Explore Oodles of Noodles at Sushi 1 in Greeley
Yaki Udon is stir-fried with cabbage, onions, shiitake mushrooms and other veggies. The sauce is savory and salty with a hint of chili and rice vinegar. Udon is made with wheat flour and has a chewy consistency. Photo by Doug Kemme.
By Emily Kemme
Writing about noodles can be slightly daunting. If scientific discoveries in 2005 along the Yellow River at the Bronze Age archaeological site of Lajia are accurate, humans have been slurping them for 4,000 years. That’s about 4,000+ years earlier than food historians had originally thought, since writings about noodles were initially traced to a book dating to the East Han Dynasty, between AD 25 and 220.
Purportedly, the Lajia noodles, around 50 centimeters long and yellow in color, come closer to settling the age-old dispute of whether the noodle’s origin can be credited to the Chinese, the Italians, or possibly the peoples of Iran.
The Lajia discovery was possible because the well-preserved noodles -- they were found inside an inverted bowl and buried under ten feet of sediment -- were made from two types of millet which were ground, made into dough and then pulled and stretched to create the long, thin strands. Previous scientific research shows that millet is indigenous to China as far back as 7,000 years ago.
While the origination of noodles in China has yet to be solidly proved, the Lajia noodles offer enough factual evidence to suggest that one of the world’s most cherished foods first appeared there, rather than Italy, as had been previously thought.
It’s true that noodles may be enjoyed when tasting the cuisines of Italy, Germany (where they’re called “Nudeln”), and even in France — there’s an Alsatian dish called nouilles, which is similar to tagliatelle, but noodles “attain their fullest glory in the cuisines of China and Japan,” according to The Oxford Companion to Food (2014).
If we go with the scientists’ findings, and the fact that noodles didn’t make an appearance in Japan until the Nara period, between 710-94 CE, there’s strong evidence that China played a part in introducing noodles to Japan.
Some of the most popular Japanese noodles are soba, (thin strands made from buckwheat with a mouthfeel similar to Italian spaghetti), and udon, (a round, thick noodle with a chewy consistency made with wheat flour).
An important noodle side story comes from Thailand. The Oxford Companion to Food makes a tongue in cheek observation that because of Thailand’s stable monarchy, the practice of Buddhism, and the fact that the country was never colonized, the peaceful country performed “an extraordinary feat in the last three decades of the 20th century by invading the cities and even towns of the English-speaking world and studding them with Thai restaurants.”
A bowl of Tempura Udon at Sushi 1 in Greeley is as close to quintessential comfort food as you can get in the Japanese culinary lexicon. Photo by Emily Kemme.
If you’ve ever wondered why there has been this proliferation of Thai restaurants over the last 30 years, this observation explains it.
The cool thing about all of this food history is there is the opportunity to taste both Japanese and Thai noodles under one roof at Sushi 1 in Greeley.
Mr. Tae Suh, who is from South Korea and now lives in Greeley, opened the restaurant in 2005. The restaurant’s primary focus is Japanesestyle sushi. But from the small restaurant’s earliest days at Market Square Shopping Center, it has featured Japanese noodles. Thick ropes of udon noodles swim in an umami rich, beefy broth. The soup is as close to quintessential comfort food as you can get in the Japanese culinary lexicon. It can also be ordered as Tempura Udon, which adds lightly battered shrimp, pumpkin and sweet potato tempura. The tempura arrives on a separate plate so it doesn’t get soggy. Dip bites of fried veggies or shrimp into the broth, and then use chopsticks to grab a strand of the long udon noodles. A traditional Asian-style soup spoon comes with the order to make sure you catch every drop of the savory broth.
Trying the Japanese noodle dishes
Under entrees, check out the stir-fry noodles, Yaki Udon and Yaki Soba. The term, “yaki” covers several meanings — the dish can be grilled, boiled or pan-fried, as the term means anything that is cooked over direct heat. Typically, the udon and soba noodles are prepared with vegetables and a choice of meat, and the noodles are incorporated into the final product by stir frying them to mix the ingredients together and coat the noodles with sauce.
Sushi 1’s Yaki Udon is stir-fried with cabbage, onions, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and broccoli. Chicken, tofu, beef, shrimp or seafood can be added but cost extra. The sauce is savory and salty with a hint of chili and rice vinegar. Yaki Soba is stir-fried with all of the above vegetables, minus the mushrooms, and again, an optional protein.
The tasty noodle dishes of Thailand
In recent years, Sushi 1 has added a handful of Thai dishes which, in addition to fried rice, center on perennial favorite, Pad Thai. Pad Thai is prepared with wide rice noodles, egg, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts and green onions, all tied together with tamarind sauce.
Tamarind is a fruit that has a sweet and sour taste and is a universal ingredient in Asian, African and Middle Eastern cuisines. It’s also an ingredient in Worcestershire sauce. Who could have guessed that a few drops of this must-have Bloody Mary essential contains unique ingredients from countries around the world? It turns out that Worcester sauce is one of two standard dipping and seasoning sauces served with food in Japan. The other is soy sauce. Handily, The Oxford Companion to Food explains that Worcester (or Worcestershire) sauce has “particular appeal to the Japanese palate on the ground that it enhances the flavour known to the Japanese as ‘umami.’”
Pad Se-Ew is one of the several choices of Thai noodle dishes at Sushi 1 in Greeley. It has a sweet, mild taste and the noodles are chopped into segments. Photo by Emily Kemme.
Two other Thai noodle choices at Sushi 1 are Pad Se-Ew (stir-fried flat rice noodles with sweet soy sauce) and Pad Ba Mee (‘mee’ means ‘noodles’ in Thai, and are egg noodles). As with the Japanese stir fried dishes, you can add a protein. Pad Se-Ew has a mild, sweet taste and the noodles are chopped into segments.
Jessica Vasquez, a server at Sushi 1, thinks of noodles as comfort food. When she and her mom cook at home, they make Thai noodles, udon, and fettuccine.
“We have noodles with champagne because it’s a taste that goes with it and gives you a good feeling,” she said.
That good feeling might just be the reason why noodles in both Chinese and Japanese cultures are associated with longevity and are the centerpiece of celebratory meals, particularly birthdays and on New Year’s Eve.
Explore Sushi 1’s Noodle Menu in Greeley
Where: 3820 W. 10th Street, Suite B13, Greeley, CO 80634
Contact: 970-351-7400 | sushi1restaurant@gmail.com | https://www.sushi1.net
Hours: Sun - Thur: 11am - 9pm | Fri & Sat: 11am - 10pm
Other info: Serving lunch specials daily until 3 p.m. | Sushi and sashimi, appetizers, Japanese and Thai entrees | Take out and dine in or patio dining | Sake, beer, cocktails