All Kinds of Noodles across China

3 min read

Actually, China does not have the exclusive right to claim the invention of noodles. The Chinese Land Italians were stalemated in this regard for years. It is said that actual noodles made 4,000 years ago were unearthed in Qinghai Province not long ago andthis apparently has ended the disagreement. However, in fact, noodles are an internationally popular food and every nation has its own way of preparing and cooking noodles. In China alone there are over thousands of ways.

Beijing noodles served with fried-meat-sauce are the basic, common food for the daily consumption of Beijingpeople. This sauce is made by mixing soy bean sauce and stir-fried diced, streaky pork, scallion, ginger and garlic.

Seasonal vegetables are added, such as bean sprouts in early spring, tender leaves of Chinese toon in late spring, and new garlic and hyacinth beans in early summer.

Today, restaurants specializing in this dish have retained the tradition of employing only waiters to serve the customers. All the waiters wear Chinese-style uniforms and cloth shoes with soles of many cloth layers stitched together. They call and shout in Beijing dialect at the top of their lungs when greeting or saying goodbye to the customers, who must prepare themselves for the loud volume.

Most people think that noodles made by southerners are less satisfying than those made by northerners.

However, Sichuan noodles with peppery sauce and Hubei noodles made of soda flour have won the goodwillof many people for their unique flavors. Similar to all Sichuan delicacies, Sichuan noodles with peppery sauce are known for their hotness.A spoonful of fried, savory, crisp minced meat is added to boiled hand-pulled noodles. Soup is made of sesame paste, pepper oil, seed powder of prickly Chinese ash, chopped green onion, minced garlic, eastern Sichuan vegetables, pea sprouts and other ingredients, and this mixture is poured onto the noodles. Such noodles taste spicy and hot. Hubei noodlesare made of soda flour. When the noodles are boiled, oil is added and the noodles sit for a while to cool. Then they are boiled again, taken out of the pot, allowing the water to trickle off. Finally, minced dried radish, sesame paste and other seasonings are added; the noodles are shiny, smooth, chewy and tasty.

However, the people from the northwest are the best at making noodles. Qishan noodles with minced or dicedmeat are made as thin as cicada wings. The minced porkis cooked along with pepper and vinegar. Bean curd, dry lily and edible black fungus are usually used as garnish.

Qishan noodles stress more oil, hot noodle soup andfewer noodles, which will make the noodles sour, hot and delicious. Xi’ an noodles are wide and sprinkled with oil. The boiled noodles are placed into a bowl, minced scallion and meat are added,a thick layer of pepper powder is spread on,a spoonful of boiling peanut oil is poured into the bowl; instantly, the aroma of peppers waft through the air. When eating Lanzhou hand-pulledbeef noodles, observe the cook, as pulling the noodles up and down is a graceful sight to behold. Dough can be pulled into various widths-as wide as Chinese chives and as thin as a strand of hair. The broth for the noodles is made by cooking the beef, marrow, liver and bones with over a dozen spices. The soup is complete-mellow and savory.A gourmet’s good fortune of enjoying the process of making noodles should be given equal emphasis with eating noodles cooked by whittling the dough into the boiling pot, which is popular in Shanxi Province.

Standing near the pot of boiling water, the cook holds a piece of dough with his left hand and a tile-shaped knife with his right. As the cook whittles the dough, triangular noodles fall into the pot like snowflakes. Some master cooks even put the dough on their heads and whittle off the dough with both hands, dazzling all viewers with such a sight.

The Chinese people prefer to have noodles on birthdays, for noodles are usually long, thus carrying the message of longevity. The”one single noodle”popular in Shanxi Province gives full expression to the wishes for longevity-just one noodle can fill a bowl. This single noodle of one width can be as long as 20 meters.

Therefore, when touring Shanxi some day, do not miss the long”one single noodle”even though it may not be your birthday.