Comfort stir fry noodles
Why do we crave?
Science tells us we shouldn’t eat meals with lots of carbs as comfort food, such as noodles, as it just gives you a short high and then you crash. So that´s why there´s cabbage and pak choi are in this recipe, too. No, that isn´t the reason, it just tastes good. But seriously What is the science behind comfort food?
It makes us feel good
Longing for specific foods is the result of a chemical interaction between the brain and the reward system. Studies suggest that comfort food triggers the same brain reactions as drug addiction. It makes you feel good. People who turn to comfort food for solace are often seeking to satisfy emotional needs, not hunger. Reasons why we crave comfort foods. And that was the case here it would seem.
The Night before
The day after my 20th birthday, my mum got married for the fourth time. On my birthday a kind of sadness came over me, I don´t really know why. My dad was very ill at the time, but they had been divorced for a long time.
Comfort noodles
Reverse Empty Nest
In hindsight I think it may have been a kind of reverse empty nest feeling. My mum was marrying someone who wasn´t a part of my life or hadn´t been until then. She was leaving my last home in England and moving somewhere to start completely afresh. I could understand that.
Inbetween
At that time I was away in Germany as an Au Pair. A year abroad was the plan but then I suppose it became clear that I didn´t have a place to come back to. Mum was moving on. My dad died three months later and I didn´t return to England. I have been living in Germany for almost 40 years but, I am kind of inbetween two countries.
Cheer up
Mum´s way of cheering people up was to make food. In this case it was to make a chicken noodle dish, like she had nothing else to do. Well, it was one you can rustle up in a few minutes if you´ve made it before. Which she had many times.
specifications
Noodles are high in carbohydrates, which comfort food generally is. We’ve already established that chicken is the comfort food and mum liked spicy meals so that seems to unite all specifications for a feel-good meal.
Noodlemaking – a craft to be mastered
In the video below watch some really serious noodle making, by two people who absolutely love what they are doing and have something to say.
Pictures:
Chicken Noodles
Food photo created by timolina – www.freepik.com
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