A couple important notes, then location pins. Usually, we go through several stages of the final edit- catching any accidental mistakes or issues and then fixing until it's ready to go. But our edit computer had some overheating issues and so we had to cut that process a bit shorter than usual this week, so there are two things that I want to quickly clarify, one major and one minor. - The big one first: I cut a segment from the Japanese ramen section after the story of Bodhisena, going through a few other origin stories of the dish. It was cut because I felt like it went on too long and started to drag (and this is a long enough video already!) but on re-watch I definitely want to make clearer that this was meant to be in an obvious mythology segment- which means I'm in no way trying to declare the Bodhisena story to be confirmed fact. It's a legend. It MIGHT be true- but the thing about Japanese history is it's so well recorded and preserved that sometimes it almost makes research harder; there are a lot of contradictory stories. It's also important to point out that there's a ton of misinformation published about ramen's origin, mainly because during the Edo period (17th to 19th century) the dish was widely rebranded as Chinese Soba. So when it shows up as Ramen again in the early 1900s, it's sometimes confused as a new thing. It wasn't. But the origins are muddy and there's compelling stories covering several centuries and since I cut the longer segment, I should have added a few lines back in at least making this more clear. - The small one: I understand that mispronunciations will happen, especially in videos like this where I'm trying to cover...I don't know, words in like 30 different languages (and I'm from Virginia- I don't even speak English correctly). But in the line about Spanish soup noodles, that's just the wrong word- it should be Sopa de Fideo, not Fideos. My mistake- would have fixed it if the computer could have handled another render. All that said, here are the pins: -Lanzhou La Mian: maps.app.goo.gl/6xjQh9hHawfX5csx6 -Tibetan Thukpa: maps.app.goo.gl/AQQm6pYKgWGJscac6 -Italian Pasta: maps.app.goo.gl/yADo5GGLuFY4mMCX8 -Persian Ash Reshteh: maps.app.goo.gl/smjPqMXhRUDDVHwQ8 -Amazing Ramen: maps.app.goo.gl/L2j9yc4BL5tSJUg18 -Less Amazing Ramen: maps.app.goo.gl/eA1QwbTo5CpAm9pW7 -and as always, our filming location (with the Pad Thai at the end): maps.app.goo.gl/6B1JPuiRLJJ8eXVx9 ...and as a bonus location, for anyone in Italy, here's Badr's Moroccan restaurant: maps.app.goo.gl/vquDMu7p6HkZX1hq8
I really enjoyed the documentary I am at the moment making a Korean inspired noodle stew with pork Gochugang paste and pasta cause I dont have any ramen noodle
You missed another biggie: it's tonkotsu ramen, not tonkatsu. Tonkotsu is pork bone broth, tonkatsu is fried pork cutlets. Btw: love how you respect the various traditions and use disciplined research to debunk myths and stay above the tendency of cultures to compete with each other.
In Hawai’i we have a uniquely Hawaiian noodle dish introduced by Japanese immigrants to the islands in the 1800’s called Saimin, it is loosely based on Ramen but the noodles and soup base are different.
@@edamael Thanks! Yeah sometimes it just comes down to how it feels when I watch the first drafts- if I find myself drifting off while I'm watching, I assume everyone else will, too
I literally just said to my wife "I'm trying to find something to watch, there's nothing" Then literally one minute after uploading, I saw this. Fantastic. I love yall
Nothing like not being able to find ANYTHING to watch and finding an hour+, and of this caliber. Could easily be on a mainstream network, though I like that he has freedom!
If you like history stuff, I also recommend the (Fall of Civilizations) podcast... my personal favorites are the episodes on the Khmer Empire and Bagan.
Im was born in the city of lanzhou and love that its regional foods are finally becoming more well known around the world. For reasons im not able to return to my hometown, so im always happy when restaurants serving the food i grew up with shows up outside of china
It is amazing how immigration influences local foods - the popularisation of Lanzhou noodles in Western countries follows exactly the same as the Cantonese and Fujian cuisine before it - first it was catering to the new immigrants and then the locals caught on. Same with how hotpot is getting popular in the West now.
As a Chinese who makes gua mian(cut noodles), chow mien, pho, and fresh pasta with duck eggs at home, I thank you for the in-depth video of the history of these dishes I make.
I love how people found ways to eat grain in so many different form factors for practicality, storage, and what I'd imagine for having something more exciting to eat. Oatmeal, porridge, bread, and of course noodles of a thousand types. We could just be boiling rice and wheat and calling it a day but nope and that's a wonderful thing.
@@kammonkam4905 It's more that when you only have one grain to eat for most of your days, you will either make something new with it for variety, or you will lose your fucking mind.
Its because once your basic needs are fulfilled, in this case enough food to go around for a decent long time, people starts to experiment to make something new, either curiosity or by accident
I love the seamless way in which you simultaneously educate your audience about history, geography and food! It's a unique, winning combination. Thank you for posting such fascinating content! 🙏
As a food and history enthusiast, long form contents created by OTR really scratches the itch for new insights and knowledge, especially this one, as a big noodle fan. One thing I’d like to point out though… it was indirectly stated here that in the 700s when Boddhisena brought noodles from China to Japan, what he brought was Ramen (derived from Lamian 拉麺 of the Lanzhou region)… but Ramen didn’t exist in Japan until the 1900s. What he actually brought was the technique to make noodles out of flour. Lamian is made from wheat flour with akaline which is not commonly cultivated in Japan during those period, so instead they used buckwheat flour to make a totally different noodle dish called Soba. After the second World War, Chinese merchants (commonly in black markets) brought a noodle dish to Japan and at a really cheap price which was perfect for the hungry Japanese devastated by the war. It was then adjusted to cater the Japanese taste and was originally called 支那そば (Shina Soba), or Chinese Soba. There are still Ramen shops now, particularly those that are mastering the classic shoyu style, that calls their Ramen, Shina Soba or Chūka Soba (both meaning Chinese Soba). But despite having the same Kanji (Chinese characters), 拉麺 (Pulled Noodles), Japanese Ramen isn’t pulled. Still, this is an 11/10 content. My favorite so far. It used to be the Pad Kra Pao that made me want to plan a trip to Thailand soon.
