Did you know that noodles are actually ancient food that was eaten by the royalties? Well, the first record of wheat noodles was in Northern China around the year AD 100.

While rulers were the first to enjoy them, the common people quickly caught on and until today, we still can’t get enough of these oodles of noodles! Used in the cuisine of most Asian countries, western countries such as Europe and the Americas have their own version of the noodle in the form of pasta.

Basically made from unleavened dough derived from various types of ingredients, such as rice, millet, wheat, mung bean, potato or buckwheat - noodles are extremely versatile and very practical.

A bowl of noodles would give you energy to last through the day, and thus the staple of many diets. They store well, do not perish easily, are easily to prepare and can be eaten hot or cold.

Today, the noodle is so versatile it is used by the world’s top chefs as well as people are who learning to cook for the first time. The food is so adaptable that it can be used in a variety of ways:

• Basic noodles are cooked in water or broth, drained and then mixed with other sauces or foods. E.g. Italian pasta with marinara sauce.

• Chilled noodles are noodles served cold in the form a salad. E.g. Thai glass noodle salad yam woon sen.

• Fried noodles are stir fried with various meats, seafood or vegetables. E.g. Lo mein noodles or mee goreng.

• Noodle soup is cooked and then served in broth. E.g. Laksa or ramen noodles.

Let’ start with a western twist to noodles, with this basic recipe for making pasta noodles at home. You’ll need a food processor or a hand-mixer. For this basic recipe, you can use the following ingredients: two cups of unbleached all-purpose flour plus a little extra, three large eggs, one teaspoon of water, one teaspoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of salt.

If you are using a food processor, place all ingredients into the machine and process until the mixture holds together in a ball-form.

Put the ball from the processor or the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about seven minutes. Use extra flour to keep the mixture from sticking to the surface. Make sure the finished texture is smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into four pieces and cover with plastic wrap.

Next, you will begin to hand roll the dough to make individual pasta pieces. Take a piece of dough and roll with a large rolling pin until it’s about 1/8 inch thick. Fold and reroll to the same thickness; repeat nine or ten times. Add flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Finally, roll out into a thin rectangle (estimation: 1/16 of an inch or so). Hang to dry and cut as desired.

Now you too can be part of ancient culinary tradition!

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Mention the word Asia and you find yourself thinking of multitudes of culture all combined into one continent. With its diverse offerings of culture, people, food, tradition and lifestyle all mixed into one, it’s no wonder that Asia holds the best kept secrets in terms of delicious lip smacking snacks.

Starting with Thailand, a country and people who mixes the taste of sweet, savory, salty and spicy all into one dish, the Thai fish cake is a well deserved snack for those who want a healthy dollop of omega three in the form of a tasty well formed savory snack.

All you need are boneless fish fillets (finely minced), spring onions, garlic, freshly chopped coriander, rice flour and egg as your basic ingredients which are well blended in the food processor. For flavoring, get ready Thai fish sauce, chili sauce, soy sauce, finely grated lime rinds, lime juice for that tanginess and chopped chili. Add it into the food processor to give it a flavorful kick.

With oiled hands, shape the mixture into small patties. Heat the oil and cook patties over medium heat till golden brown on each side. Drain well and serve with delicious sweet chili sauce as a well deserved snack!

You can’t go wrong with such delicious entrees or snacks for your guest or kids. Another delightful snack to consider is the simple dish of Agedashi tofu - essentially Japanese deep fried tofu topped with soya sauce and dashi (Japanese soup stock) sauce. It’s cheap, tasty and a healthy snack for parties or quick meetings. All you need are firm tofu (cubes), dashi stock, soya sauce, sugar, corn flour, vegetable oil, a large white radish, freshly grated ginger root and spring onion.

Drain off excess water from the tofu. Combine the dashi soup stock, soya sauce, sugar in a pan and heat moderately until sugar has melted. Remove from heat and divide evenly into bowls. Take the tofu, cut the block into half and generously coat with corn flour. Add vegetable oil in the large work and place the coated tofu pieces into oil and turn with wooden chopsticks till golden. Split tofu pieces evenly between bowls and garnish with grated daikon (Japanese white radish), ginger and chopper spring onions.

Moving on to a sweet snack is no other than Malaysia’s Apam Balik - similar to that of a pancake, but filled with much more bite sized goodness. All you need are some ripe bananas (pisang mas), which are sliced thinly, flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and a lightly beaten egg.

Combine the ingredients together, and add in an egg. Do not combine the bananas at this stage. Add water slowly, and mix to a smooth batter and leave to stand for 15 minutes. Heat a non stick pan and add a ladle of batter, cook for awhile and then add in the banana slices. Cover the pan to cook the apam balik.

Whether it’s the Thai fish cake, Japanese agedashi tofu or Malaysian apam balik, Asian snacks are easy to prepare, delicious and healthier options to consider.

Search the net and find whatever tips you need at TheWiseTips.com

Whether it is the mild flavored Japanese curry, to the ever popular chicken curry or even the Thai Green curry - curry is synonymous to having a simple meal of vegetable and meat gravy on hot, steaming rice.

Going back to the origins, the term “curry” in Tamil actually means meat. The British mistook the original term, “Kari Columbu” which means meat gravy and shortened it to curry (spicy stew).

