5.21.2008

After School Snack

I come from a culture that cooks, serves and eats lots and lots of noodle soups. Hot. Cold. Spicy. Mild. Chewy. Soft. Cut. Rolled. Pulled. Noodles in a hot broth. Chinese. Corean. Japanese. Vietnamese.

They are hard to come by, unless you're in the big city. Your every day take out's not gonna have'em. Ever hear the term "Gringo Chinese?" That's what I call the "China Wok"s of the world, the take out places with a few sticky tables and chairs, filled with people waiting for fried rice and egg foo young. We have Corean Chinese; that is, Chinese food that Coreans favor in Corea. Tsam-pong, a spicy, mixed seafood noodle soup. Tsa-tsang myun. Raw onions served with hoisin sauce.

I remember traveling in Spain as a graduate student and getting this insatiable craving for cereal in cold milk. Milk is sold in sealed paper cartons in Spain - on a shelf. A refrigerated case is a rare thing to find, even in big cities. My colleagues and I combed the side streets and finally found the Tiger's sugar frosted corn flakes and reluctantly covered it in lukewarm milk. Have you ever been away from home and craved something? Were you ever at your in-laws and wished you could have stuffing the way YOUR mom made it? Or been away at college and wanted that special pizza from down the street?

That's how I get with noodle soups!

1 comment:

Musings of a Housewife said...

That's how I get with Ted's Pizza from Conshohocken. NOTHING out here compares. So sad.