I worked in a Chinese noodle factory when I was 13. Fresh, dried, and wonton covers. It was fun and enlightening. Over the years I worked in commercial kitchens, while in college, and even managed to score a stint in a hotel resort, during the many recessions of the 90s. Food history is so interesting to me.
I live in a Pakistani household, I'm eating ramen noodles atm and I put a bunch of random spices and bunch of random mexican salsas, dried green onions, dried onions, dried shrimp, and idk whatever the heck I found in the kitchen. The taste is absolutely delicious while I'm also high out of my mind, I fell down the rabbit hole of noodles and I am here.
Watching this baked, got me eyeing my shin ramyun packets on top of my fridge lmao. I'm half Latino, and my Mexican fam would always cook fideos, which is angel hair pasta with tomato sauce, cumin, garlic, and chili powder. I personally don't like it, but most Mexicans love it! And here in West TX, most taco trucks serve a Mexican version of ramen, sometimes with brisket or birria meat.
interesting! as a chinese speaker, I was always under the impression that noodles in chinese culture came first before bread, based on the fact that the word for noodle (Mian) is the base word for all wheat products, and all other wheat product names are compounds words that use the word “Mian”. for instance “mian fun” (literally noodle powder) = flour, “Mian bao” (literally noodle bundles) = bread
I assume the latter empire first got in contact with noodles instead of steam buns or mo. For example, one of the longest dynasties of China, the Tang Dynasty was not Han people (forgot the ethnic group though), and their culture heavily influenced the Japanese culture. Also, there was the Yuan Dynasty which was a Mongolian Empire instead of Chinese (Which the current country of Mongol is the successor). And then the Qin Dynasty wasn't Han people either, they were Manchurian.
ago @ hiway19891 It’s the opposite. Japanese culture was heavily influenced by Chinese culture during the Tang Dynasty. Chinese characters, calligraphy, brush painting, tea ceremony and flower arrangements, etc all came from China. You could do some research and get the facts.
these video essays not ONLY help me witness the world in a whole new light but also help me better imagine things for fantasy worlds like "how does dish X,Y and Z, come to be in that world? who made it? what else did the dish's inventor/distributor do with their life?" and these kinds of questions help deepen the lore of those worlds, all thanks to the already deep forgotten lore of our own!
This is probably the best video I have seen in a long long time, errors notwitstanding. To be clear, the story of noodles isn't clear, as you pointed out yourself and it grew from tenous connections to where you started but the part I didn't know was its connection to bread. The fact is, no culture can truly call, what is generally called noodles their own in that each type has its cultural and regional origins and that to me, apart from its story, is the one reason why I love noodles.
absolutely fantastic video, and such a fascinating history! It didn't feel like it was over an hour long as I was captivated the whole way through. Can't wait to watch more!
Your research is amazing. The way you tell the story great. And I love love love that you take us around the world within Bangkok. It's a detail, but your channel changed completly my understanding of this city.
This has to be one of the best RUclips documentaries ever. Thank you so much for your research and rich knowledge and information shared in your great documentary.
I've always interested in the history of noodles and watched countless videos and this one is by far the best, Thank you for helping me to understand the bachground of noodles.
You are the best food historian in the world. I love watching and learning from your videos. You are amazing, very thorough and so entertaining in teaching food, history and geography and culture. Keep it up!
Thanks for beeing the first accurate noodle video (I've seen) to also mention Spätzle my Swabian soul can rest now! Finally noodle videos are at last complete with egg noodles and all the other noodle sorts mentioned.
Wowza! What an incredible journey you have taken us on! Such an in-depth case study! Just sourcing the images used in the video must have taken ages. So interesting. Thanks! I love your channel. Can’t believe how much you ate.
New guy to your channel. While this was an amazing history of pasta. I learned so much from this incredible video. So I decided to drive your work. You are very good in which you do! Cheers
Just started the video and I'm so excited for it. This channel is so underrated. I hope this is the vid that brings you into the spotlight that you deserve. edit: man I love noodles. Noodles = love.
I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the team for their incredible dedication and thorough research in producing this one. This video is a true gem, offering fascinating insights into the rich history and cultural journey of Noodle across the globe. I'm genuinely satisfied with the depth of information and the engaging storytelling that went into this video. Thank you for making such an informative and captivating piece! you should get 1M sub already guys!
Really REALLY enjoying the new direction this series is going; choosing one ingredient and/or technique and chasing as many links down as one can! It really works. It's fun to hear the origin of specific dishes but, this pulls the whole world in. Reminds me of the old TV show 'Connections' with James Burke or Mark Kurlansky's books (which I'm going to guess you've read a few of.)
Your second video ive now watched, the rice video was awesome! Ive never seen such a deep dive on one simple topic, the available history is amazing. Im more of a history buff than a food buff but this scratches the itch perfecly. Keep it up!
Thanks for the shout out to bang bang noodles. When I worked in New York City, my favorite lunchtime take-out was from a place called Xi'an Famous Noodles. The spicing was incredible, so different from the standard Chinese fare I grew up with. The Spice Road influence comes through with cumin and other "western" spices providing a flavor profile unlike any other
As always, just an amazing piece of art. Thanks for forever delivering a quality experience. One minor note, though: Tonkatsu is the breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet, while Tonkotsu is pork bone broth. Both words use "Ton," which means pork, but the "katsu" is the Japanese shortened pronunciation of "cutlet (katsuletsu)", while "kotsu" is Japanese for "bone." So tonkotsu, which is so wonderfully full of umami, fat, and lip-smacking gelatin, derives its name from the pork bones that contributed all of those qualities to its creation.
