In the 1945 Three Stooges short Idiots Deluxe, the boys decide to take Moe on a hunting trip, hoping the fresh air and country surroundings will relieve his frayed nerves. At one point, Moe makes the above request, but as soon as the others have prepared it, a passing bear eats the food.
My question is, did people ever commonly eat eggs and noodles together? Was it ever something you could order in a restaurant? Though it does sound completely off the wall, there is some logic to it. I think it’s safe to say most people would consider a “full breakfast” to be eggs, some kind of starch, and a meat.
I’ve never heard of this except in that one Three Stooges film.
You should try it some time. Cook your noodles, drain all but a little bit of the cooking water. Add some herbs, salt, and pepper, some grated cheese, and a couple fried eggs (keep the yolks runny). Give it a toss and enjoy.
It’s basically the same idea as carbonara - that an egg yolk and some cheese is all you really need to get a tasty sauce.
You see it with ramen, as well. And I’ve seen egg-fried noodles in Chinese cooking. But I’m wondering if the OP means like in American culinary culture whether this was typical.
I’ve often eaten noodles with mixed vegetables, sprouts and fried egg in (German) Chinese restaurants. It’s delicious. In fact, I wanna have some at the moment.
Between the Depression and the war, I’d imagine there were a lot of dishes common to the time that sound bonkers to us now that made perfect sense back then based on simply what they could get their hands on.
A (cooked) packet of Sapporo Ichiban Yakisoba and a fried egg or two on top (runny) is a pretty common quick meal for me. Pairs well. If I were less lazy, I’d add some bean sprouts and such, but it’s fine as-is.
I’ve also tossed an egg into a package of Ramen to make a quick lunch.
I’ve never had unseasoned noodles with nothing on it but a fried egg, but it doesn’t sound “off the wall” to me, it sounds like something slightly different from what I’ve had, but similar. And I expect I’d enjoy it.
Sure, putting eggs in with noodles isn’t uncommon in Asian cuisine. But the description in the OP sounds like they are cooked separately.
I’m actually curious how big noodles in general were back then. Did it just refer to spaghetti noodles? Macaroni? Because I know that spaghetti was originally considered exotic.
