Wokipedia: Five Chinese Food Words that Start with U

“Wokipedia” is a regular magazine column in which we introduce aspects of Chinese gastronomy, one letter at a time.

… udon 乌冬 (wūdōng)
Some say it was a Japanese convoy exploring the various tastes Tang China had to offer during the mid-eighth century who invented them, others say it was a lone monk traversing Chinese landscapes during the ninth century who learnt the technique to bring back home. However udon noodles came to be, it’s apparent that they have joined the ranks of Chinese noodle nomenclature. More commonly known in China as wūdōng (乌冬), wūdōngmiàn (乌冬面), or sometimes wūlóngmiàn (乌龙面), the close pronunciation between the two names allows for us internet-historians to believe both countries played a part in creating them.

… unbroken 不断 (búduàn)
Can you master the “longevity noodle” or chángshòumiàn (长寿面)? Many stories are told about the origins of this tradition, but what you need to know is this: leave the noodle unbroken. The elongated shape of a noodle symbolizes longevity, and, in true auspicious fashion, a bowl of them is requisite for birthday celebrants. The trick? Slurp up the noodles without breaking them with chopstick or teeth. Why? Because to break one is to break the lifeline it is a representative of ... yours. Get your sucking face prepared early if you want to live to a ripe old age.

… urn 盅 (zhōng)
Cantonese cuisine is well-known for perfecting the art of the slow-cooked soup, with one famous dish being the “winter melon urn” (dōngguāzhōng 冬瓜盅). To prepare this soup, you will need a large winter melon whose insides you can carve out to fashion an urn. Quite often, you will see a decorative pattern carved onto the outside of the melon as the skin is very sturdy. The newly-crafted urn is then filled with soup ingredients like Chinese-cured ham and herbs. The entire urn, with a decorative melon lid, is then double-steamed for a minimum of four hours to fully allow the soup to soak into the melon flesh. Winter melon is an appropriate choice for such a dish as the waxy rind gives a solid waterproof layer.

This magazine column first appeared in our March 2014 issue.

Photo: healthvotes.com