Chapter 78 Beijing Fried Noodles

Noodles are commonly known as noodles, water noodles, and noodles. In ancient times, they were called soup cakes, extravagant noodles, vegetarian cakes, boiled cakes, water-yin cakes, and Butuo.Noodles in my country originated in the Han Dynasty and have a history of two thousand years.Early noodles were in the form of sheets, which gradually evolved into strips.During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, noodles were basically formed, and the water-yin cakes recorded in "Qi Min Yao Shu" were similar to modern noodles.From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, the variety of noodles began to increase, and cold noodles appeared, and the custom of eating birthday noodles emerged among the people.Noodles developed rapidly in the Song Dynasty, with as many as thirty or forty types.Dried noodles appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, and stretched noodles appeared in the Ming Dynasty.Wuxiang noodles and Bazhen noodles appeared in the Qing Dynasty, and Yifu noodles appeared in the Qianlong period.A variety of production methods such as pin rolling, hand stretching, knife cutting, and machine rolling have been formed successively.In the old days, hotels and restaurants like to hang a raft of ramen noodles to attract customers, saying that the price is affordable and the noodles are delicious.

Noodles are distributed in a wide area, and there are several noodle systems with local characteristics due to different regions.There are stewed noodles in Beijing and Tianjin, sliced ​​noodles in Shanxi, scorpion noodles in Shaanxi, beef noodles in Lanzhou, hot dry noodles in Hubei, Dandan noodles in Sichuan, Yangchun noodles in Jiangnan, Yifu noodles in Guangdong and Guangxi, and fried sauce noodles in Beijing. Wait.Among the many noodle varieties, Zhajiangmian is the most widely distributed. Needless to say, the northern and central plains, Guangdong, Fujian, Chongqing and other places have also accepted the taste and texture of Zhajiangmian. It is known as the quintessence of Chinese food, and foreigners also like it. Chinese fried noodles are very popular in Japan, Korea, Europe and the United States.

In the late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Ting dominated the city of Beijing and gradually learned the customs and food of the northerners.Merchants from all walks of life in Gansu, Shanxi, Shanxi and Shandong set up shop in the city of Beijing to establish a northern economic hub, and noodle soup was brought into Beijing.I never get tired of eating old Beijing noodles with soy sauce. Every time I go to Beijing, I have to eat noodles with soy sauce to satisfy my cravings and to talk about my work in Beijing.Beijingers are very particular about the Zhajiang noodles made of old Beijing Zhajiang noodles. The sauce must be made of dry yellow sauce and sweet noodle sauce. The seasons of the seasons change, and the noodle codes of the noodles are almost not repeated.There is a catchphrase in Beijing: "Green bean sprouts, Chinese toon sprouts, boiled leeks and cut into sections; minced celery, lettuce slices, two petals of dog tooth garlic; bean sprouts, remove the roots, and top flowers with thorns Cucumbers should be shredded; if you feel beautiful, cut a few batches, boil the beans and chop them into cubes, and the small water radishes with green stalks; pour a little chili and sesame oil, and pour mustard on the spicy nose. Only a small bowl, seven dishes and eight bowls are noodles." That is to say, Beijing fried noodles, which are very detailed and interesting.

There are many theories about the origin of the noodles in old Beijing. There is a saying that the descendants of Wanqing's poor nobles couldn't afford mutton, so they ate noodles with noodles.According to history, the Chinese invented and made noodles earlier than other places in the world. They are the ancestors of Arabic noodles or spaghetti, and Zhajiang noodles are their representatives.There is a theory of escape, that is, during the Guangxu period, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, and Cixi and Guangxu fled to Xi'an, where they ate delicious Zhajiang noodles, and later brought the owner of Xi'an Zhajiang noodles to Beijing to open a restaurant.These statements are a bit far-fetched, and it is accurate to say that in the late Ming Dynasty, merchants from Gan, Shan, Jin and Lu lived together in Beijing, and mixed the cooking and eating methods of their hometown's braised noodles and simmered noodles to form the current Beijing fried noodles.

Zhajiang noodles are made by mixing Caima, Zhajiang and cooked noodles.Cut or boil cucumbers, Chinese toon, bean sprouts, green beans, and soybeans, and make them into dishes for later use.Stir-fry the diced meat, green onion and ginger in oil, add yellow sauce or sweet noodle sauce and fry to make fried sauce.After the noodles are cooked, take them out, pour them with fried sauce, mix with vegetables and serve as noodles with fried sauce.After the noodles are taken out, they are soaked in cold water, then fried with sauce, and the dishes are weighed over the water surface. Beijingers often eat Zhajiang noodles as a meal. Eating Zhajiang noodles in hot weather is convenient, quick and appetizing to cool off the heat.Walking in the alleys of Beijing, I saw the neighbors of the big courtyards gathered to eat and chat. They held bowls of noodles with crispy cucumbers in the bowls, and squatted in the yard or door opening to eat two mouthfuls of noodles. , took a bite of cucumber, and played chess while chatting. It was fun and interesting.

