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Hot or cold, Hangzhou serves up appetizing noodle dishes
By Xu Wenwen |
February 23, 2012, Thursday
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HANGZHOU has been dubbed the hometown of rice and fish for a long, long time, yet one of the most famed foods in the city is noodle.
Hot, cold, fried or in soup, noodles have always been a specialty in northern China. Nonetheless, Hangzhou's greatest noodle shops have carved out an envious reputation based on their tasty creations.
It started in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) when the royal families made Hangzhou the capital after they retreated from the north in 1127, turning the city into one of the few dynastic capitals in the south. The royals also brought their love for noodles with them.
Over the years, noodles have become a signature dish in Hangzhou. Eating a bowl of noodles here is taking part in the lifestyle of locals.
Shanghai Daily gives a rundown on the noodle dishes favored in the city.
Pian'er Chuan(noodles with fried pork, bamboo shoots and preserved vegetables)
Pian'er Chuan has a history of over 100 years and is the most popular noodle concoction among locals. Featuring the refreshing taste of preserved vegetables and sliced bamboo shoots, the inexpensive dish is free of spice and was created by Kuiyuanguan Restaurant, which still exists today, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The restaurant created the dish in hopes of attracting people coming from different places around the country who were in the city for imperial examinations.
It is also an easy dish that people can make at home. Step one is to lightly fry sliced pork and bamboo shoots together, and after the pork turns grey, add a bit of soy sauce and put preserved vegetables (xue cai) in, keep frying for a while.
Step two is to cook the noodles in boiling water until 50 percent cooked. Take out and then put noodles in the pan containing the pork and preserved vegetables and add boiling water. Step three, boil a while and add salt. Avoid overcooking the noodles as they will become too soft.
In restaurants this dish usually costs around 10 yuan (US$1.59).
Xia Bao Shan Mian (noodles with stir-fried eels and shrimps)
Xia Bao Shan Mian has often been considered a "luxury" dish that locals eat during festivals or other special occasions. Restaurant prices are about 30 yuan per bowl.
The noodle is topped with shrimps and fried mud eels, and is another specialty created by Kuiyuanguan Restaurant. No wonder people say "if you haven't had noodles at Kuiyuanguan Restaurant, you haven't completed your trip to Hangzhou."
A nice Xia Bao Shan Mian features both fresh shrimps and eels with a resilient texture and original umami flavor.
First, the size of eels is important, weighing from 120 to 170 grams.
Second, all eels need to be raised in water for several days to erase the raw fish flavor.
Third, eels are killed and immediately lightly boiled, while the slicing procedure is done after the boiling, so the eels' muscle remains tight.
As for the shrimp, only river shrimps weighing 120 grams each are used (500 grams in total). Shrimps are lightly fried with pork skin to absorb the animal grease, yet eels are stir-fried in peanut oil or rapeseed oil. A touch of sesame oil is used on top of the cooked noodles.
Viscera Noodle
Viscera noodles are served with either pig liver, kidney, large intestines or some combination of the three.
One may turn up the nose at the thought of this dish. However, foodies love the dish for its mix of textures. Pig liver is soft, pig kidney is tender yet a bit crunchy, and the large intestine is like an al-dente pasta and greasy. Restaurants serving these noodle dishes are judged on the smell, or more accurately, lack of smell. The best ones proudly boast "our viscera noodles do not smell like viscera."
Chefs usually don't like to reveal their secret to removing the viscera smell, but perhaps you can get one to reveal the secret if you spend a little extra time in his restaurant.
Hangzhou's most famed noodle restaurants:
? Kuiyuanguan Restaurant
Address: 154 Jiefang Rd
? Hui Juan Noodle Restaurant
Address: 11 Huaxing Rd
? Ju Ying Noodle Restaurant
Address: 14 Zhonghe Rd S.
? Zhong'er Noodle Restaurant
Address: 3 Xixi Rd
? Zhuangyuan Noodle Restaurant
Address: 85 Hefang Street
Hot, cold, fried or in soup, noodles have always been a specialty in northern China. Nonetheless, Hangzhou's greatest noodle shops have carved out an envious reputation based on their tasty creations.
It started in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) when the royal families made Hangzhou the capital after they retreated from the north in 1127, turning the city into one of the few dynastic capitals in the south. The royals also brought their love for noodles with them.
Over the years, noodles have become a signature dish in Hangzhou. Eating a bowl of noodles here is taking part in the lifestyle of locals.
Shanghai Daily gives a rundown on the noodle dishes favored in the city.
Pian'er Chuan(noodles with fried pork, bamboo shoots and preserved vegetables)
Pian'er Chuan has a history of over 100 years and is the most popular noodle concoction among locals. Featuring the refreshing taste of preserved vegetables and sliced bamboo shoots, the inexpensive dish is free of spice and was created by Kuiyuanguan Restaurant, which still exists today, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The restaurant created the dish in hopes of attracting people coming from different places around the country who were in the city for imperial examinations.
It is also an easy dish that people can make at home. Step one is to lightly fry sliced pork and bamboo shoots together, and after the pork turns grey, add a bit of soy sauce and put preserved vegetables (xue cai) in, keep frying for a while.
Step two is to cook the noodles in boiling water until 50 percent cooked. Take out and then put noodles in the pan containing the pork and preserved vegetables and add boiling water. Step three, boil a while and add salt. Avoid overcooking the noodles as they will become too soft.
In restaurants this dish usually costs around 10 yuan (US$1.59).
Xia Bao Shan Mian (noodles with stir-fried eels and shrimps)
Xia Bao Shan Mian has often been considered a "luxury" dish that locals eat during festivals or other special occasions. Restaurant prices are about 30 yuan per bowl.
The noodle is topped with shrimps and fried mud eels, and is another specialty created by Kuiyuanguan Restaurant. No wonder people say "if you haven't had noodles at Kuiyuanguan Restaurant, you haven't completed your trip to Hangzhou."
A nice Xia Bao Shan Mian features both fresh shrimps and eels with a resilient texture and original umami flavor.
First, the size of eels is important, weighing from 120 to 170 grams.
Second, all eels need to be raised in water for several days to erase the raw fish flavor.
Third, eels are killed and immediately lightly boiled, while the slicing procedure is done after the boiling, so the eels' muscle remains tight.
As for the shrimp, only river shrimps weighing 120 grams each are used (500 grams in total). Shrimps are lightly fried with pork skin to absorb the animal grease, yet eels are stir-fried in peanut oil or rapeseed oil. A touch of sesame oil is used on top of the cooked noodles.
Viscera Noodle
Viscera noodles are served with either pig liver, kidney, large intestines or some combination of the three.
One may turn up the nose at the thought of this dish. However, foodies love the dish for its mix of textures. Pig liver is soft, pig kidney is tender yet a bit crunchy, and the large intestine is like an al-dente pasta and greasy. Restaurants serving these noodle dishes are judged on the smell, or more accurately, lack of smell. The best ones proudly boast "our viscera noodles do not smell like viscera."
Chefs usually don't like to reveal their secret to removing the viscera smell, but perhaps you can get one to reveal the secret if you spend a little extra time in his restaurant.
Hangzhou's most famed noodle restaurants:
? Kuiyuanguan Restaurant
Address: 154 Jiefang Rd
? Hui Juan Noodle Restaurant
Address: 11 Huaxing Rd
? Ju Ying Noodle Restaurant
Address: 14 Zhonghe Rd S.
? Zhong'er Noodle Restaurant
Address: 3 Xixi Rd
? Zhuangyuan Noodle Restaurant
Address: 85 Hefang Street
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