The Basics
Why Noodle Soups?
First, because they are delicious.
Second, because if there is any one thing that unites the many and diverse Asian peoples (and couples) it is our universal appreciation for different kinds of noodle soups. There is no better gauge of the size, diversity and vitality of an Asian neighborhood than the quality of the noodle soups found there.
Third, because noodle soups are widely misunderstood by non-Asians as "just soup," and therefore at best, an auxillary dish to a proper meal, when in fact they are compact, satisfying and endlessly delicious meals in and of themselves. Noodle soups are a noble dish, and like tacos, curries, hoagies and empanadas, they are beloved by peasants and kings alike.
Editor: And fourth, comfort. Hot steaming noodle soup (to an Asian couple, especially) = pure, uncomplicated comfort. What's better than sticking your face above a hot bowl of noodle soup and letting the steam waft up into your nostrils and fog up your eyeglasses? Next stop after satiating oneself on noodle soup?
Bed.
What is a Noodle Soup?
Ramen. Pho. Boat noodles. Egg noodles. Spicy beef noodle. Duck noodles. Noodle soups are, at their most basic, comprised of noodle, broth and tasty bits. The noodle can be made of rice, egg, wheat, etc. They can be thin, wide, flat, tubular. Broth, on the other hand, is a little bit more complicated. It can be based on chicken, beef, pork or various seafoods. Tasty bits vary too. My favorite tasty bits are: fish balls, tendon, duck, shrimps, and cha-shu.
Editor: My favorites are: any type of seafood (imitation and otherwise), dried garlic, and of course, the noodles. Always the noodles. What's really imortant to understand about noodle soup is the Layers. Noodle soups are intricately and elegantly layered by their creators, much to the fortune (and appreciation) of our tastebuds.
The Layers, as my comrade has mentioned, are made of various tasty bits saturated in sometimes simple, but most usually complex broths which themselves are layered in constitution. These layers reveal themselves slowly and in stages to the eye, the nose, and the tongue. They are to be meticulously explored and leisurely savored.
Where Noodle Soups?
ACM is based in the larger LA metropolitan area and with some noted exceptions, will focus our reporting around the noodle soup establishments in that area.
How Noodle Soup?
Who can say for sure? A great noodle soup is magic. Like a great novel, or painting, an incredible noodle soup is a strange and inexplicable brew of tasty ingredients, authenticity, savory depth, grandmotherly knowhow, and chewy, toothsome noodle. It seems to, like the best of Russian literature, pull all of life, all sensations, all flavors into its delicious essence. It is an entire culture inside a spoon, a history lesson inside a single slurp.
Editor: I agree with the "magic" part above. Russian literature? Not so much. I would like to think that there exists a much better, more cheerful metaphor for the complexity and loveliness of noodle soups. Mmmm..let's say, bubble baths.
