The Millennium Flavor of Bashu Mai Xiang—Trace Chengdu’s Pasta Culture
There is a widely circulated saying that "eat in Sichuan, taste in Chengdu". Chengdu has a special status in the Chinese food map. It is gently surrounded by the Minjiang and Tuojiang river systems. It is a land of abundance. It has been a fertile land of wheat, millet and rice since ancient times. Due to the irrigation of Dujiangyan, the fertile plains have given birth to a unique pasta culture. At the dawn of dawn, the fragrance of wheat floats in the streets and lanes of Chengdu. Thousands of years of food civilization have been inherited and continued in the smoke.
When tracing the origin of Chengdu noodles, we have to mention the pottery steamers and stone millstones unearthed at the Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites. These ancient agricultural tools and cooking utensils silently tell the story of the ancient Shu ancestors’ initial exploration of grain processing. In the "Ode to the Capital of Shu" written by Yang Xiong of the Han Dynasty, there was a description such as "the five flavors of the tune, the combination of sweetness", which recorded the rich and diverse flavor of Shu at that time. Categories of food. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Chengdu was already a prosperous city like "Yang Yi Yi Er". Literati and elegant people gathered together, and the food culture showed unprecedented prosperity. When Lu You lived in Chengdu, he wrote a poem that "jade eats Emei, and gold eats fish with Bing caves." Although he did not write about pasta directly, we can see from it the fashion of carefully selecting ingredients at that time. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the large-scale immigration situation of "Huguang filled Sichuan", the pasta techniques from the north and the south blended and collided with each other here, ultimately creating the eclectic and delicate characteristics of Chengdu's pasta today.
Speaking of the classic noodles in Chengdu, the first one to recommend is Dandan noodles. This is a street snack that originated from Zigong porters and vendors. It has become more and more sophisticated after taking root in Chengdu. Its noodles must be hand-rolled leek leaf noodles. This kind of noodles is thin and tough. After boiling it in the pot and taking it out, every noodle will be clear and well-defined. The soul lies in the sauerkraut, which is minced pork with alternating fat and thin, stir-fried with sweet noodle sauce and cooking wine until crispy and fragrant, and also served with broken rice sprouts and Yibin sprouts to increase the freshness. The seasoning is very particular. The red oil is refined with Erjingtiao peppers and rapeseed oil over slow fire. It is bright red in color, fragrant but not dry. The pepper noodles are made from Hanyuan tribute pepper, which has a pure and long numbing flavor. Coupled with minced garlic, chopped green onion, and chopped peanuts, a bowl of noodles is numb, spicy, fresh, fragrant, and crispy, forming the business card of Sichuan food culture.
Another thing that must be mentioned is the sweet water with a unique flavor. It is the nostalgia that old Chengdu people carry on their tongues. The noodles are as thick as chopsticks. They look ordinary on the surface, but they contain extraordinary secrets inside. High-gluten flour produced in the plains of western Sichuan is selected, salt and water are added, and the flour is kneaded repeatedly, followed by a proofing step to allow the gluten to fully stretch. The cooked noodles have a chewy and chewy texture. When you put them into your mouth, you will have a sweet aftertaste at first. Then the complex seasoning will show a progressive trend: there is the sweet and salty taste brought by replica soy sauce, there is the spicy taste shown by minced garlic, there is the mellow taste contained by sesame paste, and there is also the burnt flavor reflected by red oil. They are intertwined in the mouth to form a wonderful balance. This unique experience of "first feeling the sweetness and then the spiciness, and then the spiciness with the sweet aftertaste" is exactly like the leisurely and layered life philosophy of the city of Chengdu.
Within the noodle system of Chengdu, Zhong Dumplings occupies an irreplaceable position. This position is indispensable. It is different from the northern dumplings that are eaten with dipping sauces. Chengdu's Zhong dumplings are mixed with all ingredients. It uses pork front leg meat as the ingredient and chops the filling by hand. This is done to maintain the texture of the meat. Only ginger juice, salt and a little water are added and stirred until it is al dente. This is done to retain the original flavor of the meat to the maximum extent. The dumpling skin of Zhong Shui Dumpling is as thin as a cicada wing, and the filling can be vaguely seen through the thin skin. After the dumplings are cooked and put into a bowl, they need to be topped with secret red oil, garlic water and duplicate sweet soy sauce, and then sprinkled with a handful of fried white sesame seeds to complete the entire production process. "When you take a bite, the skin is smooth, the filling is tender and smooth, the taste is sweet and slightly spicy, and the garlic flavor is rich and mellow, which makes you have endless aftertaste after tasting it. This bowl of dumplings carries the Chengdu time-honored brand that was established as early as the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, and has witnessed the changes of this city over the past century."
In modern times, cultural exchanges between China and the West have continued to deepen. Under this situation, Chengdu noodles have shown an attitude of tolerance and openness. During the Republic of China, Western restaurants along Chunxi Road and Zongfu Road brought baguettes and toast into the sights of Chengdu citizens. The smart pastry chefs in Chengdu have combined Western bread-making techniques with local tastes to create fusion pastries such as "Kung Pao Chicken Pizza" and "Pepper Bagel", which can not only retain the softness or crispiness of Western-style pasta, but also inject the essence of Sichuan flavor. Nowadays, in many community bakeries in Chengdu, you can find authentic old-noodle steamed buns, and you can also taste freshly baked croissants. The aroma of wheat, whether from the east or the west, enriches the taste map of this city.
The unique charm of Chengdu noodles lies in its close connection with seasonal folk customs. Eating glutinous rice balls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month means reunion. Eating cold noodles during the Beginning of Summer can relieve the heat and stimulate the appetite. Before and after the winter solstice, every household begins to prepare bacon. There are some foods made with bacon cubes. Steamed buns stuffed with preserved radish are a warm comfort on a winter morning. In the Taoist vegetarian banquets in Qingcheng Mountain, Dujiangyan and other places, imitation meat dishes made with gluten have raised the pasta-making skills to an artistic level, showing the Taoist natural, pure and authentic food concept.
To explore the authentic characteristics of Chengdu pasta, respect for the place of origin is indispensable. Pixian Douban is the base of red oil, Hanyuan Sichuan peppercorns introduce the essence of numbing aroma, Zigong well salt gives the salty and fresh flavor, and Neijiang sugarcane boiled compound soy sauce gives it a sweet aftertaste. Make clever use of landmark ingredients like these. The regional identity of Chengdu pasta cannot be copied. Authentic Chengdu noodles. The pursuit has always been more than just a full stomach. Rather, the five flavors are harmoniously balanced. It is spicy and delicious. It is also a tribute to the land and tradition.
Noodles in Chengdu have long transcended the original category of food and evolved into something that expresses a cultural identity and lifestyle. The bowl of plain pepper and mixed sauce noodles in the early morning, the one or two hand-cooked noodles at the stall late at night, the fragrance of wheat connects the three o'clock in the day for Chengdu people, and conveys the warmth and sincerity of this city to everyone who comes to visit. As we sat down in the teahouse in People's Park, we saw the sun shining through the sycamore leaves on the table, a bowl of clear soup dan dan noodles and a plate of dumplings. That sense of leisure and satisfaction was the extremely precious taste of the world that Chengdu noodles gave us.
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