On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1093

ataround2%ofthenoodleweight,isan
importantingredientinAsiannoodles.It
tightenstheglutennetworkandstabilizesthe
starchgranules,keepingthemintactevenas
theyabsorbwaterandswell.
Soba:JapaneseBuckwheatNoodles
Buckwheatnoodlesweremadeinnorthern
Chinainthe14thcentury,andhadbecome
a popular food in Japan by around 1600.
It’s difficult to make noodles exclusively
with buckwheat flour because the
buckwheatproteinsdonotformacohesive
gluten.Japanesesobanoodlesmaybefrom
10% to 90% buckwheat, the remainder
wheat. They’re traditionally made from
freshly milled flour, which is mixed very
quicklywiththewaterandworkeduntilthe
water is evenly absorbed and the dough
firmandsmooth.Saltisomittedbecauseit
interferes with the proteins and mucilage
that help bind the dough (p. 483). The


dough is rested, then rolled out to about 3
mm thick and rested again, then cut into
finenoodles.Thenoodlesarecookedfresh,
andwhendone,arewashedandfirmedina
containeroficewater,drained,andserved
either in a hot broth or cold, accompanied
byadippingsauce.
ChineseWheatNoodles

andDumplings
White and Yellow Noodles Salted white
noodles arose in northern China and are now
mostwidelyknownintheirJapaneseversion,
udon (below). Yellow noodles, which are
made with alkaline salts, appear to have
originated in southeast China sometime
before 1600, and then spread with Chinese
migrants to Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Thailand. The yellowness of the traditional
noodles (modern ones are sometimes colored
with egg yolks) is caused by phenolic
compoundsintheflourcalledflavones,which