We can thank the Chinese for noodles.

Explorer Marco Polo discovered noodles in 1295, when he sailed to China. He took them back to Italy and renamed them pasta, according to historians.

Noodles — dry, fresh, thin, curly, fat or broad — remain as much a staple in China as rice.

The Chinese eat noodles year-round, but they take on special significance for the Chinese New Year. These long and comforting white bands of wheat or rice symbolize long life. They also ensure that a family will stay together throughout the year.

This year, join the Chinese by ringing in their new year, Thursday, Feb. 19, with a noodle dish.

Noodles fit perfectly into today's lifestyle. Affordable and versatile, noodles have a neutral flavor that plays well with a wide range of flavors, from chile, ginger and soy to five-spice and other traditional Chinese spices.

"You could look in your refrigerator, your pantry and, if you have noodles, you have a meal. They are that easy to cook," said Maggie Norris, chef and owner of Whisked Away, a northeast Phoenix cooking school for the home cook.

Eat cold in a peanut-sauced salad, swimming in a beef soup or topped with stir-fry chicken, scallions, bean sprouts and red peppers. The goal is combining a balance of colors and flavors, noodles and toppings.

When flavoring noodle dishes, Norris recommends lightly coating with a sauce.

"Americans tend to over-sauce. The Chinese coat their noodle dishes as if they are lightly tossing a salad," she said.

The key to noodle dishes is to prep all ingredients in advance. There's no time to dice mushrooms midway through a stir-fry.

Read a recipe carefully from top to bottom before preparing and assembling ingredients in the order they are used. Noodles typically are boiled while stir-frying.

To cook noodles, bring a large quantity of water to a boil. Never add salt or oil. Cook the noodles to taste, typically four minutes or longer for dried and one minute for fresh.

Before adding to stir fry or soup, noodles should be run under cold water to stop the cooking, and tossed with a little oil to prevent clumping together.

Chow and lo mein are the two noodles most familiar to Americans. Mein is simply the Chinese word for noodles. Lo mein means "tossed noodles," while chow mein means "fried noodles."

"Chinese noodles are becoming mainstream, more simplified and not in a bad way," Norris said. "Noodles plus a few extra ingredients make it easy for us to eat Chinese at home."

Details: Whisked Away, 480-330-6525, whiskedaway.net.

Reach the reporter at karen.fernau@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4779.

The first record of noodles appeared 7,000 years ago in China during the prosperous Han dynasty. At first, the paste was eaten uncooked.

Around 1500, the Chinese realized the noodle was the perfect insurance against hunger. They could dry it and store it.

Noodles are interchangeable, so substitute freely.

In Italy, pasta is defined by shape. In China, the distinction is material. Here are a few varieties of Chinese noodles:

- Cellophane: Also called bean threads or slippery noodles, they are made from mung bean starch. To prepare, soak them in hot water, not boiling. Use in soups and stir-fries, absorbing the flavor of the foods they are cooked with.

- Egg flour: Available fresh or dried, these yellow-colored noodles are made with eggs, wheat flour and water. They come in a number of widths and shapes. Use in soups and stir-fries. Must boil before using.

- Rice: Made of brown or white rice flour and water, these flat noodles come in a variety of widths. Typically used in stir-fries and heartier soups. Rice sticks refer both to the thinner noodles as well as medium-size and thicker-flat noodles. Rice noodles should be soaked in hot water for 15-20 minutes before using.

- Wheat flour: These are the noodles you know as chow mein and lo mein. Made from wheat flour and water, these noodles are available fresh or dried. Thickness varies, and they must be boiled before using. The thinner ones work in soups, thicker in stir-fry.