Let’s start with the Malaysian Chicken Curry, which has a yellowish orange tinge to the dish. All you need is a whole chicken, cut into serving size pieces, Malaysian meat curry powder (easily obtainable in supermarkets or Asian grocery stalls), chili powder, cooking oil, a can of coconut milk, water, potatoes, salt, onions, garlic and fresh ginger.

Using a blender; grind the onion, garlic and ginger into a paste. In a small bowl, combine the meat curry powder and chili powder, add a dash of water and mix into a thick paste. Then, heat up oil in a wok, add grounded paste of onion, garlic and ginger and stir fry until it is translucent. Add the curry paste, and stir fry.

Now, you can proceed to adding in the chicken. Add coconut milk, season with salt and stir well. Gradually bring the stew to a boil, and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add in potatoes and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes until cooked. Turn off the heat, and skim off the excess oil on the surface.

Voila! You now have your chicken curry ready to be served with a hot, steaming plate of rice.

Thai Green curry is similar in the preparation, with the difference being the condiments such as lemongrass, coriander seeds fish sauce, shrimp paste, green chilies, galangal (or ginger), lime leaves, fresh coriander, soy sauce, bell peppers and fresh basil being used.

All one needs to do is to prepare the lemongrass; remove the tougher outer leaves and the bulb. Thinly slice it, and pound with pestle and mortar - ready to be used in the blender. Then, proceed to pound the coriander seeds followed by placing fresh condiments in the food processor, giving you a homemade fragrant Thai green curry paste. Simmer the paste in a wok with heated oil and proceed to add in the chicken. Finally add in the bell peppers and garnish with fresh basil once ready.

As for the Japanese curry also known as “kare”, it’s one of the most popular dishes in Japan where people eat it 62 times in a year! It is usually thicker, sweeter and not as spicy. Similar condiments to the Malaysian chicken curry are used with the exception curry paste obtained from the grocery stores which is cube like, and easily dissolved into the stew.

When in doubt in any country, just order curry and you should be able to get a delicious fare - simple and tasty!

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Rojak, by definition is the Malay term for “mixture” or is also used as a colloquial expression for “anything goes”. As for food, it is a mixture of fruit and vegetable salad dish that is unique to the Asian countries of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

For Malaysians, it’s not an uncommon sight to see people eating this for lunch, tea or as a snack. A famous rojak in Malaysia that should be mentioned is the Mamak rojak (or Indian rojak) which contains fried dough fritters, bean curds, boiled potatoes, prawn fritters, hard boiled eggs, bean sprouts and cucumber mixed with a sweet, thick and spicy peanut sauce.

Another one that is equally famous is the Penang Rojak, originating from the pearl of the Orient. Penang style differs from the mamak rojak, as it is a lighter meal with a combination of fresh cucumbers, crunchy turnip, pineapples, jambu (water apple/rose apple), bean curd and cuttle fish lathered in thick, gooey and pungent Har Kau (dark prawn paste).

A simple recipe for the Penang Rojak includes getting fresh ingredients as well as a tin of Har Kau, ground peanuts and belacan paste which you can easily purchase from the local markets or the Asian groceries.

All you need to do is to clean the vegetables, peel the skin and cut them into small pieces. Next, boil the bean curd for three minutes and cut into small pieces. Do this also for the cuttle fish, bearing in mind three minutes is more than enough - lest it turns rubbery in texture.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Add the Har Kau sauce (two dashes will do), and toss well. On a stove, you can also proceed to toasting the belacan paste Use sparingly if you aren’t too fond of spicy food and dilute with water. This is to add the zing to the dish. Lastly, garnish with roasted sesame seeds and ground peanuts.

For Singapore, fruit rojak is a trademark dish similar to that of Penang rojak, with the addition of bean sprouts, taupok ( puffed soya bean cake) and you tiao ( fried dough fritters). The dressing here is made up of water, belacan (shrimp paste), sugar, chilli and lime juice. Sometimes, it may also come with finely chopped bunga kantan (pink ginger bud) that gives it a fuller aroma.

As for Indonesia, rojak is spelt as rujak, and the fruit rujak would include sweet potatoes, green apple, star fruit, and also grape fruit or what they call Jeruk Bali. In this case, the dressing differs with the sweet and spicy hot bumbu rujak (dressing) consisting of water, gula jawa (coconut sugar), asam jawa (tamarind juice), grinded sautéed peanuts, terasi (shrimp paste), salt, cabe rawit (Indonesia fresh chilli pepper) and red chilli.

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On September 11, China’s Ministry of Health reported that a tainted baby formula had been linked to kidney stones in dozens of infants and one fatality.

The tainted product was produced by the Sanlu Group, China’s largest milk powder producer. The Sanlu Group also admitted that 700 tons of its baby formula was tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical used in plastics that contaminated pet food in 2007.

China’s health ministry launched an investigation into the affair as media reports said dairy farmers were suspected of lacing milk used in the Sanlu brand formula with an industrial chemical to boost its protein content and thus making a larger profit. (Hmmm…)

The scandal has had repercussions overseas, with the US Food and Drug Agency reportedly alerting US markets to beware of Chinese-made baby formula. Although Chinese formula is not approved for import into the United States, it might still be sold at ethnic grocery stores.

Stores throughout China, including global retailing giants Wal-Mart and Carrefour, began removing the product from shelves after the Sanlu Group ordered a recall.

It is claimed that Sanlu - a well-known Chinese brand - had its baby formula exempt from state inspection because it had the top selling product for 15 years since 1993. Funny huh?

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