(lively music) - [Beryl] Every culture has a noodle dish.

What makes them different are not only the types of noodles.

- (laughs) It's everywhere.

- [Beryl] But the sauces, the textures, the cooking styles.

- I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to break this.

- [Beryl] Pretty much anything and everything.

A million Italians just cried across the land.

- Everything is like slow prep, and then you're like, "Everything now!"

- [Beryl] My name is Beryl, and this show explores how our foods can bring our different cultures together, and this is our noodle episode.

(lively music continues) Today, I've paired up Mae and Zeeshan to swap their make-on-repeat noodle recipes.

Zeeshan will make Mae's Cantonese Classic, ironically named Singapore noodles.

(gasps) Oh, my god!

(laughs) While Mae will try a Burmese-Pakistani hybrid dish called khausa.

- No, I've never cooked Pakistani food before.

- [Beryl] This episode will definitely have you rethinking what you know about noodles.

- Oh, it's intense, oh!

- It's like a cardinal sin or something.

(bright music) - Hi, Zeeshan.

My name is Mae.

And I understand you're going to be doing Singapore noodles, which is a misnomer because it is a Cantonese noodle dish.

- I'm making Singapori noodles.

All right, starting with the shrimp.

- [Mae] I was originally born in Canton, China.

- I'm a very lazy cook, so I ended up using the ginger garlic paste.

(laughs) So me peeling ginger and like mincing it is not a thing.

- [Mae] It's not a common dish China, but in Hong Kong, it's a very common dish because that's where it was invented in the 1960s.

And of course across the USA, everybody knows Singapore noodles.

But if you go to Singapore, most people have not heard of it.

- Slice up celery, just- - [Beryl] How do you feel about celery?

- I hate celery.

I hate celery.

It is the one thing I never wanna eat.

- [Mae] I think this noodle dish looks fresh, colorful, and delicious.

And it's beautiful because you use turmeric, and then you have all the vegetables.

It's one of the best pasta dishes in the world.

- All right, time to make the sauce.

So just sugar, oyster sauce, water, and curry powder and turmeric powder.

It's gonna be bright yellow.

Oh, it's intense, oh!

- It's got like a savory sweetness, though.

- Yeah, it's very, it feels like it goes really well with seafood.

- I grew up in the Chinese restaurant business.

When the restaurant closed at night, I would go in and experiment.

I loved cooking.

- It's also one of those (laughing).

- [Mae] My tip is not to soak the rice sticks too long in the hot water.

It cannot be too soft.

- [Beryl] Everywhere.

- It's everywhere.

- [Beryl] What did Mae say to you about the noodles?

- [Zeeshan] She said you don't want it to be overcooked.

- [Beryl] Check it at three.

- Yeah.

- And then see what's up.

- Set a timer.

- [Mae] You have to test it by tasting it.

It has to be soft but chewy.

- Done.

- Yeah, that's a winner.

- Yeah, done.

- All right, - Done, four minutes.

That was four minutes.

Okay, so next step, here we go.

Heat up the wok.

Add the shrimp.

(gasps) Oh, my god!

(laughing) It's all happening, baby!

- It's all happening.

- All that prep.

Woo-hoo-hoo!

(wok sizzling) Whoo!

(laughs) - [Zeeshan] Oh, wow.

- [Mae] Your vegetables have to be done Chinese style, which means do not overcook it.

- [Mae] It's a very colorful bowl of food.

- [Beryl] Mae said it would be.

- [Zeeshan] It's like a rainbow.

- [Mae] It's a bit challenging.

- The oil's really throwing him for a loop.

(Zeeshan and Beryl laughing) - [Mae] But it's so beautiful, colorful.

- It is so colorful!

- Yeah, it's like a rainbow in here.

- Wow, oh, the timer.

Okay, go, go, go!

- Everything is like slow prep, and then you're like, "Everything now!"

- [Mae] I love making Singapore noodles for my hubby, 'cause he loves it, and we eat it once a week by candlelight.

- It's an arm workout.

- This looks really good.

- Yeah.

- You need me to tap in?

(laughs) Oh, you did.

(both laughing) - And I think that's why my marriage has lasted all these days.

He can't cook for beans.

I've always had so much fun making this dish, and I hope you love it just like I do.

Love, Mae.

(bowl clanks) - [Beryl] (laughing) Nice.

- Smells really good, too.

Gotta make the perfect bite, a little bit of vegetables, the noodles.

It's light.

It's really refreshing.

She's right about the crunchiness of the vegetables.

If they were soft, they wouldn't, it wouldn't work like.

But once you mix everything together, like the mixture of the curry paste, the noodles, and all the peppers, it's like a, you get a different texture in every bite, which is like very exciting.

So I wasn't really sure like what it's gonna taste like, but eating it, like, it makes sense why it's so special of a dish.

The most surprising thing was the noodles and the eggs.

- [Beryl] That looks cool.

- Yeah.

- Have you ever cooked eggs in this much oil?

- No.

The way we fried the eggs and then chopped them up and sliced them, it becomes like a part of the noodles itself.

So when you take a bite, you like look for the eggs, 'cause the eggs have a really nice flavor.

So you like try to line them up together.

So like I'm always looking for the little pieces of eggs.

- [Beryl] Do you often cook with bean sprouts?

- [Zeeshan] I'm not a big fan of bean sprouts, either.

- Why?

- When you get a nice bowl of pho, I leave the bean sprouts out.

- [Beryl] (gasps) How do you feel about the bean sprouts?

- Beans, oh, did we put the bean sprouts in?

(laughs) - [Beryl] Yeah!

- I do not know where the bean sprouts went.

