No Stupid Questions @lemmy.world zeppo @lemmy.world 1y ago

Noodles: is a tamale a noodle?

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

75 comments

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.
  
  Exactly, cube rule is inconsistent and needlessly complicated. Both are salads
- 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.
- Oh this is fantastic! Thanks for this.
  
  Also, first kbin/post-Reddit post. Woo.
  
  Ooh, you're on kbin? How are you finding the experience of browsing Lemmy instances? I'm thinking kbin is where I want to migrate to once blahaj.zone runs an instance of it
- Tamales are open on one side when they're steamed. That makes them quiche by this rule.
- 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.
  
  yeah, how? I'd say that actually a sushi roll is a tamale
- What the...
I'd say a tamale is a dumpling.
- nixtamalized corn dumpling: this is proper and you are righteous
- Chinese tamale, or Mexican zongzi?
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 noodle, and could be called a dumpling, yes.
  
  David Chang argues that ravioli are dumplings on Ugly Delicious.
  
  I’m inclined to agree in that dumplings and ravioli are the same general idea implemented by different culinary traditions.
  
  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.
  
  Italians would lynch you for mixing linguini and spaghetti, but they don't pause for a second when referring to dumplings as Chinese ravioli.
A tamale is most definitely corn bread
- stuffed corn bread? but let's also make the masa distinction
  
  Depends on the country of origin
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.
- cereal is soup and i will fight anyone on this
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
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.
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
- noodle
- A tamale is a ravioli, confirmed.
"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!
I mean kinda? We need to decide how a noodle and a dumpling differ.
A tamale is a pop tart, obviously
I created a new video: What is a Noodle? Disclaimer: I didn't.
NO.
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.
- Ramen. May his noodly appendages reach you.
I am angry at the very notion that a tamale could be a noodle.
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.)

75 comments