Oh my goodness! An epic video about my favorite food. I am Asian and never really appreciated such a marvelous history of this simple food. Thank you, mahalo!👏🏼😎🍍💕🌺🥷🏝
In lieu of running out to my local ramen place you had me craving ramen so much I'm now finishing this video with a bowl of one of my favorite instants. Nissan's tonkatsu with black garlic oil.
Your videos are nothing short of brilliant! A fresh and groundbreaking approach to telling the story of food. The curation of restaurants is impeccable, showcasing the significance of cultural memory. An outstanding, entertaining, and culturally rich piece of work!
1:02:41 my first experience of Cup Noodles was in 1979, in Guam, as a newly arrived immigrant to the US and thought it was amazing, so much flavor packed in a cup!
You can thank Momofuku Ando (invented instant noodles) for that. When he first saw how Americans were eating his invention by breaking the noodles into a cup and eating with a fork he adapted his product for them.
@@NecrodermisFirst of all, instant noodles first existed in China in ancient times, but his industry was standardized and he was Chinese but immigrated to Japan.
The Chinese has taken the instant noodle concept to a whole new level. Now you could even have freshly cooked chicken rice, all in a cup and you don't need hot water at all. The ultimate survival food which doesn't require a fire or an external heat source. I imagine that's what they brought up to the space station with them. The Chinese astronauts sure have a variety of freshly cooked food to eat.
@@Wann-zo7rn2qn4i what you're describing is an Flameless Ration Heater and has been around for a long time now. Developed by the U.S Army Natick Research the FRH has been in use as part of MRE's for the US military since 1993 and would eventually be adopted by many parts of the world. What astronauts use in space is something entirely different as flavor doesn't work the same in zero gravity.
Thanks for helping to unravel this mystery. There seems to be so many myths and origin stories about how each country got noodles. It's nice to see something better researched than old wives tales.
This is the coolest channel and this is the coolest video on this channel. All my life I have been a noodle lover. I could literally eat noodles every meal every day and I would not get enough of it. When I went to lanzhou for the first time and had lanzhou lamien I started crying uncontrollably because of how good it was. I later learned my family traced back to the gansu region of china and so this video was really cool to see how gansu was and is THE noodle capital!
I first saw RUclips before Larry and Sergey. This is by far the most interesting video I have ever seen on this platform. I had the pleasure of frequently eating Lanzhou Lamian made fresh while staying in Shanghai for a year, but somehow did not encounter it when I stayed a year in the northwest city of Xi'an. Imagine my excitement when I discovered a Lanzhou Lamian restaurant in my California hometown at the end of COVID. Thanks for this fascinating account of this complex type of food. Now I'm hungry!
Another fantastic video. This "multiple origin" story reminds me of convergent evolution - there's an ecological niche (or in this case, an obvious culinary niche?) to be filled, so multiple creatures would evolve into what look like similar organisms. It's amazing how cosmopolitan Bangkok has become - no need to travel very far to find almost any sort of cuisine. That Iranian dish might be something I'd like to try the next time I visit. I just got back from Bangkok last week, and was looking for a Georgian restaurant in KL on Google Maps, after having tried the khatchapuri at AVRA in Bangkok. So far, no luck, but I did find an Uzbek restaurant (after watching several videos about Plov and Shashlik, I will definitely need to visit). LOTS of Turkish restaurants (four within a couple of miles from where I live, not all have Pide but one actually has Pide with egg - probably khatchapuri-like) and I found a "New York Pizza" restaurant that serves something called "Georgian Cheese Boat" 😁 (and also a "Gorgo-zilla Cheese Boat"..).
Northern Norway has a form of noodles called kleppmelk (lumpy milk). I used to eat it as an evening meal (it was a treat), but it could be dinner. The lumps are a thick pancake batter made from milk, flour, eggs, sugar and salt.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video throughout with much fascination. As a lover of both food and history, your documentation of this topic is what I would describe a truly wonderful experience like unto a well choreographed performance. My thanks and compliments. From Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
Blondie in China, a food blogger in China, made a video about a type of instant ramen type noodle that she found in China that was supposedly used during wars as soldiers rations.
Maybe- but it’s absolutely indisputable that by the 13th century, dried noodles were still unknown in China. There is surviving writing of Chinese ambassadors shocked to see anything like it. So if it was soldiers rations, it would have been after that point
@@OTRontheroad Guess I should add that, China is big, ancient China could be bigger depends on which period you are looking into, even in this informative era, people could still be knowing less about others in other regions of China, not to mention the ancient Chinese.
Sir, I amazed by the passion and dedication you show on your channel. It is wonderful. Thank you. I am also amazed that your Subscribers has not escalated more. I wish you much success in your endeavor here. Keep the faith that what you are doing is significant.
Everyone of your videos should be watched by anyone who eats, and this one was a home run like the rest. Like the video on rice, I can't wait for other videos on the origins of the staple foods as they are definitely must sees, so seeing the history of pasta was cool to see.
The first time I ever saw someone making hand pulled noodles was actually Jackie Chan in the movie Mr. Nice Guy where he plays a chef hosting an Australian cooking show. In the outtakes, you can see him screwing up trying to make the noodles.
Seeing your reaction to Ash Reshteh I immediately looked up to see where the closest place I could try it was, now I'm looking forward to the next time I head to Austin.
This was a standout video. Everything about this was so ell done. Food and history, yhe combination is such magic! I enjoyed this long form dive into culinary history! Bravo!
This is fantastic - I really appreciate how you note the complexity of the history of this staple food. Keep up the good work - can't wait to see a deep dive on seafood!
That Lanzhou ramen in Hwai Kwang is my go-to place for affordable lanzhou ramen 😆 Didn't realised there is a Tibetan restaurant in Khlong Toei and that Persian restaurant is near to where I live
This is an incredible video, thank you! I was trying to sleep but now I'm captivated, lol... I was thinking about the history of noodles earlier today and I'm so glad I ran into this video.
