*use your noodle*
by Jboy13
Yangshuo, China
No matter how hard I watched, I couldn’t work out how he did it. This man at the front of a little shop on the street started with a ball of dough the size of his fist. He rolled it into a 30cm long sausage, patted flour on it and then picked it up in both hands and spun it round and round, all the while stretching it out. He folded it in half over his middle finger, holding both ends in his other hand. It was about now I got lost, but it looked like he spun them around and got them not even a centimetre thick. Somehow his fingers went through one end and separated the strand into many thinner ones. He kept dropping them off his fingers like this and pinching off one end of the dough until he had a handful of spaghetti-thin noodles, ALL separated, every single one, which he dumped in a cauldron of boiling water! From a ball of dough to cooked noodles in under three minutes. Who would want a packet of two minute instant noodles when you can have fresh ones in one minute more?
A Few Tips For Eating in China
- Learn to eat with chopsticks.
- Never place your sticks upright in your bowl; it’s a symbol of death, and really not the done thing.
-
Like rice (and noodles)
- Initially noodle soup can look a challenge. Back home we would never ever eat any soup without a spoon, or noodles without a fork. Here all you get for noodle soup is the bowl it comes in and a pair of chopsticks. You need to eat the noodles first and then lift the bowl to your lips and slurp away.
- Don’t drum your chopsticks on the side of your bowl. For one, it annoys mum. Secondly, beggars do this and you don’t want people thinking you’re begging.
- Don’t be fussy, and you’ll be fine.
- Be adventurous. That’s a good thing about travelling in a large group – you can buy one of everything you see in a street stall – everyone has a nibble of each thing and then you go back for whichever one you really liked!
- Closely related to point six, but quite the opposite: only take a little of something that you do not yet know. Ask Kgirl10 about filling her noodle bowl with “potato”, particularly how sour and awfully fermented it was…and how it was nothing at all like potato. Probably best not to ask her how much she took.
Do-It-Yourself Noodle Soup
This noodle soup is available everywhere we’ve been in China (which admittedly is not far in only a week) for about NZ$1 a bowl. You can get it first thing in the morning for breakfast like we did today in Guilin. You can get it for lunch. You can get it for dinner – the pics below are our dinner in Yangshuo. Both of our versions today were pretty similar; tasty and nutritious.
The cook dunks individual portions of fresh rice noodles in boiling water before dumping them in a bowl. He sprinkles over soaked and roasted peanuts, splashes on some sauces and oils, throws on a handful of chopped meat and leaves it up to you to choose your own seasonings (like fermented “potato” 😉 )
Tags: children, food, postcard: China
rayres
A fascinating post – and a timely ‘primer’ for a grandpa who will be adding to your group-tastings shortly.
Pity the poor tourists who are devastated when they cannot see the Golden Arches from their (5 star) hotel window!
I really enjoyed reading this post J13! And food looks delish!!
Watch out for how the staple food changes as you head further north 😉 It’s awesome how much food can tell us about the culture and lifestyle! Enjoy yourselves in your study of Chinese gastronomy!!!… And DON’T let the golden arches (when you do see them) distract you!
A very helpful post! Gives me something to work on for heading overseas. The soup looks very yummy!
Good blog J14. Proud of you. Looks and reads you are having a good time.
J boy looked 14. Sorry.
We are enjoying journeying with you.
I liked rule number 5. I think it is important for all people to learn not to do things that annoys mum. I think I might read this to my kiddos!!
Love reading your updates!
Leighx