#784: Hankow “Cai Lin Ji” Dry Noodles

Here’s another one my sister brought me from Canasda. I’ve been very curious about what’s going on with this one for a while. Today seemed like the right day for it. I used the UPC code to find the website for this company and found this little snippet about the product:

Characteristics of “Cai Lin Ji” dry noodles is different from both the cold noodles, but also different from the noodles, noodles prior cooked, cold water and process the oil, then topped with sesame, sesame oil, vinegar, chili oil and spices made sauce when eating noodles and smooth chewiness, fragrant and delicious sauces, people appetite.

Allusion

The early 1930s, Hankou Long Beach street food stall named Li package in the temple area

By selling jelly and noodles for a living. One day, the weather is unusually hot, and many left the surface is not sold, he was afraid the noodles sour deterioration, put leftover noodles cooked drain, dry down the board. Accidentally knocked over the case on the oiler, sesame oil is poured on the noodles. Li package seeing no alternative but to mix the noodles in oil re-hanging put. The next morning, Lee package will be mixed with oil and cooked noodles in boiling water for a little hot, remove and drain into the bowl, then add the spices to sell jelly, which makes steaming, scented. People are eager to buy, eat with relish. Someone asked what he was selling face, he blurted out, said to be “dry noodles”. Since then, he was the monopoly of this surface, not only the people competing taste, there are a lot of people to study with a teacher.

Several years later, the bit surnamed Cai in full spring intersection of Zhongshan Road, opened a dry noodles noodle shop, take the meaning of the rich resources, called “Cai Lin in mind, operating dry noodles in Wuhan City Shoppes. Later moved to Zhongshan Road on the Hankow towers opposite, renamed Wuhan dry noodles.

After 50 years of time in the 1980s, dry noodles incoming Xinyang City, Henan Province, and in accordance with the Xinyang diet features from each other to improve, and the vigorous development in Xinyang. Become the the Xinyang most like to eat early, long-term stable early first position to the present. It can be said dry noodles origin in Wuhan, but the long and vigorously in Xinyang.

Here’s the detail from the sticker on the lid.

I’ve been wondering for some time now: why do most included eating implements that come with instant noodles usually take the form of a fork when so many come from countries where chopsticks are primarily used? Well, here are some included chopsticks – a first for The Ramen Rater to see!

A leaflet with the cooking directions (click image to enlarge).

The noodle block – looks interesting…

Veggies on the left and not sure on the right.

Maybe a chili oil on the left and a liquid soup base on the right? Hmm…

Finished (click image to enlarge). Not one iota of what I expected. I expected some extremely strong flavors and a lot of heat and salt. This couldn’t be farther from the end result. The noodles are pretty good – kind of spaghetti gauged. The sauce that adorns them is really fascinating: kind of a peanut butter and chili oil combo. The peanut butter definitely makes one’s mouth dry, which is why I would tend to call them dry personally. They were a little bland too, but the subtle flavor was kind of nice. 3.25 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 6925052120749 .

Noodle making

Neat CCTV documentary about food in China.