Where did pasta (noodles) originate?

Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is rolled flat and cut, stretched or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles can be refrigerated for short-term storage or dried and stored for future use.

Noodles are usually cooked in boiling water, sometimes with cooking oil or salt added. They are also often pan-fried or deep-fried. Noodle dishes can include a sauce or noodles can be put into soup. The material composition and geocultural origin is specific to each type of a wide variety of noodles. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures.

The origin of noodles is Chinese, and the earliest written record of noodles is found in a book dated to the Eastern Han period (25–220 CE). Noodles were often made from wheat dough. It became a staple food for the people of the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE).

The oldest evidence of noodle consumption was from 4,000 years ago in China. In 2005, a team of archaeologists reported finding an earthenware bowl that contained 4000-year-old noodles at the 'Lajia archaeological site'.