Here’s How To Eat Your Favorite Noodle Dishes Around The World
SHARE
Unsplash
We love noodles. We want them all. Give us the ramen, spaghetti, pad thai, udon, pho, and macaroni. But how do you eat your mouthful of noodles? It’s the big question: To slurp or not to slurp? Here’s how to eat your favorite noodle dishes around the world — without being that rude American in the corner.
Japanese Ramen
Slurp? Yes!
With ramen, start with the broth. Take a little sip, then move on to the yummy stuff inside. Slurp up those noodles with the chopsticks, don’t shake them dry before eating. You’ll make noise, but that’s how you get all the flavors to blend together. Confused about the egg on top? That’s eaten separately. You don’t have to gracefully balance eating that with broth.
Italian Linguine
Slurp? No.
Italian pasta meals have two big no-no’s. Don’t slurp the noodles and don’t cut the noodles. Instead, wind a few noodles around your fork in a circular motion. If your pasta is served with a spoon on the plate, that spoon is your noodle-eating helper. You can use the spoon to help twirl the pasta around your fork.
Thai Pad Thai
Slurp?
Counter-intuitively, you don’t eat pad thai with your fork. You’ll be given a fork and a spoon, so use the fork to push noodles onto the spoon. Big pieces of meat, fruit and such can still be poked with a fork.
Vietnamese Pho
Slurp? Yes!
Like ramen, start with the pho broth. Use your chopsticks to push the rice noodles into the soup spoon and go at it. Another tip: Taste the broth right away to figure out whether you want to add condiments. Even if your pho comes with hot sauce or hoisin, don’t automatically dump it in. Make sure you need the extra flavor. A good broth won’t.
Chinese Wanton Mee
Slurp? Yes!
You can slurp away with Chinese wanton noodles and most noodle dishes in China. Just make sure you’ve got a good grip on your chopsticks. It’s rude to drop food, so keep your bowl close to your mouth if you’re feeling unsteady. P.S. Don’t leave your chopsticks sticking straight up in a bowl. It draws to mind funeral rituals — not something you want to reference at dinner.
Malaysian Laksa
Slurp? Yes!
If you don’t know, Laksa is a spicy seafood soup with different varieties throughout Southeast Asia. You can slurp this stuff up very much like pho, so work those chopsticks.
American Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Slurp? Nah.
Okay, this one is just for fun. We all know the best way to eat mac and cheese is to funnel as much into your belly as possible.
Next on
