Noodles A kind of food made of grains or beans ground into powder and then added water and formed into a ball, after which it is either pressed or rolled out, made into a sheet and then cut or made into strips (or narrow or wide, or flat or rounded) or small slices using means such as rubbing, pulling, pinching, and finally boiled, stir-fried, braised, and deep-fried.
I, the history of noodles
November 22, 2002, in China's Qinghai Lajia site unearthed in a ceramic bowl similar to the remains of noodles, identified by experts as millet made noodles. According to the identification results of the analysis, this excavated artifacts about 4000 years ago, it can be concluded that this is so far, the world's earliest noodle remains. From now on, "China is the birthplace of noodles" this assertion, the world has no one to argue.
Noodles have been written about in China since the Eastern Han Dynasty, more than 1,900 years ago. The first Chinese noodles were called "biscuits". "Cake, and also, ulcerating noodles to make combined also" (cited: Liu Xi<<<<<<<<<<<<<<)
Chinese noodles are the first to be called "cake".
There are records of noodles in Chinese literature throughout the ages. From the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei Jin and North and South Dynasties, to the late Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are historical records. But at first, the name of the noodles is not uniform, in addition to the general call "water ulcer noodles", "boiled cake", "soup cake", also called "water-induced cake In addition to the common names "water-induced noodles", "boiled cake", and "soup cake", there were also names such as "water-induced cake", "noto", and "hoto". The word "noodle" was not officially used until the Song Dynasty.
During the Shengtang period, there are records of the court requiring the making of "soup cakes" in winter and "cold noodles" in summer (nowadays known as "cold noodles"). Records. In the Yuan Dynasty, "hanging noodles", which could be preserved for a long time, appeared; and in the Ming Dynasty, "stretching noodles", which was highly skillful, appeared. These noodle-making techniques contributed significantly to the development of noodles. The most significant in the Qing Dynasty was the emergence of "Five Spice Noodles" and "Eight Precious Noodles", and in the Qianlong period, "Yifu Noodles" appeared. (Yifu noodles are deep-fried egg noodles, one of China's most famous noodle dishes.) In fact, Chinese noodle in the Qing Dynasty has developed quite mature, and even each region has its own unique flavor, such as China's five famous noodles: Sichuan dan dan noodles, the two Guangzhou Yifu noodles, the northern fried noodles, Shanxi knife-shaved noodles and Wuhan hot dry noodles.
The Chinese noodle is the originator of the noodle, which is famous both in China and abroad, and has had a far-reaching influence on the noodle culture all over the world. Once the noodles were created, they quickly spread out of the country to Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam, Korea, Korea, Japan and other neighboring countries; in the thirteenth century, they were brought to Venice by the Italian traveler Marco Polo, and were then used as a food source for the Italian people. In the thirteenth century, the Italian traveler Marco Polo brought to Venice, and then through Europe spread all over the world.
The characteristics of noodles
Noodles are mainly made of flour. Before noodles appeared, rice and congee were the staple food of Chinese people in general, but when noodles appeared, the status of noodles was equal to that of rice. In the north, noodles were the staple food; in the south, although people relied on rice, noodles also became an important snack.
There is a huge difference between the noodles of the north and the south. In the south, "noodles" refers to strips of food made of flour or rice flour, mainly egg noodles, using duck egg yolks rather than eggs, the body of the noodle is young, the noodle texture is crisp and toothsome. Both raw and dried noodles are available. The most popular ones are thin dry noodles and shrimp noodles. In the north, "noodle" refers to the flour made from ground wheat. Noodles are often made with lye instead of eggs, and the addition of lye makes the noodles easy to digest, which is why noodles have become the staple food of the northern people. Compared with the south, the northern noodles are thicker, and the noodles are softer and more pliable.
Northern people use noodles as their staple food, so they pay more attention to their quality and quantity. Northerners often add seasonal leafy fresh vegetables, accompanied by raw onions, garlic, cilantro and other seasoning, taste heavy oil, ingredients and soup is relatively salty, mainly to drive cold, large meals can also be accompanied by steamed buns, baklava. The opposite is true in the south. Because the southerners to rice as a staple food, noodles for snacks or hospitality, and therefore accustomed to small bowls, but do not put green onions and ginger, leafy vegetables, like to put soy sauce, mustard greens, canola oil, and more choice of hanging noodles, the appearance and taste of a family of noodles for the hobby is poor.
Traditional noodles are, of course, made by hand, from mixing the flour, beating the noodles, pulling the noodles or cutting the noodles, but there are differences between the south and the north, each with its own specialties. The north is most famous for "pulling the noodles", as the name suggests, pulled by hand, pulling the noodles to do soft and smooth but toughness is not easy, the strength of the control to be appropriate, just with a soft, in order to make a good product. On the contrary, the southern noodles, but the weight of its soft and rigid, crisp but not crisp, the key is also in the strength of the noodles. Generally the dough and good, the use of the body's bouncing force to the big bamboo pressure, the dough pressure book, and finally cut into strips with a knife.
