Why bread should be sweet, and chocolate – not so much, read in Yuliya Pashkevich’s project “The Alchemy of Chinese Cuisine” – especially for Margareta. In this issue, we will talk about wheat noodles, how they are prepared, what they are eaten with, and how they differ in different parts of China.
Such a different noodle
Noodles have been one of the most popular staple foods in China for over 4,000 years. The two most important Chinese cereals are rice and wheat. But due to different climatic conditions, wheat grows best in the Northwest, and rice in the Southeast.
It’s no secret that in China there are a huge variety of noodles. Each more or less large settlement considers it its duty to use cereal crops at its own discretion, interpreting the taste of local products in different ways. Therefore, do not be alarmed if.
while traveling in China and going to a noodle shop, you come across completely unfamiliar names of dishes. Most likely, these are all the same – noodle soup (tanghin) or fried noodles (chromium), but locally performed. Chat with the waiter, ask and try!
As for the assortment of noodles in stores, recently you can easily find the rarest varieties of it: both dry noodles with a long shelf life, and perishable fresh noodles in vacuum packs.
Conventionally, Chinese noodles can be divided into several categories: wheat noodles, rice noodles, starch noodles, and foreign, mainly Japanese noodles.
Types, methods of preparation and serving
Wheat noodles are tender, elastic, fragrant and nutritious. In addition, noodles have almost no contraindications, they can be consumed by both young children and the elderly, unless the person suffers from gluten intolerance.
The production of noodles of a certain type directly depends on the region. For example, in Shanxi province, the soil is not very fertile.
there are mountains and almost no rivers. Naturally, rice in such harsh conditions will simply wither away. But less picky cereals like wheat and millet grow in abundance. Therefore, the main part of the diet here consists of flour products: noodles, baozi, Mantoux, dumplings.
In China, there are many ways of shaping wheat noodles, for example, they are cut into long uneven strips dāoxiāomiàn), stretched, folded and drawn into long thin strings of noodles (拉面, lamina), shaped into cat ears Mao redub).
kneaded on fresh eggs until a dense yellowish dough is obtained (damiana, rolled out with a rolling pin shǒugǎnmiàntiáo) or even squeezed through a bamboo “meat grinder” jǐyāmiàn. Depending on the method of processing the dough and additional ingredients, the name of the dish is formed, for example, chaojidan dāoxiāomiàn – planed noodles with fried egg or Jarou Charmian – fried noodles with chicken.
In addition to different ways of processing the dough, there are two main ways to serve noodles – cold and hot. Cold noodles Laingian) combine dishes from different types of noodles, both wheat and rice, as well as buckwheat. For example.
spicy beef noodles málàniúròu Laingian) and Taiwanese cold noodles with sesame sauce táiwānzhīma Laingian). Lingpa cold rice noodles, can also be included here. This way of serving noodles is especially popular during the hot summer months.
Unlike cold noodles, which are unusual for Westerners, hot noodle dishes are beloved not only in China, but also far beyond its borders. It can be fried – chaojidan stewed – holmian boiled with broth – tankman An intermediate position is occupied by Bantian – cold or hot noodles served with a variety of toppings: fried meat, eggs, stewed vegetables, tofu. Bantian literally means “stir noodles”.
Different cities – different noodles
When it comes to wheat noodles, it is simply impossible not to mention the iconic Lanzhou lamina. Judge for yourself, in China there are more than 20 thousand open restaurants of Lanzhou pulled noodles, ten times more than McDonalds! Lamina noodles are also known as Japanese ramen noodles. By itself, it is satisfying, high-calorie and very.
very tasty. It is served in a fragrant broth with additives to choose from: beef meat, fried egg, herbs, tomatoes, etc. By the way, all these variations with ingredients are pure fantasy of cooks, since the classic Lanzhou lamina recipe includes strictly defined ingredients: noodles , broth[1], thinly sliced beef, white radish, chili oil, cilantro and onion.
But the main secret of the popularity of this soup lies in the special texture of the noodles – very elastic, QQ. Cooks achieve this by adding potassium carbonate to the dough. It is responsible for the regulation of acidity and plays the role of a stabilizer. In the case of noodles, potassium carbonate maintains the desired flavor and elastic texture of the product.
But in Xi’an (Shaanxi Province), spinach is added to wheat dough. Such noodles are known as Bocaimian. The dish is very popular among tourists, who are attracted by the bright green color of the noodles. Unlike ordinary wheat noodles.
spinach noodles are rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, and are also characterized by an increased content of protein, iron and calcium. When making noodles, both fresh spinach and dried pounded spinach are added to the dough. Bocaimian is good with spicy chili sauce and steamed vegetables.
Dardanian is one of the most popular street foods in Sichuan and can be bought from cafes and street noodle vendors. It is served in a spicy sauce with chili oil, sesame paste, Sichuan pepper, pickled mustard stalk, roasted ground pork and crushed peanuts. Thin, elastic, moderately spicy noodles with a rich barbecue flavor will appeal to even avid gourmets.
