Belt-like Noodles Blended in Saut Spicy Chicken
11 min readPeople always say,”You don’t know how few your treasures are until you come to Xin jiang.”Indeed, Xinjiang is not only well known for its vast land, and it also surprises and amazes people by its abundant resources and various buried treasures. However, Xinjiang also has its fancies, for instance,”eighteen fancies”of Xin jiang are curious to people. People who haven’t been to Xin jiang may be surprised at the saying about Xinjiang like”the love is started by using a whip,a girl in Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps is not married to an outsider,a baked naan is like a pot cover, the belt-like noodles are blended in the Saut Spicy Chicken, and blown stones hit the head..”In fact, anyone who has been to Xinjiang knows that the described phenomena are just some natural phenomena and local customs of Xinjiang. Of course, the “eighteen fancies”can also remind tourists to make good preparation of the tour to Xinjiang.
One fancy of the Xin jiang “eighteen fancies”is the”belt-like noodles blended in the Saut Spicy Chicken”. Someone cannot help asking,”How a belt could be blended in the SautSpicy Chicken?”In fact, the “belt”is not the belt tied to the waist, but a special eating method of the Xinjiang Saut Spicy Chicken: After people eat the chicken in a restaurant, the boss will timely serve a plate of the belt-like noodles which are as wide and thin as the belt to pour into the SautSpicy Chicken, and the belt-like noodles immediately turn to be garnet red after uniformly mixed with the chicken juice, so that people can taste the belt-like noodles fully and delightfully and enjoy themselves to the full.
The Xinjiang Saut Spicy Chicken has been regarded as a universally favorite dish, and it does not need too many words to describe. As long as you see big and small street-side storefronts, you can feel the charm enough. Before the “birth”of the Saut Spicy Chicken, most restaurants chopped one chicken to sell separately. After a plate of chicken was served to the table, customers usually angrily asked,”Is this really the chicken fried with chili or the chili fried with chicken? Why is the plate full of chicken necks? Are you serving us a plate of goose with red palms oaring clear waves?”The boss knew that he was indefensible, so he was speechless. Since the emergence of the Saut Spicy Chicken, the problem has been thoroughly solved. It not only saves troubles for the boss, but also lets the customers see the dish with half an eye.
Within one or two decades, the Saut Spicy Chicken has been developed into a flag of theXinjiang diet culture, having the shortest “history”and the most famous reputation. Also because of this, people have started to be particularly concerned about its origin. In the view of Shawan people, the SautSpicy Chicken was invented by them, while Chaiwopu people also think that the Saut Spicy Chicken was their invention. After reading Biography of Saut Spicy Chicken written by Fang Ruguo,I roughly comb the historical line of the Saut Spicy Chicken. The Saut Spicy Chicken is divided into two categories according to the cooking method and the taste, and brands of the two categories are respectively named by two place names. One category is represented by Shawan SautSpicy Chicken, and the other category is represented by Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken. The cooking method of the former is stewing, and that of the latter is dry frying. Well, it’s a question that which place is the birthplace of the Xinjiang Saut Spicy Chicken. Let’s start with the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken originated from Chaiwopu which is closer to Urumqi city.
There is a song with the lyrics “The girl from Daban Town has long hair twisted intoa braid and has two beautiful eyes. If you’ re to get married, please don’t marry someone else except me. Sit in the carriage to come, bringing your dowry and singing your song.”A well-known town namely Daban Town is located between Urumqi and Turpan. It is famous for neither beautiful natural sceneries nor intoxicating ethnic customs. It has neither surprising monuments nor special stories. Its reputation probably is because of the beautiful melodies and plain and humorous lyrics of the song Girl from Daban Town. After Wang Luobin, well known as the”western singer king”, spread and sung the song, people have been aware of Daban Town in Xin jiang and the beautiful girl in the town.
According to relevant records, in Chaiwopu, there were only three units before 1990s, and there was not a single house along both sides of the road. In 1991, in order to solve the employment problem of employees’ family members, the units constructed several small bungalows to start trade, so that drivers and tourists passing by could have a meal and rest. In 1994, there were a large group of Saut Spicy Chicken restaurants. Chaiwopu came into the most glorious era, and a comprehensive industrial chain was gradually formed by managing the Saut Spicy Chicken restaurants.
