What kind of noodles does the chef squeeze?

Flag flower noodles are a unique snack in Wugong County, Shaanxi Province, and are famous far and wide. "Flag Flower Noodles" are also called "Qihua Noodles". Because the colorful flowers floating on the bowl look like flowers but not flowers, it is called "Qihua Noodles"; it is also called "Seven Flower Noodles" because the egg flowers, chopped green onions, strips, etc. used in it are cut into parallel pieces like small flags. It has four sides or a triangle, hence the name "flag flower surface".

People summed it up: "It looks like a flag when lifted up, and it looks like a flower when put down." This is why the flag-flower noodle got its name.

Every process of making traditional flag flower noodles is very exquisite, and its quality standards can be summarized in seven words, which are "Wang, fried, clear, thin, fine, soft, and workmanlike". "Wang" means oily, which means the soup should be fragrant; "Jian" is a typical Shaanxi dialect, which means it should be hot, not lukewarm; "Qing" means the soup should be clear, It cannot be turbid; "thin" means that there should be more soup and less noodles; "fine" means that the operation is exquisite and the workmanship is exquisite; "soft" means that the noodles should be soft and not overcooked; ", it means that the shape of the noodles on the table should be good-looking.

Usually making flag noodles at home is not so particular. The main thing is to look at the ingredients on hand, such as tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, eggs, diced meat... You can make it with whatever you have at home. , the ingredients are usually cut into small dices, and all the ingredients can be stir-fried together and watered to make saozi soup; the noodles are cooked in boiling water, scooped out, and placed in a bowl, and the sautee soup is poured on the noodles and you can enjoy it. .

Folk legend

Legend has it that Kang Hai brought it back from the palace. The empress of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty suffered from a strange disease. She didn't want to eat or drink, and her face was thin. The imperial doctor was helpless. There was a chef in the imperial dining room who was born in a peasant family. He knew that the empress was suffering from overnutrition due to eating too much delicacies from the mountains and seas, so he made a bowl of thin noodles in sour soup to serve the empress. When the empress smells the sour aroma, she has an appetite. As soon as she tastes it, she will produce fluid and soothe her stomach. The more she eats, the more she likes it, and her body will recover. This chef makes flag noodles. Kang Hai was the number one scholar in the imperial examination during the Hongzhi period, and he was an official in the Hanlin Academy. He was a martial artist and liked to eat noodles. He asked his chef to learn how to make flag flower noodles from the chef in the imperial kitchen. After he was dismissed from office, he took the chef back to his hometown, and the flag flower noodles became popular in Wugong. The chef who makes flag flower noodles needs to be very skilled and has exquisite craftsmanship, because every process is very delicate.

Preparation method

1 Make soup: Put 20 kilograms of water, a white chicken, and 5 kilograms of pork bones in an iron pot, bring to a boil over high heat, and scoop out the foam. Put all the aniseed ingredients into the pot and add amomum villosum and cloves to enhance the flavor. Bring to a simmer and the soup should be clear.

2 Make the leaves: The leaves are noodles. In the past, they were made by hand. Nowadays, the noodles are pressed by machine. You should choose fine flour ground from the finest wheat. The dough should be soft and hard, knead it to a certain extent, and roll it out thinly. It needs to be smooth and pliable. The dough should be cut as thin as lines, and pay attention to "thin, ribbed, and light."

3 Sautéed vegetables: shredded chicken, pork, bamboo shoots, kelp, yellow flower, green onion, ginger, etc., stir-fry in a pan, use high-quality vegetable oil, no sauce color.

4 Adjust the soup: The soup should be topped with aged vinegar and pepper, and acid should be used to enhance the flavor. There are red and yellow egg skins and white chopped green onions floating on the soup. The egg skin should be cut into small elephant eyes, and the green onions should be scratched with a needle and cut into diagonal shapes.

5 Shape: A thin porcelain trumpet bowl, noodles cost 5 yuan. The noodles should be neatly folded and placed in the bowl, with small top and big bottom, with pickled vegetables on the top, red, yellow, black and white, with distinct colors. Pour the soup along the edge of the bowl, and the red and yellow egg skins and chopped green onions will float, looking like a flower. When you pick it up with chopsticks, it looks like a flag.