The story of noodles
In addition to the different cultures of the north and the south, many Chinese noodle dishes have different meanings or unique stories behind them.
The traditional Chinese noodle dish - longevity noodles. Chinese people eat it at the end of the banquet on every birthday, because the noodles are long, which means a long life. In ancient times, eating longevity noodles symbolized blessing a newborn baby boy with a long life, and this custom has been inherited. When eating the noodles, the whole noodle should be swallowed at once, and should not be broken with chopsticks or bitten off with the mouth. Eating longevity noodles not only symbolizes longevity, but also means respecting the elderly. It is said that the Yellow Emperor became immortal on the winter solstice of the Han Dynasty, and every winter solstice since then he ate longevity noodles to honor the elderly, so longevity noodles are also known as "winter solstice noodles". In fact, the meaning of "longevity noodles" has many different opinions, the above is only one of them.
The noodles eaten on the occasion of a birthday are also called "longevity noodles", and there are many ways to call them. For example, it is called "happy noodles" when given to a woman on her wedding day; "lucky noodles" when eaten by a pregnant woman during labor; "tai ping ping" when given to friends and relatives; and "healthy noodles" when eaten by the elderly, the weak and the sick. "Healthy Noodles". Folklore has it that the rice noodles (made of very thin rice) were a gift prepared by the Goddess of the Nine Heavens to celebrate the birthday of her mother, the Queen Mother. Therefore, the idol of the Goddess of the Nine Heavens is enshrined in the home of the noodle maker. There are many varieties of Fuzhou rice noodle, including egg noodle, dragon's beard noodle, and silver thread noodle.
Another example is the aforementioned "Lengtao", which was created by Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in China today. It is said that Wu Meiniang was a young woman of great beauty, and at the age of 14, she was already chosen to be a courtesan. Because she wanted to separate from her childhood sweetheart, Chang Jianfeng, before entering the palace, the two of them went to a side of the store to eat noodles. Seeing that the weather was hot that day, Mei Niang had the bright idea of developing a soft and tasty "Cold Tao" with the owner. Coincidentally, the day is the birthday of Mei Niang, in order to reminisce about the situation, to the future every day of the birthday of Wu Zetian will be ordered to cook cold amoy, until the end of the life of this habit has not changed.
Shanxi Qishan has a kind of called "and gas noodles". It is said that during the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Yue of Yin was jealous of the achievements of King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, and imprisoned him in the castle of Yili (Tangyin County, Henan Province). When King Wen returned to his hometown, the townspeople, seeing that he had become thin because of his suffering, brought him a lot of food to make up for his health. In order to thank them for their love and care, he made noodles for them. When everyone finished the noodles in the bowl, they poured the remaining soup back into the pot and then cooked the noodles again. The later generations called this way of eating noodles without soup "Woqi noodles".
Today, there are different kinds of festivals around the world in which noodles are served. Even Japan celebrates World Noodle Day. In China, Changchun, Harbin and other cities have "noodle festival". The festival is held for three days, one for the old, one for the young and one for the young.
Beginning in B.C., wheat from West Asia to China became noodles and then spread to the western region. Then it spread to all over the world, giving birth to countless noodle cultures with local characteristics. So it is said that "the world's pasta in China", the Chinese pasta of the learning of the vast and profound, can not be completely summarized in a short number. The only certainty is that China is indeed the originator of noodles and an expert in noodle making; each type of noodle has a different history and culture, thus making Chinese noodles famous all over the world.
Four Types of Noodles
In ancient China, where food hygiene was poor, noodles boiled in water were the cleanest compared to other foods, greatly reducing the incidence of gastrointestinal diseases, and thus propelling noodles to become one of the most common foods in China. Differences in noodle making and flavoring have led to the emergence of thousands of noodle varieties throughout China, all over the world.
Famous noodles include: Beijing's Fried Noodles and Longshu Noodles; Shandong's Fushan Ramen, Jinan's Marinated Noodles, and Penglai's Small Noodles; Henan's Braised Noodles, Muddled Noodles, Handmade Noodle Leaves, Pulp Noodles, Fowler's Noodles, Choke Noodles, and Marinated Noodles (commonly known as Steamed Noodles); Guizhou's Intestinal Wonton Noodles, and Gishang's Bread Noodles; Shanxi's Knife Cutting Noodles; Lanzhou's Beef Noodles (Lanzhou Ramen) in Clear Soup; Wuhan's Hot and Dry Noodles; Sichuan's Dan Dan noodles; Shanghai's Yangchun noodles; Guangzhou's wonton noodles (with wontons and noodle threads synthesized); Hong Kong's lo mein noodles (different from northern lo mein noodles), Che Chai noodles, and shrimp noodles; Taiwan's dan zai noodles and beef noodles; Anhui's Pan Mian noodles; and Hebei's King of the Strong Noodles.
Meat is the staple food of the Yellow River Basin and areas north of it in the north, and is often used for breakfast in the south. Rice noodles, rice noodles and river noodles are all derivatives of noodles.