Cheers! We did a big dive into that stuff in our Vegan food video (since they’re connected to Buddhist cuisine, which is actually mentioned in this video as well), but I agree it could use one of its own
Thank you so much for trying to explain what went to where and when and by whom... sometimes at multiple occasions at the same time, spread over centuries concerning a food called Pasta or any other given name locally, named by the Germans Nudeln, translated in English Noodles. Such a wide spread and accepted food which came to us via such a complicated way... While watching this stunning documentary; you simply just cannot zoom out for just a moment, because in your story you probably will be in another country, in another culture in another Pasta, or another Noodle... I never knew Noodles travelled this far from continent to continent, from continental countries to Island countries from culture to culture and that this all started so long ago... And there basically is no sum up possible, in fact this documentary is the sum up...
OTR should guide max in Thai cuisine sometime, Dude want some primary Thai recipe from old time. Which is hard to come by. I believe that OTR has advantage of being in Thailand, which he could find primary food recipe on his way of adventuring.
I’ve just eaten dinner. I am not hungry - but I swear I could tuck into all those amazing looking noodle/pasta dishes. Absolutely fascinating and informative documentary . Thank you
Sweet steamed buns are still called „Nudel“ in Germany today, much like steamed breads in Asia (however, they’re a local specialty even many Germans have never heard of).
Fascinating and very clearly presented to camera. London had a wonderful Nepalese restaurant in the mid-1980s, The Laughing Gurkha, run by a former Gurkha (a Brit) army officer. Toukpah and mo mo featured on the menu.
I dont know if you can call these noodles, but East Indonesians (Maluku, Papua, Flores, Timor etc) have a dish, made from sago starch called papeda. They usually eat it with some kind of fish soup, they called ikan kuah kuning. This papeda has glue thick consistency and usually eaten with some kind of chopsticks
i want to remark that the tasting notes were mia in the video, but also it matters little because the video already covers so much! thank you for making it as thorough as possible for a one hour documentary
"Laina" (coming from the latin form of the greek laganoi) it is still a word used in Ciociaria (southern central Italy) dialects to refer to a specific kind of fresh pasta meant to be eaten in legumes stews. It has come a long way!
@SecondTry45 The legume stew for the laina is usually made with chickpeas or beans, quite thick/creamy and it is eaten warm - but it is very good also cold, I can tell!
Noodles have to be one of the best things on planet earth! Like u kept mentioning in the vid, it spans the globe, which is why so many ppl love them! I can’t imagine a world without noodles (or rice) Always appreciate these well-produced and researched videos! 😍🙏🏼🫕🍝
always thank my ancient cousins from the east when i eat rice, pasta, or noodles as i hope they thank my ancestors and their cousins from the western hemisphere for giving the them tomatoes and chili peppers.
A couple important notes, then location pins.
Usually, we go through several stages of the final edit- catching any accidental mistakes or issues and then fixing until it's ready to go. But our edit computer had some overheating issues and so we had to cut that process a bit shorter than usual this week, so there are two things that I want to quickly clarify, one major and one minor.
- The big one first: I cut a segment from the Japanese ramen section after the story of Bodhisena, going through a few other origin stories of the dish. It was cut because I felt like it went on too long and started to drag (and this is a long enough video already!) but on re-watch I definitely want to make clearer that this was meant to be in an obvious mythology segment- which means I'm in no way trying to declare the Bodhisena story to be confirmed fact. It's a legend. It MIGHT be true- but the thing about Japanese history is it's so well recorded and preserved that sometimes it almost makes research harder; there are a lot of contradictory stories. It's also important to point out that there's a ton of misinformation published about ramen's origin, mainly because during the Edo period (17th to 19th century) the dish was widely rebranded as Chinese Soba. So when it shows up as Ramen again in the early 1900s, it's sometimes confused as a new thing. It wasn't. But the origins are muddy and there's compelling stories covering several centuries and since I cut the longer segment, I should have added a few lines back in at least making this more clear.
- The small one: I understand that mispronunciations will happen, especially in videos like this where I'm trying to cover...I don't know, words in like 30 different languages (and I'm from Virginia- I don't even speak English correctly). But in the line about Spanish soup noodles, that's just the wrong word- it should be Sopa de Fideo, not Fideos. My mistake- would have fixed it if the computer could have handled another render.
All that said, here are the pins:
-Lanzhou La Mian: maps.app.goo.gl/6xjQh9hHawfX5csx6
-Tibetan Thukpa: maps.app.goo.gl/AQQm6pYKgWGJscac6
-Italian Pasta: maps.app.goo.gl/yADo5GGLuFY4mMCX8
-Persian Ash Reshteh: maps.app.goo.gl/smjPqMXhRUDDVHwQ8
-Amazing Ramen: maps.app.goo.gl/L2j9yc4BL5tSJUg18
-Less Amazing Ramen: maps.app.goo.gl/eA1QwbTo5CpAm9pW7
-and as always, our filming location (with the Pad Thai at the end): maps.app.goo.gl/6B1JPuiRLJJ8eXVx9
...and as a bonus location, for anyone in Italy, here's Badr's Moroccan restaurant: maps.app.goo.gl/vquDMu7p6HkZX1hq8
I really enjoyed the documentary I am at the moment making a Korean inspired noodle stew with pork Gochugang paste and pasta cause I dont have any ramen noodle
You missed another biggie: it's tonkotsu ramen, not tonkatsu. Tonkotsu is pork bone broth, tonkatsu is fried pork cutlets.
Btw: love how you respect the various traditions and use disciplined research to debunk myths and stay above the tendency of cultures to compete with each other.
In Hawai’i we have a uniquely Hawaiian noodle dish introduced by Japanese immigrants to the islands in the 1800’s called Saimin, it is loosely based on Ramen but the noodles and soup base are different.
