Been forever since I tried Shanxi cold noodle. I think perhaps I cooked them wrong. Regardless, I know how to cook them correctly thanks to the nice folks at Snackoo! Snackoo is a subscription box service startup in San Francisco. They’ve got a lot of neat products – many I’ve never seen before – check ’em out!
Here’s a little about Shanxi cold noodle from Wikipedia –
Liangpi (simplified Chinese: 凉皮; traditional Chinese: 涼皮; pinyin: liángpí; literally: “cold skin”) is a noodle-like Chinese dish made from wheat or rice flour. It is a specialty dish originating from the cuisine of Shaanxi Province,[1] but has now spread to many other places in China, in particular the northern and central regions. In northwestern areas of China, it is often called liangpi zi (凉皮子). Although liangpi is served cold, they are served in every season, including winter.
New York Times’ Julia Moskin describes liangpi as served at Xi’an Famous Foods as “a dish of cold noodles in a sauce that hits every possible flavor category (sweet, tangy, savory, herbal, nutty and dozens of others)
Alright – let’s give it a go!
Qicaiyuan Liangpi Shanxi Cold Noodle – China
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, Boil the liangpi noodles for 8-10 minutes until al dente. Boil gluten for around the same amount of time. Rinse liangpi noodles and gluten, remove- it’s meant to be eaten dry.
Combine the gluten and liangpi noodles. Finally, stir in the sauce and enjoy!
The liangi noodles.
So many big sachets – I don’t have enough little cups!
These are liquid seasonings.
More liquid base.
Gluten.
Finished ((click to enlarge). Added coriander and Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts. I definitely enjoyed this a lot more than my first experience with Shaanxi cold noodles. The noodles were soft and a little chewy at the same time. Bits of chewy gluten were everywhere and gave the dish an almost meaty kind of hit. The flavor was spicy and garlicky and savory all at the same time – very unique flavor. I think the fact that it was served cold made it just perfect. 4.25 out of 5.0 stars.No bar code.
Xi’an, Shaanxi and The Terracotta Army (Odyssey Illustrated Guides)
