“A day for Yibin people starts with burning noodles.” This is true or not. People in Yibin can not only have Erliang burning noodles, Huangduo sea pepper, and a bowl of big bone kelp soup for breakfast, but they can also eat noodles for lunch and dinner.

Yibin belongs to the Yangtze River Basin. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, because Yibin was located on an important land and water transportation route, merchants and caravans traveling from south to north came to Yibin to rest. Dock culture came into being, and its humanities and food also Deeply affected.

The rise of Yibin Noodles is also inseparable from the prosperity of dock culture. Trackers and water carriers do hard work and earn meager incomes. The food they need must be an affordable fast food combination of high carbohydrates + high fat + heavy taste. Yibin burning noodles with heavy oil and no water, easy to carry, cheap and good in taste, are the favorite food of boatmen.

What does the word "burn" in Yibin burning noodles mean?

One theory is that because the oil is heavy and contains no water, it burns immediately when ignited, hence the name burning noodles. It is said that in the era when oil lamps were still common, some families ran out of lamps and put noodles in the lamps as wicks. Another saying is that the noodles are heavy in oil and spicy, and have a strong personality. They taste like a ball of fire and burn in the mouth. Some people believe that "burning" is the process of mixing noodles, fat and seasonings evenly.

In addition to burning noodles, there are also burning hands and burning powder. From this point of view, the second statement is more appropriate. Burning is a seasoning and taste characteristic.

Yibin people have their own pride in facing each other. There is a popular local saying, "Once you have eaten Yibin noodles, there will be no more noodles in the world." Judging from the variety, this sentence is not arrogant. The ones that are only dry-mixed include ginger duck noodles, pickled pepper chicken mixed noodles, spicy chicken noodles, Beijing sauce noodles, raw pepper beef noodles, pickled cowpea noodles, pickled pepper frog noodles, etc. The red soup ones include fat intestine noodles, beef noodles, bullfrog noodles, pork ribs noodles, eel noodles, saozi noodles, etc. The ones with white soup include bamboo shoots chicken noodles, mushroom noodles, salty and fresh Shaozi noodles, stewed chicken noodles, hoof flower noodles, etc.

▍If you don’t use water leaf noodles for burning noodles, Yibin people will tear down your sign

Burning noodles are divided into meat burning noodles, plain burning noodles and soup burning noodles. Tang-burning noodles come with soup, while meat-burning noodles and vegetarian noodles are all mixed dry. The difference lies in whether there is any sauerkraut.

But no matter which kind it is, the noodles used are all "water leaf noodles". In the hearts of Sichuan people, water leaves are like the pea tips in the pasta world and have a special status. Chongqing noodles and Neijiang beef noodles also use the same type of noodles

"Water leaf noodles" refer to alkaline noodles, which have low water content, are firm and have a tough texture. The noodles are light yellow due to the addition of alkali.

To boil the leaf noodles, boil water in a large pot. Put the boiling water in the pot and pick it up when it is dry. If you eat noodles in Sichuan, you will often hear diners asking the store to "increase the yellowness" - cook the noodles for a shorter time, make the noodles yellower, and have a harder texture.

When fishing for noodles, you must shake off the water vigorously. Don’t underestimate this step, otherwise the fat seasoning and noodles will not be able to blend in water and milk, and they will still taste watery and will not “burn” at all.

The cooked noodles should be topped with cooked rapeseed oil (you can also use rapeseed to fry onion, ginger, star anise, kaempferia, pepper, bay leaves and other spices to make spice oil), sesame oil and cooked oil Sea pepper prevents the noodles from sticking to each other, and sesame oil also enhances the flavor. Add soy sauce, vinegar, salt and MSG and stir until the noodles are ready. Su-burn noodles, the ingredients are white sesame seeds, green onions, crushed peanuts and crushed rice sprouts, without sour seeds.

▍Broken rice sprouts, Yibin noodles and a side dish that Sichuan people can’t live without

The noodles are mixed and sprinkled with fried peanuts (fried peanuts) After that, pound it into pieces (do not fry until black), sesame seeds, chives, and broken rice sprouts and you can eat it. These ingredients are indispensable, especially broken rice sprouts

Broken rice sprouts, Fuling pickled mustard, Nanchong winter vegetables, and Neijiang kohlrabi are also known as one of the four major pickles in Sichuan and Chongqing. It is a pickled vegetable made from the tender stems of mustard greens, cut into shreds, dried and fermented. Bean sprouts are widely used in Sichuan cuisine and can be used for stir-fry, fried rice, steamed meat and porridge. Bean sprouts with pork belly, chicken rice with sprouts, and leaf cake are all foods made with broken rice sprouts as the main seasoning. It is also found in Dandan noodles

If it is steamed noodles, the bean sprouts are usually stir-fried with sauteed seeds to add flavor. The bean sprouts are fresh and fragrant, the peanuts are crispy, the noodles are chewy, loose and red, with the spiciness of cooked sea pepper and the mellow aroma of sesame oil. A bowl of Yibin burning noodles is enough to soothe the wind and dust.

▍Yibin Noodles is really not inferior to Chongqing Noodles, but why is it not so influential?

In my mind, Ran Noodles is really not inferior to Chongqing Xiao Noodles, but in terms of reputation and coverage, Yibin Ran Noodles is far inferior to Xiao Noodles.

Some people believe that the "stumbling block" that prevents Yibin burning noodles from going nationwide is water leaf noodles. This is certainly one of the reasons, but it doesn't explain everything. Chongqing noodles also use water leaf noodles, although in Beijing, you can rarely see any Chongqing noodles actually using it.

Every place has its own pasta culture. The expansion of a food's territory and the spread of a food culture are often accompanied by the rise of a city and the export of urban culture, attracting attention and bringing more exposure and resources. The emergence of Chongqing noodles depends on the rise of Chongqing, the people who come out of Chongqing, and the gourmets who yearn for it.

Famous snacks are “eaten”, not “made”.

But even if people like Chongqing noodles, it is not easy to eat good noodles outside the local area. As Chen Xiaoqing said: "There are only two types of Chongqing noodles, one is called Chongqing noodles, and the other is called Chongqing noodles sold in other places. There is no way to make really delicious noodles in Beijing." ”

Even if one day the influence of Yibin Burning Noodles can rival that of Xiaomian, it will be difficult to just eat at any restaurant like in the local area. Good food has roots and no one can take it away.