China News Service, Tianshui, March 17th: Title: Tianshui Malatang: Temporarily opening a special bus line for hot and spicy food
Author Yan Jiao Jiumei Dan Zengtian Penghe
“I queued for 2 hours on the first day and didn’t get anything, but I spent nearly 6 hours on the second day and finally got it!” You Wenbo, a travel blogger from Guangdong, finally arrived in front of Haiying Malatang Store in Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. I had the Tianshui Mala Tang that I have been craving for.
Still unfinished, he told reporters that the special thing about Tianshui Malatang is that it is spicy with a tingling feeling, and the chili peppers are particularly fragrant after being poured with oil.
In recent days, Malatang, a snack that can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of Gansu, has become a new "top delicacy". After being "passed from screen to screen" and quickly "out of the circle", it has attracted a large number of diners from all over the world.
On the 16th, several Tianshui Malatang stores that were the first to become popular on the Internet were still surrounded by people. The queues waiting to try it became a maze, and the average queue time was several hours.
Every few minutes, on-site volunteers will come forward to remind diners to "don't crowd and move out of the way." There is also a steady stream of passengers who have been temporarily opened a "Mala Tang Bus Line" from high-speed rail stations to airports and other places. "Stop-style" delivery to the Malatang store.
On March 14, in Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, diners showed off Malatang filled with red oil and spicy seeds.
Photo by Jiumei Danzeng
"Mala Tang is my favorite food now, especially the various types of noodles produced locally in Gansu, which are not available in Taiwan." Chen Fangyu, a Taiwanese girl born after 1995, took a high-speed train from Lanzhou to explore Tianshui Mala Tang.
She said that she basically didn't eat spicy food in Taiwan. After coming to Gansu, she gradually fell in love with spicy food. She would also look for delicious Malatang in Lanzhou every day, even though popular shops sometimes still have queues at night.
"Our homemade red oil spicy food is the 'soul', which is fragrant but not spicy, red but not spicy." Yang Jibing, who has been running the spicy hotpot business in Tianshui for more than 20 years, told reporters that the store opens at nearly 11 a.m. every day, but recently diners We started queuing up at 6 a.m., and because there were so many people waiting, the closing time was constantly delayed. In addition, we had to prepare ingredients for the next day, so we couldn't rest until the early morning of the next day.
"We will cook old ingredients that can be used for about 20 days at a time and store them. When making soup, we scoop out a few spoons, add water and simmer for several hours to create a thick soup base and the cooked dishes will be fragrant." Yang Jibing said that each Malatang restaurant also has its own "exclusive secret recipe" for its red oil spicy food. Most of them use star anise, bay leaf, pepper and other spices ground for seasoning, add some white sesame seeds, and then pour it with fried hot oil to create a spicy aroma. Then came the attack.
Tianshui Malatang special red oil spicy food.
Photo by Jiumei Danzeng
Interestingly, the “soul” of Tianshui Malatang’s Hong You La Zi is actually the soul of Lanzhou Beef Noodles, the “No. 1 Noodle in China”.
The main raw material of red oil spicy seeds is Gangu pepper from Tianshui City, which has been cultivated for more than 400 years.
The annual average temperature in Gangu County is 11.8°C, the frost-free period is about 215 days, the sunshine is sufficient and the rainfall is low, which makes Gangu peppers bright red in color, thick and oily, and containing 45 kinds of flavor substances such as aldehydes, alkenes, and alcohols. It is spicy. It has a sweet taste and is unique in the condiment world.
In fact, Gansu has a long history of farming civilization. The Dadiwan site in Qin'an County, Tianshui, planted and produced the first batch of China's grain varieties, millet.
Thanks to its geographical advantages of sufficient sunlight, large temperature difference between day and night, and low incidence of pests and diseases, Gansu's various high-quality agricultural products are now exported to more than 80 countries and regions.
In addition to Gangu peppers, Qin'an peppercorns, Dingxi potatoes and noodles, plateau vegetables, Gobi seafood, etc. are also the "magic assists" in this bowl of Tianshui Malatang.
“Wherever the people of Tianshui go, the pulp water tank will be carried on their backs.” The pulp water, which has the effect of clearing away heat and detoxifying, is also a “good partner” of Tianshui Malatang.
Local people generally use fresh endives, alfalfa, shepherd's purse, etc. to cook and ferment, put them in porcelain jars and cover them. After a few days, they can be drunk directly or made into slurry water, which is similar to the sauerkraut water in Northeast China.
The combination of "spicy hotpot + syrup" in summer can also prevent getting angry.
On March 16, the eight-day Tianshui Malatang "Foodie Festival" was held in Tianshui, Gansu Province, attracting tourists from all over the world to eat delicious food, see the beautiful scenery, and visit Dragon City.
Photo by Jiumei Danzeng
On the 16th, the week-long Tianshui Malatang “Foodie Festival” was launched.
In addition to selecting awards for the best taste, most creative, and most popular Malatang, a number of tourist routes including Malatang experiences will also be launched, which can be called the Malatang "Carnival."
"Coming from Liaoning, I drove straight to Tianshui just for a bowl of spicy hotpot, which took three days." Yang Guang, a diner from the Northeast, couldn't wait to try it in the activity area. "It tastes not greasy at all, fragrant but not spicy."
"Spicy hotpot is a traditional snack in Tianshui. The stores that have become popular recently have a store history of about 20 years. It is inevitable that they will become popular." Yang Zhiru, deputy director of the Qinzhou District Culture and Tourism Bureau of Tianshui City, told reporters that in order to catch this wave of traffic, The local culture and tourism department is studying and optimizing tourism routes, introducing preferential tickets for scenic spots, combined ticket policies, etc., and launching spicy-themed tourism festivals to give tourists a fresher and richer travel experience.
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