The multicultural noodle is more than just pasta

Nation's Restaurant News, Feb 24, 1997 by Amy Zuber

Oodles of noodles are piling up on menus around the country.

Whether they are shaped short and curvy or flat and wide, noodles appeal to chefs for a variety of reasons.

"They are versatile, efficient to prepare, inexpensive and healthful," says Jonathan Nahmias, owner of New York's Republic. "They are just a good meal."

Asian-influenced Republic features a spicy coconut chicken broth with rice noodles for $7. To prepare the dish a large quantity of dried rice noodles are first precooked in boiling water and set aside. When an order comes in, an individual portion of noodles is cooked until done and topped with sliced chicken and chicken broth, which is made with coconut milk.

Although noodles are a staple ingredient in Asian cuisine, their popularity extends to Western cultures and has inspired several all-noodle restaurant concepts, such as P.T. Noodles, a chain featuring American, Asian and Italian items served exclusively on corkscrew-shaped pasta. "Noodles are very nearly universal," says Karen Hess, a culinary historian in New York.

On many menus the word "noodle" seems almost interchangeable with "pasta."

"There is no perfectly differentiated definition between pasta and noodles" Hess says. "You can use the same paste. But the shapes might vary according to culture."

The word "noodle" has a German origin and usually refers to an egg dough, according to Tom Neuhause, a professor at Cornell University School of Hotel Management who specializes in the chemistry of cooking. He says some countries, such as Italy, may substitute semolina for eggs, but the climate in Germany is too cold and wet to grow semolina.

"In the United States we tend to care much less about tradition," Neuhause says. "We tend to be free with our categories. But a noodle is really a flat pasta from Germany made with eggs. It is easy to find people who refer to noodles that don't contain eggs and aren't German in origin."

In fact many noodle dishes served in restaurants have no German influence. At P.T. Noodles, spicy meatballs and a tomato-garlic sauce are served over corkscrew pasta for $3.99. Another popular dish, which also sells for $3.99, features a cheddar-cheese sauce and a blend of aged, shredded cheeses served over the signature shaped noodles.

"Noodle food can be a whole lot of different things," says Darrell van Ligten, P.T. Noodles' senior director of marketing.

"When a consumer goes to a restaurant, he is buying a flavor or a dish," he says. "Pasta has an Italian skew to it in a lot of consumers, minds. Noodles seem to bring in a broader sense and don't skew you toward Italian."

At Raku in Washington, noodle dishes represent one-third of the menu and 50 percent of food sales, according to Mark Miller, owner and creator of the Asian-diner concept.

Raku features thick egg noodles with shrimp, chicken and a yellow coconut curry broth for $7.50. The noodles are boiled in water, and the broth is made with ginger, pea shoots, spinach, cabbage, lemon grass, mint and basil. The dish is garnished with deep-fried noodles.

A high-quality noodle does not have to be cooked al dente to remain firm, Miller says. Raku purchases from a Vietnamese supplier fresh noodles.

"The consistency of the noodle is one of its pleasures," Raku's founder says. "The idea is that you should suck them down. Some people say it is gross, but I think it is sensual."

Noodles & Company, a fast-service concept with restaurants in Denver and Madison, Wis., offers traditional noodle dishes from a variety of cultures.

The restaurant's biggest seller, which costs $4, is macaroni and cheese. Dry elbow pasta is boiled and topped with a sauce made from three types of cheeses and heavy whipping cream.

Depending on the dish, Noodles & Company uses both fresh and dry pasta, according to Lance Clarose, a partner in the concept. He says when the restaurant switched from dry to fresh pasta for its spaghetti, customers complained it did not taste as good. As a result he recently returned to the dry product.

"[The fresh pasta] didn't hold the heat," Clarose says. "And because fresh pasta absorbs more sauce you have to use more sauce, and that adds to the cost factor."

Hi Ricky, an Asian noodle shop in Chicago, features 13 to 15 noodle dishes on its menu. The restaurant orders sheets of fresh noodle dough from a local supplier and then cuts them into various shapes.

Hi Ricky's egg noodles are served with deep-fried wonton, barbecued pork, bok choy sprouts and crushed peanuts in a light sauce for $5.95.

Noodle dishes account for 30 percent of sales at P.F. Chang's, a 7-unit Chinese-bistro concept based in Phoenix, according to Paul Muller, the chain's corporate chef.

At P.F. Chang's, ground chicken, garlic, chiles and scallions are stir-fried in a wok and tossed over Chinese egg noodles, which are cooked separately in boiling water. The dish sells for $8.95.

"I would call noodles body-pleasing comfort food," Muller says. "They are healthy for you and quick to eat, and the textures are always pleasing."