Noodles: is a tamale a noodle?

zeppo@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 110 points –

I don't really have a question but I want to talk about noodles, please. Is a tamale a noodle or a sandwich?

69

Technically, a tamale is a calzone according to the cube rule.

I understand the cube rule, I just don't think I can really subscribe to it. Calling a bowl of lucky charms nachos is inaccurate, it's clearly a soup.

woah, this is why i have reached out to The Internet.

Didn’t know I could be more upset about this argument but this rule really takes the cake sandwich. Though for this specific instance, I agree it’s a calzone.

I love how "toast" includes sushi as an example but sushi doesn't

Does this mean I can get thin crust tamales in New York, and grease death tamales in Chicago

In L.A., there's everything from grease death and masa bombs to thin crust and dry. Husk wrapped or banana leaf wrapped. Savory or sweet. We got it all.

Tamales are open on one side when they're steamed. That makes them quiche by this rule.

Oh this is fantastic! Thanks for this.

Also, first kbin/post-Reddit post. Woo.

Isn’t the whole point of “toast” that it’s bread that is toasted? How can sushi, an undeniable raw food be “toast”? I’ll accept the cube rule, but toast needs a new classification.,

The rice isn’t raw, just cold.

I’ll give you that, but still, it’s certainly not toasted.

It's not necessarily about the actual toasting. It's about how ingredients are layered. So, toast and butter is the same as rice and fish. That's how a Big Mac can be a cake.

The whole cube rule is just ragebait. And it works well lol

yeah, how? I'd say that actually a sushi roll is a tamale

closer to a pie, as pies as have filling.

noodles don't have filling

what is ravioli? And, is ravioli a dumpling?

I would say ravioli is not a noodles, and could be called a dumpling, yes.

Italians would lynch you for mixing linguini and spaghetti, but they don't pause for a second when referring to dumplings as Chinese ravioli.

linguini is square spaghetti? rectangular prism? so extruded

Technically, ravioli is a stuffed pasta the same as tortellini. That would make it a noodle but I don't believe the same can be said for tamales. Pasta (Italian noodles) is made from a dough of semolina flour, olive oil, and eggs that is rolled into sheets or extruded into shapes. It is then cooked by boiling in water.

I don't think the dough(?) of a tamale is anywhere near the same.

What the dough is made out of isn't relevant to it being a noodle or not though, unless you think rice noodles aren't noodles because they aren't made of semolina, eggs, and oil and aren't typically cooked by boiling but rather by soaking in hot water?

Yeah, tamale dough is masa (nixtamalized corn) while ravioli is typically wheat flour, as you describe. Noodles can be made out of corn or rice, too... they're not really that different than wheat noodles. I have Celiac so I have tried a lot of gluten free noodles made from alternative grains.

A tamale is most definitely corn bread

stuffed corn bread? but let's also make the masa distinction

Depends on the country of origin

I am in United State, Southwestern Region

The only place that might call themselves a United State is Texas.

I am New Mexico.

Okay Texas. Don't go trying to annex another Mexico again. We don't need a New Alamo.

we should just take over west texas. I mean, HEB is pretty good and you have a lot more meth than we do.

Neither! A tamale is corn masa with typically a meat filling. You could consider it a dumpling or a pie. Noodles do not have a stuffing and sandwiches tend to have a distinct layers. I would consider a taco or maybe a gordita a sandwich, but not a tamale. Although this does make me wonder, what would a burrito be classified as? (not counting wrap because that is too easy)

A burrito is um... a form of a tamale. Actually, it's sushi

This type of food taxonomy is always fascinating and disturbing, as it tends to spawn even more unhinged classifications (ravioli is a dumpling. A bowl of cereal is a salad).

That being said, the most politically neutral take would be that tamales are a pie.

Are you saying ravioli is not a dumpling?

I am joining you in the tamales are a pie camp though.

https://cuberule.com/ according to cube rule it is a calzone

That rule is all kinds of disturbing lol

Turduckens should be sushi or calzone, not salad.

It got hot dogs wrong, they only have two sides so they wouldn’t be considered a taco.

If hot dogs only had two sides then you couldn't set them down on the bun the way you do. And in New England it's not even close--the buns up here leave no doubt.

"Sometimes a tamale is just a tamale" - Sigmund Freud Probably

And sometimes you just really want to fuck good tamale… I mean mother.. I mean calzone!

As a Mexican, I am very disturbed by this question. It's not stupid (that doesn't exist in this community), it's just disturbing xD

No, a tamale is not a noodle. Noodles don't have fillings, are longer, and thinner. It's like asking if ravioli is a noodle.

As someone from the U.S. who grew up eating Mexican food in Texas, I agree. It is disturbing. The filling is very important to a tamal. They aren't bendy or thin either. Noodles are thin and bendy

i am new mexico af and i respect your carne guisada, but really. NM food kills it. Please come over to Santa Fe and check out green chile Carne Adovada. "Texas" lol

I mean kinda? We need to decide how a noodle and a dumpling differ.

I created a new video: What is a Noodle? Disclaimer: I didn't.

No. The point of noodles is that they hold their form without any help when you cook them. Without their leafy containers, tamales would be more like polenta/corn meal mush--also yummy but not noodly.
https://prnt.sc/4atIxUL1D90X R-amen.

Seems like a somewhat arbitrary requirement.

Not, say, if you want to make cacio e pepe. (I'm a new reddit refugee, so I haven't figured out how to respond to a comment.)