Tell Me About a Food Unique To Your Culture, History or Family!

Sunny Side Updates with The Brain is a Noodle, Week 46!

Over a year ago, I wrote a piece as part of the series humorously nicknamed: “concepts explained really badly by someone who spent most of her life overseas but watched a lot of tv shows and derives her entire concept of her home country from her parents, tv shows and select other people in her life”.

It was about Oyster sauce and XO sauce, which I honestly didn’t think too hard about growing up. It wasn’t until I watched a TVB / Hong Kong drama with a scene of a granny drying her oysters in preparation for making dried oysters and oyster sauce that it hit me:

Oyster sauce is made from oysters.

XO sauce is made of dried scallops.

What a revelation on something that should seem so obvious!

Teressa P. and Hal H. Harris have also been incredibly encouraging of my food writing adventures, and I’ve since written a few extra and somehow made it to Top Writer status in Food! (Mostly for food poetry). It’s honestly been such a fun adventure.

Which brings me to this week’s shortform prompt — tell me about a food unique to your culture, history or family! Tell me about the comfort foods that bring you joy and that give you nostalgia.

I can’t wait to read all about it!

Until next week,

Lucy 🍳 EIC of The Brain is a Noodle* Podcast || Twitter || Instagram || Redbubble || Newsletter *This is factually incorrect. Please absolutely do not go out and eat brains.

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This week’s shortform prompt
Tell me about a food unique to your culture, history or family! Tell me about the comfort foods that bring you joy and that give you nostalgia.

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🍜 Piping Hot New(dle) Pieces of the Week

Challenge: *highlight* the ones you bookmarked/ read and make sure everyone gets highlighted at least once! ❤

🧠🍜 [1] Vegetables, vegetables, and more vegetables by Sharing Randomly ‘Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables. So many to choose from but just got used to this particular one.’

🧠🍜 [2] Take Time to Play by Rachella Angel Page ‘Sandcastles in the sand on the beach I call my second home they are: skillfully constructed, designed by creative use of small rocks, seashells, and shaping by hand. They remind me, if only for a moment…’

🧠🍜 [3] Who Am I? by The Positive Journal ‘I am a drop in the ocean And I am the entire sea’

🧠🍜 [4] Extinction Recycled by Dana Sanford ‘My mind went immediately to this. One of my earliest pieces for Medium.’

🧠🍜 [5] In Which the Witch Can Fly by Betsy Denson ‘I remember my best dreams One of which was flying I was a witch, actually on Halloween with a borrowed Siamese cat whom I clutched in one hand The broom in the other’

🧠🍜 [6] Everything Happens for a Reason by Evan Wildstein ‘Perhaps these failures aren’t failures, after all.’

🧠🍜 [7] Can Medium be a source of a passive income stream? by Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) ‘Can Medium be a source of a passive income stream? I’ve been thinking about this a lot. When I first started on Medium a year ago, I had read such different opinions on this. ‘

🧠🍜 [8] Variety by America Zed ‘I love change — variety, and won’t be excited by what used to be.’

🧠🍜 [9] Up In the Air by Thalia Dunn ‘This whole juggling life act is throwing me off-balance even as my hands and mind move without stopping and I toss myriad objects’

🧠🍜 [10] The Sea of Flames by Fathiyah Zb ‘She is afraid of endings, but she forgets when the sun sets, the moon rises. She is afraid of new beginnings, yet she has this feeling of awakening.’

🧠🍜 [11] A Poster From the Sky by Carlos Garbiras ‘My wife and I read books to our daughter every night. By then, we are both tired and that’s when the bedtime silliness starts.’

🧠🍜 [12] Do Everything in Moderation by Michael Ranjitsingh ‘If you eat too much Problems abound Your arteries clog up You become round.’

🧠🍜 [13] But What Do You Think? by Nada Chehade ‘Every single opinion she had was based on a book She only ever read one book Just this one book It has all the answers, she says’

🧠🍜 [14] On the Porch with My Spin by Dennett ‘I used to write mostly in the dark extra bedroom, lovely but too shadowy and dim, a room with things to sort and pack and decide about and I don’t want neglected tasks whispering as I create and ignore what needs to be done.’

🧠🍜 [15] The Sources of Our Life by Las siete y más ‘There is a poem in which I reference the qualities of a succulent, yes, a plant. I have now fallen in love with those little cacti because they are so beautiful and well have helped me throughout these few months.’

