Spring Guide: Slurp Through the Recession
We've always depended on noodles for a cheap, fast meal, and with the economy on the skids, we've never needed them as much as we need them now.
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Warung Kario
128-12 Liberty Ave.
Jamaica, NY 11419
Category: Restaurant > Indonesian
Region: Jamaica
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Golden Shopping Mall
41-28 Main St.
Flushing, NY 11355
Category: Restaurant > Chinese
Region: Flushing
Mitchell Fish & Chips
617A Vanderbilt Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Category: Restaurant > Soul Food
Region: Prospect Heights
Kom Tang Soot Bul House
32 W. 32nd St.
New York, NY 10001
Category: Restaurant > Korean
Region: Chelsea
Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 First Ave.
New York, NY 10003
Category: Restaurant > Asian
Region: East Village
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
64 Fulton St.
New York, NY 10038
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Financial District
Malatesta Trattoria
649 Washington St.
New York, NY 10014
Category: Restaurant > Italian
Region: West Village
Pio Pio Riko
996 Manhattan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Greenpoint
Mustang Thakali Kitchen
74-14 37th Ave.
Flushing, NY 11372
Category: Restaurant > Nepalese
Region: Jackson Heights
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Luckily, there are more types to choose from in New York than ever before. The recent flood of Chinese immigrants, popularization of regional Italian fare, glamorization of Japanese cuisine, and introduction of new noodles from Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Tibet, and Peru have enlivened our pasta-scape in profound ways. These days, you can find noodles made from wheat, whole wheat, buckwheat, chestnuts, corn, rice, mung beans, sweet potatoes, and even breadcrumbs.
In fact, with their infinite variety and rib-sticking munificence, noodles are the new steak in an era of economic indigestion. Now that Dr. Atkins has been discredited by nutritionists, we realize that a pasta meal—whether a soup, stir-fry, or salad—can be every bit as nutritious (and delicious) as a grease-dripping hunk of meat. With spring in the offing, noodles mean lighter eating, too.
Here's a catalog of my favorite noodles, arranged alphabetically. It's not intended to be comprehensive, just tasty and entertaining. A single source is suggested for each type. For reasons of space, we haven't included dumplings, layered pastas, pastas rolled around fillings, or such hybrid curiosities as pasta pie or Rice-A-Roni. So get out your fork or chopsticks, and dig in!
Bamie—Suriname
The Surinamese take on Chinese lo mein came via Indonesia in the 19th century, carried by indentured field hands from Java to what was then Dutch Guiana. Salted palm syrup substitutes for soy sauce, and scallions provide verdant flavor, while boiled eggs and spicy sambal serve as garnish. Warung Kario, 128-12 Liberty Avenue, Richmond Hill, Queens, 718-322-4774
Bun—Vietnam
While often served cold in southern Vietnam, this rice vermicelli is also featured with pork pâté and sliced beef in bun bo hue, a tart, fiery soup from the Central Vietnamese city of Hue. World of Taste, 2614 Jerome Avenue, Fordham, the Bronx, 718-584-5228
Fideos—Cuban
The word means "noodles," but, in practice, it refers to coiled angel-hair pasta tossed into soups. One of the most memorable local uses is in a mellow hen soup with lots of root veggies. Casa Adela, 66 Avenue C, East Village, 212-473-1882
Lagman—Uzbekistan
These handmade wheat noodles formed into long tendrils may have been the pasta that Marco Polo tasted in Central Asia and took with him back to Italy. Central Asian restaurants drop them into hearty mutton soups. Café Arzu, 101-05 Queens Boulevard, Rego Park, Queens, 718-830-3335
Lanzhou Hand-Pulled Noodles—China
The skein of dough goes thwap, thwap, thwap in the hands of the noodle-master, who extrudes the wheat noodles thinner and longer by repeatedly doubling the dough. They're attributed to Lanzhou, a city in Gansu on the edge of Inner Mongolia, and served in a spicy beef soup. Super Taste, 26N Eldridge Street, Lower East Side, 212-625-1198
Liang Pi—China
These near-translucent noodles are made from wheat starch without the gluten, rolled into big sheets, and cut irregularly with a knife, like freaked-out fettuccine. A version at Stall #36 ("Xi'an Famous Snacks") also adds spongy pads of wheat gluten to an oily Sichuan-peppercorn gravy. Golden Shopping Mall, 41-28 Main Street, Flushing, Queens, no phone
Lo Mein—China
Here are the wheat noodles that started it all: stir-fried with soy sauce and shot with vegetables in the Cantonese fashion, or served with a trickle of broth in the newer Hong Kong variety. Hong Wong Restaurant, 300 Grand Street, Lower East Side, 212-925-1662
Mac and Cheese—United States
Known as "macaroni pie" throughout the Caribbean, mac and cheese is 19th-century fusion food par excellence, featuring English-style cheese and Italian elbow macaroni. The best evocations are often found at soul food spots. Mitchell's Soul Food, 617 Vanderbilt Avenue, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, 718-789-3212
Maccheroni—Italy
It's no secret that southern Italians prefer dried pasta to fresh, and maccheroni is a catch-all term for dried pasta that may be tubular, like ziti, or elongated, like spaghetti. Baked ziti in the Sicilian style, with eggplant and cheese, is a favorite of mine. Frost Restaurant, 193 Frost Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-389-7190
Mie—Indonesia
Introduced into Southeast Asia by the Dutch, mie are ribbon-like egg noodles of the kind common throughout northern Europe. But how differently deployed! Indonesians feature them in a series of sweet and aromatic soups, with tidbits of chicken, wontons, fish balls, beef balls, and other formidable inclusions. Mie Jakarta, 86-20 Whitney Avenue, Elmhurst, Queens, 718-606-8025
Naeng Myun—Korea
These translucent vermicelli noodles are made from the strange combo of buckwheat and sweet-potato starch, and are incorporated into a cold noodle salad with chili paste and raw fish. NY Kom Tang Soot Bul Kal Bi, 32 West 32nd Street, Manhattan, 212-947-8482
Pad Woon Sen—Thailand
The noodles—called "woon sen" in Thailand, "fen si" in China, "sotanghon" in the Philippines, and "su un" in Indonesia—are slender, transparent threads of mung bean starch deployed in stir-fries and soups. Thai Market, 960 Amsterdam Avenue, Upper West Side, 212-280-4575
Pancit Bihon—Philippines
The name commonly means slender rice noodles stir-fried with shrimp or pork and flavored with fish sauce. Many other types of noodles are available in the Philippines, and "pancit" refers to any of them. Sandra's Kitchenette, 3910 Fourth Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 347-529-6683
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