The essence of the old Beijing noodles is fried sauce. The common one is diced pork fried sauce, and there are dozens of kinds such as diced pork fried sauce, three delicacies fried sauce, sweet osmanthus fried sauce, fried tofu diced sauce, and roasted eggplant diced sauce.Old Beijingers eat noodles with fried sauce, and they pay attention to eating hot ones in cold weather, which is called "pot pickling".Beijingers serve a variety of fresh side dishes according to the season, called Quanquanmaer.In early spring, bean sprouts with the head and tail removed, and only two slices of water radish sprouts, are poured with the remaining Laba vinegar from the Chinese New Year.In the deep spring, put fresh pepper pistils in the sauce, which is called pepper sauce, and the noodles are green garlic, Chinese toon sprouts, pickled vegetables, green bean sprouts, small water radish sprouts and shreds.In early summer, fresh garlic, blanched fresh peas, cucumber shreds, lentil shreds, leek segments, etc. are used as noodles.In midsummer and autumn, the products are the most abundant and the noodles are the most complete. It is the best season to eat fried noodles.In winter, it snows heavily in Beijing, and shredded radish and cabbage protrude from the noodles, which has a special flavor of Aoxue.

To make zhajiang, you must first choose a good yellow sauce. The soybeans are of good quality, and the white flour is added. After the sauce is cooled, it is easy to lump together and cannot be mixed.The second is the heat and ingredients of the fried sauce. The heat should be even, and the ratio of the fried sauce should be appropriate. The pork belly should be cut into small cubes of half a centimeter.Heat up the frying pan and pour the oil, put the scallions, minced ginger, and minced garlic to fry until fragrant, add the diced pork belly and stir-fry over medium heat, force out the lard, add cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, add light soy sauce and stir-fry well, and serve the diced meat.Leave the lard for stir-frying the meat in the pot, pour the evenly adjusted sweet noodle sauce and dry yellow sauce into the pot and stir-fry until the aroma of the sauce is released, add diced pork belly, diced mushrooms, and minced ginger, and cook on low heat for more than ten minutes until the sauce and diced meat blend together , the soup is dried up, add scallion white powder, simmer the scallion white with the remaining temperature, and the fried sauce is ready.

Old Beijingers eat noodles with fried sauce, and they are used to using lard fried sauce, which is delicious when eaten hot. Once the lard cools, the sauce will solidify and cannot be mixed well; now Beijingers use salad fried sauce, which is more convenient to mix. It is also healthy to eat.Commonly used dishes include bean sprouts, celery, green beans, cucumber shreds, Xinmei radish shreds, cabbage shreds, green garlic, and garlic. Blanch them with boiling water before cooking, and drain the water for later use. When cooking the noodles, add more water and salt so that the noodles won't stick together.Don’t overcook the noodles, just pour water three times, it’s a little bit raw, and it’s best to eat if it’s chewy. After the noodles are cooked, wash off the batter with cold water, and it’s smooth and delicious.Young people who don’t know how to cook noodles can choose to cook noodles in a pressure cooker. After the water is boiled, place the noodles, pour cold water on the lid of the pot when it is steaming, and take out the noodles just right.After the noodles are cooked, mix with two tablespoons of fragrant and greasy fried sauce, which is dry and sweet.Do not use too much sauce, otherwise it will be too salty.Add all kinds of vegetables, stir evenly, and you can eat.

When Beijingers eat fried noodles, they like to put a towel on their shoulders, squat under a big locust tree, hold a big bowl, and eat it slurpingly. They also eat cucumbers and garlic, sometimes under Erguotou, which is unique to Beijing. Now, when I go to Tianjin, Shandong, Northeast China, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places, I also see that many people like to eat noodles with fried sauce, but the method is slightly improved and different.Korean Jajangmyeon was brought in by overseas Chinese. It is seasoned with spring sauce and added with onions, shrimp, meat, etc.Some foreign high-end restaurants also sell noodles with fried sauce, which are quite exquisitely arranged. There are shredded cucumbers on the periphery of the plate, noodles in the middle, scrambled eggs in the center of the plate, and a pinch of fried sauce in the center, like a handicraft.

I eat fried noodles, but I still like Beijing fried noodles, especially the old Beijing fried noodles, which are the most satisfying.