Episode description

What makes a noodle? Is it the shape? The ingredients?

In this programme Devina Gupta explores the history of noodles, tracing their origin back to Third-Century China. She finds out how they came to be eaten in so many different ways in so many different places.

Devina enjoys a Tibetan-influenced noodle dish in Delhi’s Monastery Market, a long-time home of Tibetan restaurants and businesses in India. She hears how noodles were one of many foods to travel the silk trading routes in the region.

Jen Lin-Liu, author of ‘On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome with Love and Pasta’, tells Devina about the earliest mention of noodles in historical documents. Frank Striegl in Tokyo, who runs the blog ‘5AM Ramen’ picks up the story, explaining how noodles travelled from China to Japan and became ramen – one of Japan’s iconic dishes today.

In 1958 dried instant noodles were invented in Japan. Devina speaks to Varun Oberoi of Nissin India, to hear about the opportunities and challenges facing the instant noodle company today.

Presented by Devina Gupta.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: noodles dangling from chopsticks above a bowl. Credit: Getty Images/ BBC)