As to the cooking method, the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken and the Shawan Saut Spicy Chicken belong to two categories. The main material of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken isalso the whole chicken chopped into blocks, but the meat block of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken is much smaller than that of the Shawan SautSpicy Chicken, which is approximately as large as the thumb. Firstly, chicken blocks are fried with oil for two times. Secondly, pepper and dry chili are placed into base oil to fry. Thirdly, the chicken blocks are added into a pan for stir frying; seasonings such as salt, green onion, ginger and garlic are added at the same time. And then, the cooking process of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken is ended with overturning and placing it into a plate. Though it looks simple, the cooking process of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken is not simple in fact. In terms of cooking, the cooking method of the Shawan SautSpicy Chicken is similar as stewing, butthe cooking method of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken also comprises a skill of stir frying besides dry frying. The stir frying is most particular about the duration and degree of heating. The meat will be tough if the time is slightly longer; and the moisture will be high and the meat will not be tasty if the time is slightly shorter. Each restaurant even ha a secret recipe of pickling the main material with the seasonings before frying the main material with oil. The auxiliary material of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken is relatively simple, which only comprises a plurality of dry chilies. According to relevant information the dry chilies were used as the main material because vegetables at that time were in short supply. It was inconvenient to go to Urumqi to buy vegetables, and it was difficult to store a lot of fresh hot peppers bought back by one time. In desperation, the dry chilies were used for replacing the fresh hot peppers. However, it becomes an obvious characteristic of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken. For this statement,I think it is not really true. There is a dish called Geleshan Spicy Chicken in Sichuan cuisine, and the cooking method thereof is approximately similar to that of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken. Perhaps, choosing the dry chilies as the only auxiliary material at the beginning of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken was an intentional choice of the cook. However, the dry chili hardly containing any moisture is the best match for the dewatered chicken blocks. In terms of the used materials, it can be said that the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken is really unusually adventurous. It is characterized by adding the dry chilies which are nearly equalto the proportion of the main material according to the keen and assertive characteristics of the Sichuan cuisine to reinforce the peppery taste of the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken and realize rich dry fragrance so as to increase the appetite of the diners.
Nowadays, there are hundreds of large-scale and small-scale restaurants distributed in the Chaiwopu Spicy Chicken Street. Thus it can be seen that the Chaiwopu Saut Spicy Chicken brings great wealth to local people. Customers coming here to have dinner are in constant streams, including not only the tourists passing by, but also regular customers from Urumqi. It seems that the key for prospering the business of the restaurants is the public praise.
Next, let’s probe into the Shawan Saut Spicy Chicken deeply. Many Shawan people are proud of this dish. In their view, Shawan is the real birthplace of the Saut Spicy Chicken.
The most powerful evidence is that the first registered trademark of the Xin jiang SautSpicy Chicken was born in Shawan. The person registered for the Saut Spicy Chicken was Zhang Kunlin who was the boss of Xinghua Village Saut Spicy Chicken Restaurant and famous in Shawan. When further dating back to the history,I discovered that Zhang Kunlin was not the inventor of the Shawan Saut Spicy Chicken in fact. He just was far-sighted and registered the trademark in advance. According to the legend,a Sichuan professional cooknamely Mr. Zhang came to Shawan, Xin jiang in order to escape the violence in the initial post-liberation period. He opened a small restaurant beside the National Road 312 and soldfried noodles and seasoned noodles for a living, but it was a feast-or-famine business. One day in the 1980s,a longdistance driver came to his restaurant to have a meal, thoughtlessly said to Mr. Zhang,”Both the fried noodles and the seasoned noodles are too dry. Please serve me a plate of Spicy Chicken with more soup, and blend some noodles with the Spicy Chicken.”These words alerted Mr. Zhang. This dish spread rapidly from mouth to mouth, and became the famous Saut Spicy Chicken. After the reform and opening-up,a lot of Sichuan people who were well-known for the eating skill and the eating courage came to Xinjiang. Many of them were engaged in labor work, and the appetite of them was big. It was a problem as how to eat both economically and affordably. So Sichuan people together with local people carried out studies and experiments. And finally, the delicious dish characterized by cooking one whole chicken and related vegetable came into being, and people called this delicious dish SautSpicy Chicken. After its emergence, the Saut Spicy Chicken soon became popular in the whole Xinjiang because of its delicious taste and tangible benefit. In recent years, the Saut Spicy Chicken has been spread to the inland and the coastal regions of China and even the foreign countries. Anyone coming to Xinjiang from the outside speaks highly of the delicious taste of the Xin jiang Saut Spicy Chicken.
