Family Meal Plan: Lulu’s Lo Mein Noodles + Caramelized Cabbage + Sweet Soy Splash + Green Tea Smoothies

Lulu’s Lucky Lo Mein Noodles + Crazy Delicious Caramelized Cabbage + Sweet Soy Splash

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• blend :

  to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.

• caramelize :

  to cook sugar or a food with natural sugar until it turns a brown caramel color.

• grate :

  to reduce food, like a carrot, to very small shreds or pieces of the same size by rubbing it on a tool with an outside surface that has holes with cutting edges (a grater).

• knife skills :

  Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls). 

• mince :

  to chop into teeny tiny pieces.

• mix :

  to thoroughly combine two or more ingredients until uniform in texture.

• simmer :

  to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.

• slice :

  to cut into thin pieces using a sawing motion with your knife.

• snip :

  to use scissors to cut something with quick, sharp strokes.

• soak :

  to immerse a hard food for a certain amount of time in a liquid to soften it.

• tear :

  to pull or rip apart a food, like basil leaves, into pieces instead of cutting with a knife; cutting breaks cell walls more, so herbs can discolor faster.

• whisk :

  to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.

History of Noodles!

• Who produced the original noodle? The Chinese, Arabs, and Italians have all made this claim, but the earliest record appears in a book written in China between 25 and 220 CE.
• Noodles are a dominant food in many countries and have been for at least 2,000 years. In 2005, archaeologists discovered 4,000-year-old noodles inside a bowl buried under ten feet of sediment in northwest China. Scientists determined the 4,000-year-old, long yellow noodles were made from two kinds of millet native to China and demonstrated advanced cooking skills for that time.
• Wherever noodles have originated, they have remained in demand for hundreds of years. Their long life is due to many things, including their being cheap, filling, nutritious, quick and easy to prepare, good to eat hot or cold, able to be dried and stored a long time, and easily transported.
• In Chinese culture, the noodle is a symbol of long life. For that reason, noodles are traditionally served on birthdays and the Chinese New Year as an emblem of longevity. 
• Shanghai-style noodles, thick Chinese noodles made with wheat flour and water, are Shanghai, China's gift to the wondrous world of noodles! A popular dish served at dumpling restaurants, Shanghai Fried Noodles consists of Shanghai-style noodles stir-fried with beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp, cabbage or bok choy, and onions. As in most Shanghainese cuisine, a soy sauce base is mandatory. There is no shortage of this dish, as customers can slurp it up at most restaurants in the city! 
• The traditional Japanese diet, as in many Asian countries, includes rice at every meal. However, noodles brought from China have also become a vital part of Japanese cuisine as an alternative to rice. Typical noodles are "soba" noodles, thin brown noodles made from buckwheat, and "udon" noodles, thick wheat noodles served cold or hot with a soy and dashi broth. The Japanese also eat "ramen," a soup made with a Chinese-style wheat noodle, fish or meat stock, and soy sauce or miso flavorings. 
• Noodles were also incorporated into the Japanese tea ceremony, and noodle-making was considered an art form. 
• After World War II, noodles became even more critical in Japan when food shortages were rampant and dried foods like noodles were often the only available food item.  
• Rice noodles are an alternative to wheat-based noodles. Also originating in China, they are made with rice flour and water and are common in East and Southeast Asian cuisines. They are available fresh, frozen, or dried in various shapes and thicknesses.
• In almost every Asian culture that uses them, noodles are associated with well-being and long life and can be considered an Asian comfort food.

Let's Learn About China!

• China's official name is The People's Republic of China. It became a republic in 1912; however, the first Chinese dynasty appeared around 2100 BCE. China is one of the largest countries in the world, and it has the most people!
• The official language of China is Mandarin. However, various dialects are spoken in different regions of the country. For example, in Shanghai, they speak Shanghainese.
• China is around the same size as the continental United States but only has one official time zone. The continental US has four.  
• China's capital city is Beijing, while the most populated city is Shanghai.  
• The Great Wall in China is the largest man-made construction on Earth, stretching an incredible 5,500 miles. Its builders used mortar that included sticky rice to bind the Great Wall's stones! 
• China's land is diverse, with high mountains, low coastal lands, deserts, and damp tropical areas. Just like the United States!
• The Chinese are known for their papermaking, porcelain, and silk cloth. In addition to paper, they also invented the compass during the Han dynasty (202 BCE to 220 CE), woodblock printing in the Tang dynasty (by 7th century), gunpowder in the Tang dynasty (9th century), and movable type made of porcelain (for printing) between 1039 and 1048 CE, during the Song dynasty.
• Chinese cuisine varies by region. Climate, local agriculture, ethnic and class backgrounds, and outside influences all contribute to China's food diversity. There are eight major regional Chinese cuisines: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang.
• Wheat is farmed in northern China, so noodles and other foods made from wheat are consumed more in the North. On the other hand, rice is cultivated in southern China; therefore, rice is a staple in the South.  
• Tea has long been part of Chinese culture across all parts of society. China was the first country to grow and drink tea and, today, it exports the most green tea worldwide.

What's It Like to Be a Kid in China?

• School success is greatly emphasized in China. Chinese kids go to school five days a week (six days before 1995), and their school day runs from 7:30 or 8 am until 4 or 5 pm. After school, they might do homework for three hours.
• In primary school, kids learn the Chinese language, which is made up of about 7,000 characters, not letters. The characters represent words. By the time they finish primary school, they will have learned about 4,000 characters. They will also learn a foreign language, especially English.
• Kids may not have aunts, uncles, or cousins because, at one time, the Chinese government allowed couples to have just one child due to the high population. That later changed to two, and in May 2021, the policy changed again to allow three kids, so now a child may have a sibling or two. 
• Some of the holidays that kids celebrate with their families are Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, and National Day. National Day is celebrated with fireworks and parades to commemorate the formal proclamation of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. 
• Kids enjoy playing ping pong, basketball, volleyball, and badminton. They also play video games and ride their bikes. 
• Rice and noodles are staples, and kids may eat these at every meal. They'll eat their food using chopsticks, not forks!