Noodlevore

My daughter is learning all about animals in her elementary school. She's reading about the differences between mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, etc.  She's also learning the difference between carnivores and herbivores. We play a little game to help her understand the different classifications. I'd give her an animal and she tells me the diet of the animal. Lion? Carnivore. Elephant? Herbivore. Rhinoceros? Herbivore. When I asked her which one she is, she thought for a minute and replied gleefully, "Noodlevore!"

I laughed out loud at that one. Then I thought for a minute and realized she is pretty much on the mark. As Chinese, we eat noodles all the time. We eat it at any time of day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack, noodles are good at all hours. Like the scene in Forrest Gump where his friend Bubba lists off the ways to cook shrimp, noodles can be prepared in every imaginable way. You can have it hot or cold. It can be boiled, steamed, stewed, chilled, deep fried, or stir fried. You can have a choice of vegetarian preparation or meat lovers. It can be an appetizer, an entree, and even a dessert. Spicy, salty, sweet, tangy, or bitter, noodles can be enjoyed in every which way. They like it as noodle soup, stir fried noodles, cold boiled noodles, spaghetti with meatballs, or macaroni and cheese. It's all good. They enjoy eating noodles by far over rice.

Contrary to what many Westerners believe, noodles and pasta were invented in China, not Italy. The Chinese have had thousands of years to learn to make noodle based dishes. Walk down any street in Asia and there is bound to be a little noodle stand set up on the sidewalk surrounded by hungry customers slurping down bowls of piping hot noodles. It is ubiquitous.

When my wife is not up to preparing breakfast for the children, the easy way out is to boil some water and drop in a couple of packets of instant ramen noodles. It is never refused by the kids, unlike oatmeal or cold cereal. If even that is too much work, she'll boil small handfuls of Asian angel hair pasta or udon, cool them with a quick rinse of cold water, and pour some ponzu sauce on it. The kids will eat that too though I find it rather bland and one dimensional.

If we're out at a restaurant, whether Western or Asian, there is bound to be pasta on the menu. While they may turn their nose up at salads or stir fried eggplants, a couple of orders of spaghetti or noodle soup will keep the peace at the table.

Do I worry that they are becoming too much of a noodlevore? I've read all the health concerns about eating too much refined wheat products. This could potentially lead to obesity and diabetes in the future. Perhaps but for now I'm just glad there is something they will consistently eat without us parents tearing our hair out trying to figure out what will satisfy them. Besides, if the Chinese have been eating it for thousands of years and there are almost one and half billion of us it can't be that bad.