(laughing) - And you were like, "Oh, I don't like bean sprouts.

- "Oh, I don't like that."

I did not even notice the bean sprouts at all.

- [Beryl] And what about the celery?

- The celery, oh, yeah, the celery's actually gone, too.

I hate celery.

I hate celery.

I think it just adds to the flavor, but I don't really touch 'em.

I don't really notice them at all.

I was very- - So maybe you found a way that you like these ingredients.

- Oh, I think I could use them in some way.

- [Beryl] Is this a dish that you could see yourself making again?

- 100%, I'd definitely do that again.

- Let's see how it is.

- Do another bite.

Me hungry.

- Yeah.

(whimsical music) Mm, wow!

- Every time I take a bite, I taste something different.

- Good job.

- Thank you.

Thanks for helping.

- This is delicious.

(lively music) So you're just gonna press Play there.

- Dear Mae, my name is Zeeshan, and today you're going to be making Memoni khausa.

I currently live in Brooklyn, and my family is originally from Pakistan.

Khausa originates from Burma, where the Memon community lived in that area and moved down to Pakistan.

There are different ways to make this, but this is how my family does it.

- I love it.

I can't wait.

I always wear aprons when I cook.

Otherwise I feel naked.

- [Beryl] (laughs) I love that.

I feel the same way.

- [Zeeshan] Khausa is a noodle dish made with a yogurt-based broth and a spicy tomato soup.

I think this dish really shows how food moves around the world and around communities.

- [Beryl] Have you ever cooked Pakistani food before?

- No, I've never cooked Pakistani food before.

- [Zeeshan] To me, it's authentically inauthentic.

- [Beryl] I got it.

No, no, no, I got it.

- Okay, but I'm gonna use my initial... - God, this is- - Okay, wait.

I just, here, wait.

I just need a spoon.

(lid pops) There.

- Oh, my god!

That's something I'm learning!

- Where there's like a little space here.

- My god, Beryl!

(Beryl laughs) That's fantastic.

- I like this dish because it's such a comforting meal.

It's spicy, tomato-y, savory.

It just holistically works together really well.

It has a variety of textures that play together.

You won't find this dish on a Pakistani restaurant menu.

My mom learned it from her neighbor.

All her sisters make it.

My dad's sisters all make it.

It's a dish that really kind of lives within the community.

- This is the real hot chili.

Oh, my god, the color is gorgeous!

- [Zeeshan] I like this dish because it's a very comforting meal.

It's hot, soupy broth with noodles, all the toppings.

There's a multitude of flavors and textures going on.

It's spaghetti, curry, beef meat.

Mainly the Pakistani diet is a lot of rice, vegetables, flatbreads.

I might know somebody from Pakistan that has the same background as me, but they're from a different community.

They don't eat this dish, so I can introduce it to them.

(blender whirring) - [Mae] Oh, my god.

(blender rattling) - [Beryl] Oh, no!

- [Mae] Sorry.

- Oh, my god.

- This is not working.

Oh, my god.

What happened?

- [Beryl] Oh, my god!

Oh, no, your blender is dead.

- That's all right.

Don't worry.

It's an old, old blender.

I can't believe it!

That's never done that.

- [Beryl] Well, hopefully it hasn't, 'cause I think it's broken.

(laughs) - It's all right.

I never use this, so it's fine.

- Here are a couple of tips.

For the yogurt, if it's not looking thick, it will get thicker once it cools because of the flour as it cools down.

- It's good.

- I would say throw rules out the window.

For the spaghetti, you're gonna break it in half.

- [Beryl] Do you ever break it?

- Not since I read that you're not supposed to.

It's like a cardinal sin or something.

- [Zeeshan] You don't want too long of a noodle, and you wanna overcook it since you want it to be soft.

- [Beryl] A million Italians just cried across the land.

- I know.

- Mae, I think you'll love this dish because it's very easy to make.

It's incredibly delicious, and you get to make it your own way.

Instead of a build-your-own taco bar, it's build-your-own khausa bowl.

For me, I need to have lime, cilantro, onions, chaat masala, and sour cream and onion potato chips.

I hope this dish inspires you, and I hope you love it as much as I do.

Love, Zeeshan.

(whimsical music) - Oh, my god, it does look very different from what I'm used to, but it looks delicious.

(gentle music) Mm, I love that sour taste.

When I saw the recipe, I said, "Hmm, I don't know.

I don't know how it's gonna taste there."

But when you put all the flavors together, all the spices, it's just comes together so beautifully.

And look at the color.

This is the real hot chili.

Oh, my god, the color is gorgeous.

It's not only the spice, but the appeal, the eye appeal is so important.

And this dish has it all.

In many ways, it's almost like a French sauce, you know, because it's so rich, much more rich than I ever imagined.

And I would never think in a million years I'd be using potato chips, okay, in food.

But this is so different and tasty that I'm looking at food in sort of a different way, you know?

I love it.

- Zeeshan, we just wanna say thank you.

- Thank you, Zeeshan.

- We had so much fun.

- Thank you.

We did, and you opened my eyes to different flavors, and I am going to continue making this dish.

- Yes!

- Thank you.

(gentle music) (bright music) - I hope you enjoyed this episode of "Pan Pals."

Let me know in the comments, what is your favorite noodle dish?

My current obsession are miso butter noodles, so good.

By the way, if you like home cooking, you should check out the latest season of "The Great American Recipe."

The show features eight talented home cooks in a competition that celebrates the diversity and flavors of foods across the US.

You can watch the first episode here on the PBS Food YouTube channel, and check out the rest of the season every week on the PBS app and your local PBS station.

Check it out in the links in the description.