For future reference, you don't have to cut out sections for fear of making the video too long. Those origin stories are why we are here
@@edamael Thanks! Yeah sometimes it just comes down to how it feels when I watch the first drafts- if I find myself drifting off while I'm watching, I assume everyone else will, too
an hour video on the history of noodles is exactly what i want to see on my youtube feed.
I'm actually also subscribed to the exact same channels as you.
I literally just said to my wife "I'm trying to find something to watch, there's nothing"
Then literally one minute after uploading, I saw this. Fantastic. I love yall
Ask and you shall receive
Nothing like not being able to find ANYTHING to watch and finding an hour+, and of this caliber. Could easily be on a mainstream network, though I like that he has freedom!
@@OTRontheroad 谢谢我真喜欢你们的 videos please make one about milk
If you like history stuff, I also recommend the (Fall of Civilizations) podcast... my personal favorites are the episodes on the Khmer Empire and Bagan.
LeGiT LiTeRaLLy.
Im was born in the city of lanzhou and love that its regional foods are finally becoming more well known around the world. For reasons im not able to return to my hometown, so im always happy when restaurants serving the food i grew up with shows up outside of china
It is amazing how immigration influences local foods - the popularisation of Lanzhou noodles in Western countries follows exactly the same as the Cantonese and Fujian cuisine before it - first it was catering to the new immigrants and then the locals caught on. Same with how hotpot is getting popular in the West now.
Yep Lanzhou noodles are definitely becoming more popular here in Melbourne Australia, as well as many other regional Chinese soups/ dishes
I’m also born in Lanzhou!
Hope you get to visit back to your hometown soon. Home is best 😊
There are at least 4 different restaurants called Lanzhou noodle within walking distance from where I live in Toronto.😮
As a Chinese who makes gua mian(cut noodles), chow mien, pho, and fresh pasta with duck eggs at home, I thank you for the in-depth video of the history of these dishes I make.
Wow. If you cook all those various noodle dishes, I'll happily clean dishes ! :)
I love how people found ways to eat grain in so many different form factors for practicality, storage, and what I'd imagine for having something more exciting to eat. Oatmeal, porridge, bread, and of course noodles of a thousand types. We could just be boiling rice and wheat and calling it a day but nope and that's a wonderful thing.
When people have too much time on their hands they play with their food. Then good things happen. 😄
Beer is a way to preserve calories from grains too!
@@kammonkam4905 I prefer "creating" with their food, but still good things :D
@@kammonkam4905 It's more that when you only have one grain to eat for most of your days, you will either make something new with it for variety, or you will lose your fucking mind.
Its because once your basic needs are fulfilled, in this case enough food to go around for a decent long time, people starts to experiment to make something new, either curiosity or by accident
I love the seamless way in which you simultaneously educate your audience about history, geography and food! It's a unique, winning combination. Thank you for posting such fascinating content! 🙏
Simply brilliant..what a top notch documentary…no words…. Complete .
concise information no one has.. now we do..Thank you
As a food and history enthusiast, long form contents created by OTR really scratches the itch for new insights and knowledge, especially this one, as a big noodle fan.
One thing I’d like to point out though… it was indirectly stated here that in the 700s when Boddhisena brought noodles from China to Japan, what he brought was Ramen (derived from Lamian 拉麺 of the Lanzhou region)… but Ramen didn’t exist in Japan until the 1900s. What he actually brought was the technique to make noodles out of flour. Lamian is made from wheat flour with akaline which is not commonly cultivated in Japan during those period, so instead they used buckwheat flour to make a totally different noodle dish called Soba.
After the second World War, Chinese merchants (commonly in black markets) brought a noodle dish to Japan and at a really cheap price which was perfect for the hungry Japanese devastated by the war. It was then adjusted to cater the Japanese taste and was originally called 支那そば (Shina Soba), or Chinese Soba. There are still Ramen shops now, particularly those that are mastering the classic shoyu style, that calls their Ramen, Shina Soba or Chūka Soba (both meaning Chinese Soba).
But despite having the same Kanji (Chinese characters), 拉麺 (Pulled Noodles), Japanese Ramen isn’t pulled.
Still, this is an 11/10 content. My favorite so far. It used to be the Pad Kra Pao that made me want to plan a trip to Thailand soon.
I worked in a Chinese noodle factory when I was 13. Fresh, dried, and wonton covers. It was fun and enlightening.
Over the years I worked in commercial kitchens, while in college, and even managed to score a stint in a hotel resort, during the many recessions of the 90s. Food history is so interesting to me.
I live in a Pakistani household, I'm eating ramen noodles atm and I put a bunch of random spices and bunch of random mexican salsas, dried green onions, dried onions, dried shrimp, and idk whatever the heck I found in the kitchen. The taste is absolutely delicious while I'm also high out of my mind, I fell down the rabbit hole of noodles and I am here.
Watching this baked, got me eyeing my shin ramyun packets on top of my fridge lmao. I'm half Latino, and my Mexican fam would always cook fideos, which is angel hair pasta with tomato sauce, cumin, garlic, and chili powder. I personally don't like it, but most Mexicans love it! And here in West TX, most taco trucks serve a Mexican version of ramen, sometimes with brisket or birria meat.
lol
Andy sent me here and I can't believe I haven't come across this channel before now! This is such a great comprehensive deep dive, thank you SO much
Thanks for the nice words. Glad you found us
This was wonderfully made - and once I was a few minutes in, I knew I was pasta point of no return :) Thank you for making it!
oof. Honestly what hurts the most is that I didn't think of that pun for the script.
No gift for floury language?
I will show myself out.
This is much comprehensive than what I thought it would be. Been wanting a documentary like this for years. Thanks!
interesting! as a chinese speaker, I was always under the impression that noodles in chinese culture came first before bread, based on the fact that the word for noodle (Mian) is the base word for all wheat products, and all other wheat product names are compounds words that use the word “Mian”. for instance “mian fun” (literally noodle powder) = flour, “Mian bao” (literally noodle bundles) = bread
Well the first breads weren’t necessarily included as part of a category. Like 馍 is mo, not Mian mo. So it’s an interesting topic to explore
@@jiachen7865 that's the point
I assume the latter empire first got in contact with noodles instead of steam buns or mo.
