The noodle soup complex in "Old Suzhou"

I often remember that when I was a child, I followed the old man to the small noodle restaurant at the entrance of the alley before dawn to open the door to eat "noodle soup", and I enjoyed it, and my heart was sincere, just like a Christian pilgrimage. In fact, this so-called "noodle soup" is nothing more than noodles cooked with the first pot of water in the morning, which has no alkaline taste and is just plain to eat. Why is noodle soup so attractive to Suzhou people? I think it has become an indelible knot in the minds of "old Suzhou".

Suzhou people's bowl of noodle soup has long gone beyond a simple breakfast, and noodle soup has long been deeply integrated into the lives of "old Suzhou". Eating noodles has become a task that has to be completed every day, and it is also a very interesting thing.

In the early years, as soon as I entered the noodle restaurant, I could hear a string of technical terms sung by a skilled waiter: "Aye-aye, the old face of Table No.3, three or two noodles, fine noodles with a dragon beard, clear soup, heavy green, and heavy watering across the bridge ..." Ah, it can be seen that Suzhou people have high requirements opposite, which is really exquisite to the extreme. Maybe you don't understand the meaning of these "terms", and listen to me slowly explain: wide soup means more noodles and less soup, while tight soup is the opposite; Heavy green means putting more garlic flavor, and avoiding green means avoiding it; Pay more attention to the surface than to the surface, with more toppings and less toppings, and vice versa; When you cross the bridge, everyone knows that it means that the toppings are served in another plate, not immersed in the noodles, and enjoyed separately. These requirements, the old diners will generally take care of the waiter who sings well in advance, which can be said to be comprehensive and meticulous.

noodle soup, the most important thing, is noodles. A large bowl of fine white noodles is neatly filled, and the emerald garlic leaves are scattered on the noodles or floating in the soup. This green and white color will make people drool. Not to mention the soft feeling in the mouth with a swish! As for the varieties of toppings, they are also very rich. Braised meat, fried meat, ribs, shrimps, fried eel, sauteed pork with fragrant shavings, sauteed pork with spicy sauce, and so on, which can be single-ordered, double-poured, triple-poured and optional. One of the most important toppings is braised meat. Old diners all know how the noodles in a noodle shop are, and we can get a general idea from the process of making a small braised meat. Because braised pork is the most important side dish of noodle soup, we choose "three fine and three fat" pork belly, cut it into pieces, and simmer it slowly with slow fire and soup stock to eat fat but not greasy. Braised meat is soaked in noodle soup, and the fat is translucent, seemingly soluble and insoluble, and the lean meat is tender and never stuffed. More importantly, the gravy from braised meat is a very important seasoning for noodle soup.

when it comes to noodle soup, it's full of articles. It is no exaggeration for Suzhou people to compare the soup of Su-style noodle soup to its soul. All noodle shops, large and small, regard the formula of soup as a family heirloom, which can be seen in secret. According to my personal investigation, I can only say that the hanging soup in the noodle restaurant, like the cooked soup in the restaurant, can't be ambiguous at all. It is made of hoofs all the year round to make the remaining bones and spices of various homemade secret recipes, and it is made by slow fire. With the raw juice of braised pork and cooked lard, the soup is as transparent as amber, without any impurities, fragrant, moderately salty and delicious.

The soup is ready, and the next step is the following kung fu. Generally, the master can grasp the noodles needed for a bowl of noodles with one hand, put them into the cauldron, pour them in, add cold water, pour them in again, scoop them with a grasping fence, slap them into the air for two times, and then roll them tightly. Look at this face, it will be as neat as a comb with a horn wood comb, and it will be lumpy without twisting. Master used a fence to slap the noodles in the air for two times, because the noodle soup would be stale if it was not free and easy, and the noodle soup would quickly dry up if it was not tight. All the operations were considered for the taste. At this time, the noodles were put into the soup, and I saw the red oil soup-the snow-white Longxu Noodles was neatly placed among them, and the middle was raised, which was regarded as the back of crucian carp; Sprinkle some chopped green onion and garlic leaves, which is a bowl of "Yangchun noodles" that can absorb soup and have a hard mouth. Su-style noodle soup also has the characteristics of "three scalds": the noodles are hot, and you don't swim in the water when fishing for noodles; Scalding the soup, that is, putting the prepared noodle soup in an iron pot, stewing with residual fire, and keeping the temperature; The bowl is scalded, washed and taken in boiling water, which not only keeps warm, but also disinfects. Therefore, Su-style noodle soup can sweat even in the cold winter.

Maybe someone will be amazed at how picky you are when eating a bowl of noodles! The "old Suzhou" people not only enjoy this, but also eat flowers and flowers. How to eat noodles is also very elegant: a bowl of braised pork noodles is served on the table, first choose noodles, press cold meat under the noodles, and then sip soup and eat noodles. Because Longxu Noodles sucks soup, the taste of toppings and soup is in it. Moreover, the "old Suzhou" have to finish their noodles in three or five minutes, which is the original flavor. If you stop eating and drag on for a long time, the noodles in the bowl will absorb too much soup, and it will be like paste, and the taste of food will be the same as chewing wax; The soup dissolves the paste smell below, and it also loses its appetite.

I remember that in high school, Suzhou TV station selected "Suzhou Ten Bowls of Noodles", but the school didn't have to study in the morning only at noon every Friday. I was so addicted to noodles that I spent more than half a semester on Friday lunch break to find and taste these ten bowls of famous noodles. But Chen Laobo, who lives next door to our house, has always been in love with the small noodle shop with a humble appearance at the alley mouth for decades, which may be his complex. In the hearts of every "old Suzhou", there must be different noodle soup complexes ...