This question is for "rashir"?!

Noodles originated in northern China during the last half of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.) when large-scale wheat grinding became available, providing flour to make mian, mein, or mi, the Chinese word for noodle. We learn about the earliest noodles from Shu Hsi, one of China's most learned men, who in 300 B.C.E. wrote a fu or rhapsody on noodles, in which he provided detailed recordings of noodle making. For centuries, la mian or hand-pulled or hand-swung noodles were popular. The chef grasped a length of dough between two hands, stretched it with a toss of several feet, and repeated the tossing and extending until the dough divided into thinner and thinner strands, resulting in soft, smooth, and chewy noodles.

In the centuries that followed, variations of noodle making were introduced. In the Tang Dynasty (618–907 C.E.), noodles were first cut into strips. Then, in the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 C.E.) the making of dried noodles began (Ang, p. 46).

With travel and trade, noodles migrated into the rest of Asia. Noodles moved from China to Japan to Korea and to Southeast Asia. The Chinese influence is first evident in the name for noodle. The Chinese word for noodle, mian or mien or mi became men or menrui in Japan, myun in Korea, and mee in Thailand. It was even believed that Chinese noodles moved into Europe. According to legend, Marco Polo discovered pasta in China and took the idea home. But it was misinterpretation of his records that started this story because pasta was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans—a culinary evolution independent of China.

Eric

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