For example, one of the longest dynasties of China, the Tang Dynasty was not Han people (forgot the ethnic group though), and their culture heavily influenced the Japanese culture.
Also, there was the Yuan Dynasty which was a Mongolian Empire instead of Chinese (Which the current country of Mongol is the successor).
And then the Qin Dynasty wasn't Han people either, they were Manchurian.
ago
@ hiway19891 It’s the opposite. Japanese culture was heavily influenced by Chinese culture during the Tang Dynasty. Chinese characters, calligraphy, brush painting, tea ceremony and flower arrangements, etc all came from China. You could do some research and get the facts.
someone failed english test
This is by far the most interesting food documentary I have ever seen. Great job!
these video essays not ONLY help me witness the world in a whole new light
but also help me better imagine things for fantasy worlds
like "how does dish X,Y and Z, come to be in that world? who made it? what else did the dish's inventor/distributor do with their life?"
and these kinds of questions help deepen the lore of those worlds, all thanks to the already deep forgotten lore of our own!
This is an amazing journey. Better than any other so-called "professionally produced" documentary I have seen. Kudos.
This is probably the best video I have seen in a long long time, errors notwitstanding. To be clear, the story of noodles isn't clear, as you pointed out yourself and it grew from tenous connections to where you started but the part I didn't know was its connection to bread. The fact is, no culture can truly call, what is generally called noodles their own in that each type has its cultural and regional origins and that to me, apart from its story, is the one reason why I love noodles.
You're amazing man! The story about your first trip to Asia at the end brought a tear to my eye. Big ups from France.
absolutely fantastic video, and such a fascinating history! It didn't feel like it was over an hour long as I was captivated the whole way through. Can't wait to watch more!
Your research is amazing. The way you tell the story great.
And I love love love that you take us around the world within Bangkok. It's a detail, but your channel changed completly my understanding of this city.
So impressed by the Italian chef's English, how eloquent and the use of vast vocabularies.
This is the wholesome content that makes my day so much more peaceful
Why haven't I found your channel!? Amazing work! You deserve millions of subscribers and views!!
Damn his story telling is captivating, not like anyone else, but like so many, who were good! Netflix needs your content!
This has to be one of the best RUclips documentaries ever. Thank you so much for your research and rich knowledge and information shared in your great documentary.
I've always interested in the history of noodles and watched countless videos and this one is by far the best,
Thank you for helping me to understand the bachground of noodles.
可惜他对中国历史认知错误的
@@moneytsien are you talking about Qijia culture or the timeline?
You are the best food historian in the world. I love watching and learning from your videos. You are amazing, very thorough and so entertaining in teaching food, history and geography and culture. Keep it up!
Thanks for beeing the first accurate noodle video (I've seen) to also mention Spätzle my Swabian soul can rest now! Finally noodle videos are at last complete with egg noodles and all the other noodle sorts mentioned.
Always a great day when there's a new OTR video up
Wowza! What an incredible journey you have taken us on! Such an in-depth case study! Just sourcing the images used in the video must have taken ages. So interesting. Thanks! I love your channel. Can’t believe how much you ate.
You are correct. I SO wish I were you right now, lol. That bowl of ramen with the salmon roe looked AMAZING.
New guy to your channel. While this was an amazing history of pasta. I learned so much from this incredible video. So I decided to drive your work. You are very good in which you do! Cheers
Cheers Colonel, just checked out your channel and look forward to testing out a couple recipes.
Just started the video and I'm so excited for it. This channel is so underrated. I hope this is the vid that brings you into the spotlight that you deserve.
edit: man I love noodles. Noodles = love.
I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the team for their incredible dedication and thorough research in producing this one. This video is a true gem, offering fascinating insights into the rich history and cultural journey of Noodle across the globe. I'm genuinely satisfied with the depth of information and the engaging storytelling that went into this video. Thank you for making such an informative and captivating piece! you should get 1M sub already guys!
Really REALLY enjoying the new direction this series is going; choosing one ingredient and/or technique and chasing as many links down as one can! It really works. It's fun to hear the origin of specific dishes but, this pulls the whole world in. Reminds me of the old TV show 'Connections' with James Burke or Mark Kurlansky's books (which I'm going to guess you've read a few of.)
So excited when the notification came up, especially after you spoke about this on the livestream!!
Your second video ive now watched, the rice video was awesome! Ive never seen such a deep dive on one simple topic, the available history is amazing. Im more of a history buff than a food buff but this scratches the itch perfecly. Keep it up!
The video I never knew I needed 😂 Very interesting bit about those breadfruit pasta in Sumatera!
ABSOLUTE FREAKIN AMAZING video. So proud this stuff comes up on my feed. Fascinating and top quality content. Thank you!
Fantastic research. Fantastic subject. Fantastic food. My wife and I are over the moon that we found your documentary. Well done!
Love all of your content, thank you. Greetings from South Africa.
As ever, hugely fascinating and filled with amazingly obscure tid bits of linguistics and culture. Thanks so much.
Awesome video, Adam. In an ever decreasing pool of watchable content on this platform, your product is head and shoulders above most.
Thanks for the shout out to bang bang noodles. When I worked in New York City, my favorite lunchtime take-out was from a place called Xi'an Famous Noodles. The spicing was incredible, so different from the standard Chinese fare I grew up with. The Spice Road influence comes through with cumin and other "western" spices providing a flavor profile unlike any other
It took me 3 days to complete watching this video. Great stuff! Thanks for taking the time & effort to put this together 🙏
As always, just an amazing piece of art. Thanks for forever delivering a quality experience.
