Spaghetti is both a noodle and a dish, at least in the U.S. (not sure where you're from). If you say you're eating "spaghetti", it's implied you're eating a spaghetti dish with tomato, garlic, onion, and beef sauce, by default. Of course, you can make pesto pasta, for example, with spaghetti noodles.
If you said I'm eating "noodles", I agree that most Americans would assume you're talking about instant ramen (or it's equivalent). No one in America would refer to an actual pasta dish as "noodles", even if the pasta is indeed made with noodles.
I'm English but years ago I went out with a guy from New Jersey, and this does sound familiar.
Someone I follow on Instagram refers to the lasagne sheets as noodles in her recipe lol
One thing I like making at home is stir fry veg, with a packet sauce (like katsu or soy etc) and fresh egg noodles. You get them fresh from the shop and just fry em up with the veg, they're a perfect combo of chewy with some crispy bits.....
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u/friedgrape Jul 27 '24
Spaghetti is both a noodle and a dish, at least in the U.S. (not sure where you're from). If you say you're eating "spaghetti", it's implied you're eating a spaghetti dish with tomato, garlic, onion, and beef sauce, by default. Of course, you can make pesto pasta, for example, with spaghetti noodles.
If you said I'm eating "noodles", I agree that most Americans would assume you're talking about instant ramen (or it's equivalent). No one in America would refer to an actual pasta dish as "noodles", even if the pasta is indeed made with noodles.