THE NOODLE STORY; the noodle journey to Nigeria.

noodles in Nigeria

The controversy of who invented the noodle that we consume today is hot. Some think it's the Chinese because they are the major promoter of the food, I mean you see it in most Chinese movie you watch. Some think it's the Germans because the name noodle is derived from a German word 'nudel', others think it must be from the Italian because of their rich pasta history. But who really created noodles?

Unlike knowing when a television or telephone was exactly invented, the knowledge of who and where the first noodle was made is not yet known, but the earliest trace of noodle can be seen in a book dated back to 22-220 A.D in the Eastern Han dynasty in China.

An empirical evidence of a 4000 year old bowl of noodles was unearthed in China by archaeologists in 2005. This has been seen as the earliest physical example of noodles found. the noodles was found in a Northwestern part of China called Qinghai, and the thin long yellow noodles, after analysis, was discovered to have been made with millet.

As time flies, noodles have be seen to come in different sizes, shapes and form, and one tend to see varieties according to countries. While we have mixian, Mee pok, ho fun and more in China, the Japanese have soba, shirateki, udon and lots more. other countries have their own special form of noodles.

veggies and noodles

In Nigeria, there is no written or oral evidence of the origination of noodles. But in theory, I want to say it will surely be from the Arabs. The Arabs also have a rich history of noodles dating back to as early as the fifth century. In the 5th century, a type noodle called itrium has been traced to Jerusalem Talmud. the Arabs adapted this noodle in the dry form of pasta for long journey. In the 9th century,An Arab physician defines Itriyya, the Arabic cognate Greek word itrium, as a string like shapes, made of semolina and dried before cooking (does that ring a bell, not yet I guess). The Arabs must have brought it to Nigeria during the Trans-Saharan trade with the northern traders of Nigeria. Little wonder the meaning for pasta is 'taliya' in Hausa

Lastly, because noodles has totally not be taken to be staple food in Nigeria yet, one hardly get home made noodles (coming right on). What we have here is the industrially manufactured noodles which is mostly made with wheat or semolina, but comes in different flavours like chicken, beef, onions and more.

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