One minor note, though: Tonkatsu is the breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet, while Tonkotsu is pork bone broth. Both words use "Ton," which means pork, but the "katsu" is the Japanese shortened pronunciation of "cutlet (katsuletsu)", while "kotsu" is Japanese for "bone." So tonkotsu, which is so wonderfully full of umami, fat, and lip-smacking gelatin, derives its name from the pork bones that contributed all of those qualities to its creation.
I was wondering if there's a new flavour called Tonkatsu Ramen 🤣
Oh my goodness! An epic video about my favorite food. I am Asian and never really appreciated such a marvelous history of this simple food. Thank you, mahalo!👏🏼😎🍍💕🌺🥷🏝
this is one of the best videos on youtube need like 5 million views
This is such a comprehensive and macro look at one of the most loved food on the world! ❤
In lieu of running out to my local ramen place you had me craving ramen so much I'm now finishing this video with a bowl of one of my favorite instants. Nissan's tonkatsu with black garlic oil.
I can only find it with a hot chilli oil now, I love the garlic oil more.
Your videos are nothing short of brilliant! A fresh and groundbreaking approach to telling the story of food. The curation of restaurants is impeccable, showcasing the significance of cultural memory. An outstanding, entertaining, and culturally rich piece of work!
1:02:41 my first experience of Cup Noodles was in 1979, in Guam, as a newly arrived immigrant to the US and thought it was amazing, so much flavor packed in a cup!
You can thank Momofuku Ando (invented instant noodles) for that. When he first saw how Americans were eating his invention by breaking the noodles into a cup and eating with a fork he adapted his product for them.
@@Necrodermis首先方便面最早是在中国只不过他高效率标准化大规模化机器工业生产了还有他是华人只不过移民日本把方便面引进日本实现工业化机器生产。
@@NecrodermisFirst of all, instant noodles first existed in China in ancient times, but his industry was standardized and he was Chinese but immigrated to Japan.
The Chinese has taken the instant noodle concept to a whole new level. Now you could even have freshly cooked chicken rice, all in a cup and you don't need hot water at all. The ultimate survival food which doesn't require a fire or an external heat source. I imagine that's what they brought up to the space station with them. The Chinese astronauts sure have a variety of freshly cooked food to eat.
@@Wann-zo7rn2qn4i what you're describing is an Flameless Ration Heater and has been around for a long time now. Developed by the U.S Army Natick Research the FRH has been in use as part of MRE's for the US military since 1993 and would eventually be adopted by many parts of the world. What astronauts use in space is something entirely different as flavor doesn't work the same in zero gravity.
haven't watched such high quality video for a long while. Thanks for all the hardwork.
Thanks for helping to unravel this mystery. There seems to be so many myths and origin stories about how each country got noodles. It's nice to see something better researched than old wives tales.
back then it was all stories and myths, now we know they were created independently in both countries
This is the coolest channel and this is the coolest video on this channel.
All my life I have been a noodle lover. I could literally eat noodles every meal every day and I would not get enough of it.
When I went to lanzhou for the first time and had lanzhou lamien I started crying uncontrollably because of how good it was.
I later learned my family traced back to the gansu region of china and so this video was really cool to see how gansu was and is THE noodle capital!
I’m beyond psyched for this deep dive 💕🍜🍝💯‼️
I first saw RUclips before Larry and Sergey. This is by far the most interesting video I have ever seen on this platform. I had the pleasure of frequently eating Lanzhou Lamian made fresh while staying in Shanghai for a year, but somehow did not encounter it when I stayed a year in the northwest city of Xi'an. Imagine my excitement when I discovered a Lanzhou Lamian restaurant in my California hometown at the end of COVID. Thanks for this fascinating account of this complex type of food. Now I'm hungry!
Another fantastic video. This "multiple origin" story reminds me of convergent evolution - there's an ecological niche (or in this case, an obvious culinary niche?) to be filled, so multiple creatures would evolve into what look like similar organisms. It's amazing how cosmopolitan Bangkok has become - no need to travel very far to find almost any sort of cuisine. That Iranian dish might be something I'd like to try the next time I visit. I just got back from Bangkok last week, and was looking for a Georgian restaurant in KL on Google Maps, after having tried the khatchapuri at AVRA in Bangkok. So far, no luck, but I did find an Uzbek restaurant (after watching several videos about Plov and Shashlik, I will definitely need to visit). LOTS of Turkish restaurants (four within a couple of miles from where I live, not all have Pide but one actually has Pide with egg - probably khatchapuri-like) and I found a "New York Pizza" restaurant that serves something called "Georgian Cheese Boat" 😁 (and also a "Gorgo-zilla Cheese Boat"..).
you know what they say, "necessity is the mother of invention", so many cultures developed similar things
This is cool to watch this evening for me. This is amazing, thank you so much for making this documentary, it is wonderful.
Northern Norway has a form of noodles called kleppmelk (lumpy milk). I used to eat it as an evening meal (it was a treat), but it could be dinner. The lumps are a thick pancake batter made from milk, flour, eggs, sugar and salt.
Sounds terrible
I thoroughly enjoyed this video throughout with much fascination. As a lover of both food and history, your documentation of this topic is what I would describe a truly wonderful experience like unto a well choreographed performance. My thanks and compliments. From Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
Blondie in China, a food blogger in China, made a video about a type of instant ramen type noodle that she found in China that was supposedly used during wars as soldiers rations.
Maybe- but it’s absolutely indisputable that by the 13th century, dried noodles were still unknown in China. There is surviving writing of Chinese ambassadors shocked to see anything like it. So if it was soldiers rations, it would have been after that point
There is the Chinese bagel predecessor, which was used by troops during wars
@@OTRontheroad Guess I should add that, China is big, ancient China could be bigger depends on which period you are looking into, even in this informative era, people could still be knowing less about others in other regions of China, not to mention the ancient Chinese.