🧠🍜 [16] The Good Life by CARMEN F MICSA ‘I complimented the woman next to my swim lane on her pink sun hat.’

🧠🍜 [17] In her post Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) asks, “how do you write your pieces”? by Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles ‘My mind is a bee-hive of words buzzing around. Too much to say, too little time.’

🧠🍜 [18] Gravity: An Exploration of Form in Two Parts by Ajah Hales ‘Gravity as a Senryu & Haiku — click in to read these tiny pieces! ‘

🧠🍜 [19] The Crown Called Writing Hat by Indubala Kachhawa ‘My favorite place to write is in the woods Where the music of winds is understood, as it should Where I hear the birds chirp and leaves flutter, in solitude Unhindered, the nature speaks to soul in beatitude’

🧠🍜 [20] Suddenly, by Cameron Sidhe ‘Autumn hums among the boughs Oak limbs dripping with limp rubies’

🧠🍜 [21] ‘i’ — A Matter of Context? by Jee Young Park ‘I just wonder how Such few words: standard English Can take away the ‘i’ in Afghani’

🧠🍜 [22] Kept by the Underworld I Wanted by Laurie Perez ‘No sad Demeter wrings her hands and wails Over me. Awake where I should sleep’

🧠🍜 [23] One sunny day by Sharing Randomly ‘Just finished a nice and long swimming session I’m really tired but it’s a pleasant feeling To the showers, I go Only to rinse off since I decide to stay longer’

🧠🍜 [24] Bells by Luke DeLalio ‘Once they’re set to ringing it seems they never stop You people looking at me weirdly Don’t hear’

🧠🍜 [25] The Path by Rusty Alderson ‘We all want to believe that We are on the road less travelled It is very comforting to believe that We are in tune with the spiritual life And we are privy to the one true path’

🧠🍜 [26] Bypass by America Zed ‘Know that if you’re worried, sad or mad from your delusion,’

🧠🍜 [27] Text Me by Jimmy Misner Jr. ‘I enjoy talking in person, I truly do! That said, unless it’s important, give me a text! I’m a loner by choice and by nature My introverted personality keeps me alone much of the time’

🔊 Voices to Amplify

We don’t have to leave it to the algorithm to suggest our favourite pieces! Here are some of my archived faves!

Thank you to Shivangi Patel, Marcus Chan, Warren Brown, Pretheesh Presannan and Jupiter Grant for writing these amazing pieces!

🧠🍜 Thank you to the Noodle Team!

challenge: pick 3 writers you haven’t met yet and get acquainted with their pieces!

