China News Agency, Wuhan, December 6th, title: Wuhan Hot Dry Noodles: How Much Love Is in a Bowl of Fireworks?

　　Author Wu Yili

　　In Wuhan, Hubei, which is called the "Breakfast Capital" by gourmet Chua Lam, it is no exaggeration to not repeat the dishes "too early" a month.

The hot dry noodles are the irreplaceable "top leader" in the hearts of the locals.

　　The Qing Dynasty "Hankou Zhuzhi Ci" records: "Three days too early is unusual, and a wolf meal is forgettable. Cut noodles with bean shreds and dried noodles, and fish meal balls rolled in chicken soup." "Cut noodles" is the predecessor of hot dry noodles.

　　According to legend, in the early 1930s, there was a food vendor named Li Bao in Hankou who made a living selling noodles.

One day, he was worried that the unsold noodles would go bad, so he boiled them and dried them on the chopping board. Unexpectedly, he sprinkled sesame oil on them by mistake.

In desperation, Li Bao had to mix the noodles with oil and add seasonings.

The aroma of the steaming hot noodles makes the neighbors salivate.

Someone asked what kind of noodles this was, and Li Bao blurted out "hot and dry noodles".

By mistake, hot dry noodles "debuted" along the way.

　　Today, hot and dry noodles have become one of the "Five Famous Chinese Noodles", and time-honored hot and dry noodle brands represented by "Cai Linji" and "Cai Mingwei" have gained fame.

But if you want to ask which restaurant has the most authentic hot dry noodles, "Old Wuhan" might answer: "The one downstairs."

　　Xiong Lasheng Hot Dry Noodle Restaurant, hidden deep in the community, was founded in 1982 and can sell more than 500 bowls of noodles a day.

Before 5 o'clock every day, 70-year-old Xiong Lasheng and his daughter came to the store early, boiled the first pot of water, moved out a few wooden tables and low stools, and greeted "premature" customers.

　　"Wuhan people pay attention to food, they have a 'tricky' mouth, and their love for hot and dry noodles goes deep into their bones." Xiong Lasheng said with a smile.

The reason why he can lock the stomachs of diners is because he insists on the "most authentic taste" of hot and dry noodles from beginning to end.

Take 3 taels of alkaline noodles, blanch them in water for 10 seconds, drain them into a bowl, pour a spoonful of black sesame paste, a little soy sauce, chili oil, and finally sprinkle with ingredients. The whole process takes only half a minute.

The hot dry noodles are yellow and oily, soft, smooth, springy, and tough. The thick and mellow sesame paste has an aftertaste, and the dried radish and capers are crispy.

One pick, one blow, one slap, the face is between the teeth, and the mouth is full of salty fragrance.

　　The "soul" of a bowl of authentic hot and dry noodles lies in the noodles, which must not be stirred clockwise like eating spaghetti.

There is a set of noodle mixing techniques in the rivers and lakes: deep turning and shallow turning, high lift and low stirring, slow rise and quick fall - first use chopsticks to turn the noodles at the bottom of the bowl to the top, and then raise the noodles to make the sesame paste fully envelop Noodles, "If you don't taste hot and dry noodles, first smell the aroma of sesame seeds".

In order to prevent the noodles from becoming lumpy, you should seize the "golden three minutes" when eating hot and dry noodles. As Hubei writer Chi Li said, it must be "eat hot, work hard, watch face to face, and feel passionate. Fall in love."

　　Liu Xiaoting, general manager of Wuhan Dahankou Food Co., Ltd. is a native of Wuhan. In her opinion, hot dry noodles are synonymous with her hometown. The warm, capable, and chewy alkaline noodles, just like the heroic Wuhan people, can withstand the scalding heat. Water, still retains its toughness.

With a "hot and dry noodle complex", Liu Xiaoting developed a convenient hot and dry noodle product, entered KFC, put it on the tables of more than 7,000 fast food restaurants in China, and sold it to 26 countries and regions around the world.

　　According to statistics, Wuhan can consume more than 2,000 tons of soda noodles a day.

In the past, Wuhan was a port city, and commercial ports emerged.

In a mixed environment between the north and the south, cheap and fast hot dry noodles have become the first choice for breakfast. Boatmen, dock workers, and businessmen who are on the road eat a bowl of noodles while walking, and they can fill their stomachs in a short time.

　　As a result, the unwritten custom of "eating while walking" has been passed down to this day, and is ridiculed by citizens as "a must-have skill for survival in Wuhan".

Jackie, a British food blogger who has lived in Wuhan for more than ten years, has learned to eat hot dry noodles while walking, and hang a glass of eggnog on her little finger, striding like a meteor without spilling a drop.

"That's the thing!" Jackie often recorded Wuhan cuisine with the camera while mixing noodles.

From a bowl of hot dry noodles filled with fireworks, he understood the city's rivers and lakes.

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