt, fat and oil, others are healthy (think udon and soba), while some (like pho) are called “Asian penicillin”—the equivalent of a Jewish grandmother’s chicken soup. Some restaurants let you build your own bowl, giving you a chance to find a desired balance of proteins and vegetables.
And might I mention that they’re also delicious? Noodles are just plain fun, coming not only in different flavors, but also different colors, shapes and sizes. It’s just you and the bowl, and the way you interact with it makes each bowl a unique encounter. Chef Hunt concurs. Constantly playing with garlic chips, fresh garlic, fish sauce, chili or even a pat of butter (decadent in a bowl of miso ramen), he exclaims, “What I like most about ramen, or any plate or bowl of noodles, is how you can change the character of it. There’s joy in changing it as you go along, experiencing it and enjoying it in several different ways.”
Read on as we spotlight a selection of ramen bowls from Seattle-area restaurants, as well as a few other noodle dishes.
About writer
Freelance food writer Jay Friedman is the co-editor of the Fearless Critic Seattle Restaurant Guide, and pens a weekly column about Asian noodles called "The Mein Man" for Seattle Weekly's Voracious blog. Concerns about cholesterol can't keep him away from a good bowl of ramen! You can read his writing at his Gastrolust.com website.
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