New writers: Greg Proffit | Rebecca Herz | Winston

Natasha Kurien | K S Fielding | Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles | Cori Holmes | Jee Young Park | Caroline de Braganza | Kate Lynch | Assumpta Nalubowa | Lisa Gerard Braun | Nes Laidler | Reanna Szeszol | The Positive Journal | Medomfo Owusu | Sh*t Happens — Lost Girl Travel | Obinna Uruakpa | Sean Peck | Susan Alison | Kevin Alexander | Sharing Randomly | Brenda Covarrubias | Jimmy Misner Jr. | Stevie Wright | Disha Choksi | Roselyn Violet | Dazzling Shene | Jennifer Leth | John Gobins | Karen Falcon | America Zed | CARMEN F MICSA | Karen Schwartz | MIGHTY MISCELLANY | Ajah Hales | Gisel La Fleur | Roselyn Violet | Marcus Chan | Jennifer Dunne | Cameron Sidhe | Earl Grey Sea | Rakshita Upadhyay | O.M. Fernandes | Beth Nintzel | Barbara Dalton | George Cloake | Nhi Diep | Tarun Gupta | HerPrivateLife | Sohrab Khandelwal | Nerissa Talique | Gracia Kleijnen | Betsy Denson | KSHernandez | Luke DeLalio | Rachella Angel Page | Teressa P. | VV Valentine | Bhavya Mehta | Suntonu Bhadra | Noah Levy | Suzy Hazelwood | Ashlea Morgan | LS | Jessie Waddell | Dave Logan | Candy Marie | Himanshi B | Zihan | Elle How | K.S. | Sherry McGuinn | Diana Dee | Rambling Rose | Doran Lamb | Avi Kotzer | A.M. Radulescu | Laurie Perez | Paul Mansfield | B.R. Shenoy | Nada Chehade| Coco Joan | Bingz Huang | Shreya Badonia | Kimberly Carter | Las siete y más | Warren Brown | Trista Signe Ainswort | Kyomi O’Connor | Kay Bee | MaggieLaFae | Alex Godley | Haider Jamal | Josie Elbiry | Anthony Jackson | Hannah M. Moore | Michael Hollifield | Yana Bostongirl | TC Hails | Orla Kenny | Samedra Carter | Tatum Hamernik | Thalia Dunn | Nia Simone McLeod | Josie Elbiry | Keegan Roembke | Noorain Hassan, BMS | Humaira Iqbal | Zachary Burg | Bob Pepe | Will Hull | Jason | Courtenay S. Gray | Sahil Patel | Meenal Gupta | Amy Lee Kite | Evan Wildstein | Hilda Carroll | Chloe Hill | Paola Perez | Matt Ray | Wolfie Bain | Dena Ogden | Tasneem Kagalwalla | Yan Huang | Tree Langdon | Stuart Englander | Jennifer McDougall | Aaron Kemp | Rachel Ramkaran (she/her) | LS | Lori Welch Brown | Nicole Jiang | Crystalclearcandace | Em Unravelling | Jupiter Grant | Elle Beau ❇︎ | Suman Sandhu | Adam Deitsch | Mia Z. Edwards | David Majister | JF | Zach Neuman | Chris Mooney-Singh | Toya Qualls-Barnette | Karen Lappa Haas | Alan Henley | Michelle Bonfils | Zach Klebaner | Anna | Deepshikha Bhagat | Carlos Garbiras | Katrina Bos | Lisa Bolin | Sohaib Roomi | The Dozen | Malik Bellamy | Olivia Th | Shaista Malik | Emily Wilcox | Brajendra | Eva Rotolo | Bhavna Narula | Shannon Hugman | Ryan DeJonghe | Ryan DeJonghe | Dennett | Swagat Choudhury | Vivian | Mark Tulin | Arslan Mirza | Amber Carlson | Urfa | Whatsinanaim | Amy Pierovich, Ed.D. | Carolyn Riker | Tally | Shivangi Patel | Giulia | ScienceDuuude | Rachael Ann Sand | Divina Grey | Sarah Paris | DISHA GARG | Jen Kleinknecht | janny’s heart | Penofgold | Blank Voice | Kele Mogotsi | Jessie London | Indubala Kachhawa | Radhika Ghose | Mil H. | Zeno Faber | Maziar Ghaderi | Julia Appa | Campbell Christensen | Allison Gaines | Lori Lamothe | Tima Loku | Kim McKinney | Baye Amina | Tom Fenske | Johannes Mudi | Kasun Ranasinghe | Just a Slytherin hissing | Dr. Fatima Imam | Ntathu Allen | Somsubhra Banerjee | Veronica Georgieva | Life is Amazing with Books and Writers | Dandy Lioness 🌻 | Mindsmatter | Michael Ranjitsingh | Anjali Samaraweera | Krupesh Raikar | Rusty Alderson | Dr. Preeti Singh | Punch Drunk Cola | Melissa Speed | Ntathu Allen | Denise G | Carolyn Hastings | Tej | Vijini Mallawaarachchi | Amy Marley | Jac Gautreau | Erivaldo Ricardo | Roz Warren | Melissa Bee | Pretheesh Presannan | Daniel A. Teo | Anuradha Wickramarachchi | Niru | Priyanka Mane | Em Hoccane | Synthia S. | Alexandra Forsyth | R. Rangan PhD | Jacobo the First | Connie Song | Fathiyah Zb | Not quite Steve Fisher | Amna Asif | Aimée Gramblin | A Fresh Pot of Coffee | Rebecca Stevens A. | Imad | James G Brennan | Mary Keating | Jay Avery | h.a wadi | Pablo Pereyra | Isaac | jenine bsharah baines | Rochelle Silva | Jade-Ceres Violet D. Munoz | Ruchi Thalwal | Clare Almand | Dana Sanford | Naomi Leilani Acosta | Dr. Jackie Greenwood | Fathiyah Zb |

Ps, if any of these links are outdated, please leave a note to let me know!