save the noodles

It might violate health codes, but it's how you make some damn good noodles... In California, State Senator Leland Yee is crafting legislation to protect a traditional Asian method to preparing noodles that currently goes against state health codes: Yee campaigns for Asian noodles in Daly City.

The legislation would protect a long-standing method involving the production of fresh rice noodles that stores the food at room temperature for up to eight hours before being served.

State regulations, however, require such food to be refrigerated or kept at or above 140 degrees at all times to prevent harmful bacteria from growing and sickening restaurant patrons.

But at a press conference last month, Yee said that the regulation "destroys the characteristic of this particular rice noodle." And the evidence shows that these noodles have been produced, sold and eaten for thousands of years without incident.

The existing codes can be unnecessarily broad and culturally insensitive, so Yee is out to get an exemption for the noodles, similar to what state codes currently do for the preparation of Peking duck and Korean rice cakes. He's even got the support of celebrity chef Martin Yan, for what it's worth.

For now, the governor has asked health inspections to stand down on rice-noodle makers -- not a formal stay, just some time to come to a solution. We must save the sanctity of the rice noodle process!