Sir, I amazed by the passion and dedication you show on your channel. It is wonderful. Thank you. I am also amazed that your Subscribers has not escalated more. I wish you much success in your endeavor here. Keep the faith that what you are doing is significant.
this is a historic treasure that you made
Everyone of your videos should be watched by anyone who eats, and this one was a home run like the rest. Like the video on rice, I can't wait for other videos on the origins of the staple foods as they are definitely must sees, so seeing the history of pasta was cool to see.
Great - really enjoyed this episode 🍜
You really put a lot of efforts into this video and had done a lot of research, I've learned a lot, thank you!
The first time I ever saw someone making hand pulled noodles was actually Jackie Chan in the movie Mr. Nice Guy where he plays a chef hosting an Australian cooking show. In the outtakes, you can see him screwing up trying to make the noodles.
Love this. Amazing work on this. It’s a long video but so good. Have you thought about breaking it in chapters like separate videos?
Seeing your reaction to Ash Reshteh I immediately looked up to see where the closest place I could try it was, now I'm looking forward to the next time I head to Austin.
This was a standout video. Everything about this was so ell done. Food and history, yhe combination is such magic! I enjoyed this long form dive into culinary history! Bravo!
48:45 "Like Italians have pasta at Grandma's house after church" - oh, how true!
This is the most epic video on your channel to date. just wow!
“How many bowls of noodles do we have to eat today” correction: how many bowls of noodles do I GET to eat today”
Gotta carb load before the big race!
There is no way this video was shot in a single day. Yet he keeps alluding to the idea that he ate all of those meals in a single day.
Awesome history lesson on Pasta. I forwarded to all in by contacts list.
Keep up the Great Work!
This channel should be mandatory for school
This is fantastic - I really appreciate how you note the complexity of the history of this staple food. Keep up the good work - can't wait to see a deep dive on seafood!
That Lanzhou ramen in Hwai Kwang is my go-to place for affordable lanzhou ramen 😆
Didn't realised there is a Tibetan restaurant in Khlong Toei
and that Persian restaurant is near to where I live
This is an incredible video, thank you! I was trying to sleep but now I'm captivated, lol... I was thinking about the history of noodles earlier today and I'm so glad I ran into this video.
Looks like another banger video you got, nice. Say think you'll do a video in future about history of Soybeans or its products like Tofu or Soysauce.
Cheers! We did a big dive into that stuff in our Vegan food video (since they’re connected to Buddhist cuisine, which is actually mentioned in this video as well), but I agree it could use one of its own
@@OTRontheroad Neat 😁
Thank you for your enthusiasm and hard work...and for sharing your knowledge with us, Adam!
Thank you so much for trying to explain what went to where and when and by whom... sometimes at multiple occasions at the same time, spread over centuries concerning a food called Pasta or any other given name locally, named by the Germans Nudeln, translated in English Noodles. Such a wide spread and accepted food which came to us via such a complicated way... While watching this stunning documentary; you simply just cannot zoom out for just a moment, because in your story you probably will be in another country, in another culture in another Pasta, or another Noodle...
I never knew Noodles travelled this far from continent to continent, from continental countries to Island countries from culture to culture and that this all started so long ago... And there basically is no sum up possible, in fact this documentary is the sum up...
Thanks for the kind comment
What a fantastic video. We appreciate you so much, your historical food videos are so amazing.
30:06 omg tasting history! we love to see it
OTR should guide max in Thai cuisine sometime, Dude want some primary Thai recipe from old time. Which is hard to come by. I believe that OTR has advantage of being in Thailand, which he could find primary food recipe on his way of adventuring.
Amazing video and visiting some of the places over the week. Thanks as always.
If you haven't done the etymology history of mantou/manti/mandu etc, I think that will be a good topic.
My first thought was what possibly can he tell me about noodles for a full hour! i couldn't have been more wrong. This was amazing. Thank you.
I know Lanzhou noodles is famous, didn't know how much history it has. Amazing!
I’ve just eaten dinner. I am not hungry - but I swear I could tuck into all those amazing looking noodle/pasta dishes. Absolutely fascinating and informative documentary . Thank you
Sweet steamed buns are still called „Nudel“ in Germany today, much like steamed breads in Asia (however, they’re a local specialty even many Germans have never heard of).
Fascinating and very clearly presented to camera. London had a wonderful Nepalese restaurant in the mid-1980s, The Laughing Gurkha, run by a former Gurkha (a Brit) army officer. Toukpah and mo mo featured on the menu.
I dont know if you can call these noodles, but East Indonesians (Maluku, Papua, Flores, Timor etc) have a dish, made from sago starch called papeda. They usually eat it with some kind of fish soup, they called ikan kuah kuning. This papeda has glue thick consistency and usually eaten with some kind of chopsticks
tf ... 😂 , papeda is porridge not a noodles
i want to remark that the tasting notes were mia in the video, but also it matters little because the video already covers so much! thank you for making it as thorough as possible for a one hour documentary
"Laina" (coming from the latin form of the greek laganoi) it is still a word used in Ciociaria (southern central Italy) dialects to refer to a specific kind of fresh pasta meant to be eaten in legumes stews. It has come a long way!
@SecondTry45 The legume stew for the laina is usually made with chickpeas or beans, quite thick/creamy and it is eaten warm - but it is very good also cold, I can tell!
Noodles have to be one of the best things on planet earth! Like u kept mentioning in the vid, it spans the globe, which is why so many ppl love them! I can’t imagine a world without noodles (or rice) Always appreciate these well-produced and researched videos! 😍🙏🏼🫕🍝
always thank my ancient cousins from the east when i eat rice, pasta, or noodles as i hope they thank my ancestors and their cousins from the western hemisphere for giving the them tomatoes and chili peppers.
Poor boris. Another great video! Thanks I'm in the hospital and can't eat but I enjoy watching and learning!
I continue to have a love-hate relationship with this channel. 😂 All the food looks so good and I don't really have a way to taste most of it.
thank you for the experience... I am subscribing to your channel and look forward to catching up with your earlier productions