Shawan is located in the north of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to the west of Shihezi City, in the middle section of the northern foot of Mt. Tianshan and on the south edge of the Junggar Basin. The east of Shawan is ad jacent to Shihezi City and Manas County; the south is bordered on He jing County and Nilka County; the west is bordered on Wusu city, Kuytun city and Karamay city; and the north is bordered on the Hoboksar Mongol Autonomous County. The Shawan Saut Spicy Chicken is famous completely because of the”big plate”. Only a big plate can contain the whole chicken; and only the big plate can contain various necessary vegetables and seasonings, and it can also contain luxuriant soup. After fried and stewed, it is necessary to add a proper amount of water after adding a proper amount of salt, dry chilies, peppers, star anise and ginger slices into this chicken.
The water should be not over the chicken. After the chicken is stewed with small fire to 90% mature, potato blocks are added to continue to braise. The pigment of the chilies is infused into the Saut Spicy Chicken, so the Saut Spicy Chicken is slightly scarlet; and the SautSpicy Chicken is coated with starch of the potatoes, so it is tender with rich aroma and fresh and spicy taste, and it is delicious. What’s more, the “belt-like noodles”derived from the Shawan Saut Spicy Chicken is also unique. Such noodles are soaked in the soup for twoor three minutes. When the noodles are scarlet, they are just like golden juice and silver vermicellis bright and attractive with enough strength. After eating the belt-like noodles, people have a feeling that the meat flavor lasts for three months and is unforgettable forever. Unexpectedly, there are customers buying a plate of chicken in order to eat a mouth of the noodles. It is imaginable that the taste of the soup is absolutely uncommon.
As the saying goes, delicious chicken needs no bush. Soon, the Shawan Saut Spicy Chicken has been spread to various places of Xin jiang and loved by people. The most representative still is the Shawan Xinghua Village Saut Spicy Chicken. As early as the 1980s, the Shawan Xinghua Village Saut Spicy Chicken was widely known. It is a dietary mode integrating diet styles of the Han, the Uygur and the Kazaks into one and having a distinct local characteristic. In 1997, Zhang Kunlin, the first generation of the master of the Xinghua Village Saut Spicy Chicken, applied the patent of “Kunlin Xinghua Garden”. And the Shawan Xinghua Village Saut Spicy Chicken Restaurant came into being, which is the real initiative restaurant of the Shawan Saut Spicy Chicken. Customers from both north and south coming to the Shawan Xinghua Village Saut Spicy Chicken Restaurant to eat the Saut Spicy Chicken are in constant streams. The Xinghua Village Saut Spicy Chicken Restaurant is the initiative restaurant, so its business is glorious.A lot of customers come to have a meal, and there are no empty seats in the restaurant.
There is one saying describing Shawan people eating Saut Spicy Chicken,”The flavorshould be tasted in wind.”In spring, summer and autumn every year, the boss will put tables outside, and set them under the pergola in front of the door. It is wonderful that under blue sky and in the endless field, travelers from all the way around are tasting the chicken nuggets which are bright, oil but not greasy with overflowing aromas, the amazing fresh chilies and Pilahong. In an air conditioning room elsewhere, you can never enjoy such scenery, taste and flavor!
Saut Spicy Chicken in Xin jiang is just a local flavor snack and may lack of aestheticismcompared to southern dishes. However, after making a little inquiry, you will find the great originality from its extensive cooking. On this point, it is hard to find from southern foods.
The fact is that Saut Spicy Chicken is placed on the marked location as a highly recommended dish on Xinjiang various hotels’ menus. From its forming process, the birth of Saut Spicy Chicken is almost the product of a national unity. From its choice of material, there are chicken nuggets, vegetables and main food. The enamel plate using for holing the chicken is about 30 centimeters wide with blue sides, white bottom and bright red floriation.A visible, colorful and tasty dish appearing in your eyes via the enamel plate makes people feel warm and mouth watering. When people sit around a table and wave chopsticks and spoons together like a family, how amiable the image is!
Now, the content of Saut Spicy Chicken is becoming more and richer. As to auxiliary ingredients, there are not only potatoes but also wide vermiceli, small pieces of naan, small teamed bread roll, celery and mushroom. These different choices can meet different requirements of different diners. The taste of Saut Spicy Saut Spicy Chicken being made by different auxiliary ingredients is also different. At present, Saut Spicy Chicken has beenpopular in all major cities over the country, and various “Saut Spicy Chicken series”with Xinjiang characteristics are developed, such as Saut Spicy Duck, SautSpicy Tripe, Saut Spicy Fish and Saut Spicy Peppery Sheep Hoof. The unique scenery of Xin jiang diet culture quickly spreads from Xin jiang to the whole country. It not only flourishes the foodservice industry, but also improves the development of regional economy.
