Hot dry noodles

Hot dry noodles

Alternative names	热干面
Type	Noodles
Course	Breakfast
Place of origin	China
Region or state	Wuhan
Main ingredients	Alkaline noodles, soy sauce, sesame paste, pickled carrots, garlic, Chive oil
Media: Hot dry noodles

Hot dry noodles (right), doupi (left), and jiuniang (sweet rice wine).

Wuhan breakfast

Hot dry noodles (simplified Chinese: 热干面; traditional Chinese: 熱乾麵; pinyin: règānmiàn), known in Chinese as reganmian, is a traditional dish of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in central China. Hot dry noodles have an 80-year history in Chinese food culture; they are unique because the noodles are not in a broth like most other Asian-style hot noodle dishes. They are the most significant, famous and popular breakfast food in Wuhan, often sold by street carts and restaurants in residential and business areas. The price is between 4-6 yuan. Breakfasts such as hot dry noodles are available from about 5 am, These noodles can be prepared within minutes and are affordable, so they are a popular breakfast. There are hot dry noodle restaurants all over the city.

Typical hot dry noodle dishes contain soy sauce, sesame paste, pickled vegetables (carrots and beans), chopped garlic chives and chili oil. Hot dry noodles, along with Shanxi's knife-cut noodles (刀削面; 刀削麵; dāoxiāomiàn), Liangguang's yifumian, Sichuan's dandanmian, and northern China's zhajiangmian, are collectively referred to as the "top five noodles of China" by People's Daily, and in a 2013 article titled "China's Top 10 famous noodles" Business Insider reported that CNTV rated hot dry noodles the top Chinese noodle dish. The specifics of the preparation of hot dry noodles is discussed in Wuhan author Chi Li's novel Cold or Hot, It's Good to Live (冷也好热也好活着就好).

Cooking Method

The recipe for hot dry noodles differs from cold noodles and soup noodles, as the dish is served hot without broth.

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Noodles Preparation

The fresh alkali water noodles are cooked until they are about 90% done, then removed from the water and mixed with sesame oil to prevent sticking. The noodles are then spread out on a surface to cool down.

Before serving, place the noodles in a cone-shaped strainer, dip briefly into boiling water, swirl, and drain.

Sauce and Seasoning

Once the noodles are reheated, transfer them to a bowl and drizzle with a prepared sauce mixture. The sauce typically includes sesame paste, soy sauce, pickled radish, and other seasonings like Chinese chives, chili oil, vinegar, MSG, pepper, and chicken broth, according to taste. Additional toppings such as chopped scallions, pickled vegetables, or mustard greens may also be added.

Final Steps

Once seasoned, thoroughly mix the noodles to evenly coat them with the sauce. Serve immediately while hot.

Detailed Noodle Preparation

To prepare the noodles, mix alkali powder with water a day in advance. Then, combine the alkali water, salt, and flour in a ratio of 2:1:250, knead the dough, and roll it into noodles of 1.5-1.6mm in diameter for optimal texture.

Bring a large pot of water to a high heat, and before it boils, add the raw noodles. Stir continuously to prevent clumping, and intermittently add cold water after boiling while covering the pot. Once the noodles turn transparent, remove them and drain using a colander. Spread the drained noodles out, mix with sesame oil, and let them cool.

Sauce Preparation

To make the sauce, mix soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, pepper, MSG, sesame paste, sesame oil, red and white carrot cubes, and Chinese chives in the proportion of 20:8:1:1:15:18:5:4:5. Additionally, dissolve sugar in soy sauce at a 1:50 ratio. The sauce is then ready to be drizzled over the reheated noodles.

Origin

Summer in Wuhan is extremely long, and the high temperature causes food to deteriorate rapidly. Consequently, in the past people added dietary alkali into noodles to slow deterioration; this evolved into Hot Dry Noodles.

There is no certain script that clarifies the inventor of hot dry noodles. Here are the versions of the creators of hot dry noodles:

Bao Li

The Statue of Bao Li

According to a widely circulated version of the origin story, in the 1930s, there was a small food stand on Changdi Street operated by Bao Li, a hawker who made a living by selling bean noodles and noodle soups in the Guandi temple area in Hankou. Due to the hot weather, business was bad and many noodles were not sold. There were no refrigerators at that time. If these noodles were sold the next day, they would definitely go bad and be inedible. What to do? Li Bao was very worried. Suddenly, Li poured sesame oil onto his noodles accidentally; he boiled them and added shallot and other condiments the next day, and sold them the next morning. His noodles became very popular because of their unique taste, and customers asked Bao Li what kind of noodle it was; Bao Li answered "hot dry noodles".

From then on, Bao Li specialized in hot dry noodles, which caused a sensation in Wuhan with many customers. Many cooks learned from him and specialized in making hot dry noodles. However, most people considered Bao Li as the inventor of the way of making such noodles. His version of hot dry noodles has huge difference compared to the hot dry noodles nowadays.

Cai Mingwei

Cai Mingwei was born in April 1912 in Caijiazha Street, Huangpi District. He worked in a Pharmacy in Hankou for 6 years. After leaving the Pharmacy, he started to sell noodles. This kind of noodles is made by boiling traditional oil noodles, taking them out, pouring sesame oil on them and mixing them together. Many people in Hankou make a living from this, especially the people from Huangpi. Cai Mingwei chose to do business for students at the school gate. In the process of selling noodles, he gradually improved the taste of noodles. In order to make noodles quickly in the morning, he cooked the noodles to 80% done in advance, poured water to cool them down, added oil to mix them, spread them out to cool and dry them, and rolled them into a bunch for use. When buying noodles, boil them in boiling water, remove the core and add seasonings, and they can be eaten, which increases the speed. Later, in order to increase the toughness of machine-made noodles, he absorbed the practice of oil noodles and gradually added salt and edible alkali. His work experience as a pharmacy clerk made him realize the role of sesame oil, so he tried to add sesame paste without decanting oil to noodles, and sprinkled sesame oil, balsamic vinegar and other homemade special seasonings on it to form sesame paste noodles. Later, Cai Mingwei also cut the carrots from his hometown in Huangpi into strips, marinated them with salt, soy sauce, five-spice powder, etc., and dried them slightly after draining them. Finally, he added pure sesame paste, pepper powder, and granulated sugar, and finally formed the hot dry noodles that Wuhan people eat now.

Hot dry noodles were officially named in 1950. In 1945, after the victory of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Cai Mingwei opened the famous hot dry noodles restaurant Cai Lin Ji at the corner of Manchun Road, Zhongshan Avenue. According to legend, the name of Cai Lin Ji came from two tall Chinaberries in front of the store. Some people say that the two trees, firstly, symbolize your hard work and happiness, secondly, Cai Mingwei has two sons, so good things come in pairs, and naming the store Cai Lin Ji will bring good luck.

Cultural significance

Hot dry noodles is not only a delicacy, but also a symbol of culture. It carries the memory and emotions of Wuhan people and is an indispensable part of their lives.

Geographical environment and climate

Talking about hot dry noodles's significance, the local climate plays an important role in such cuisine.

Mount Mo and East Lake, Wuhan

Wuhan has a subtropical monsoon climate in the central part of the city, with abundant rainfall and sunshine. There are many water bodies, and the entire city is divided into three parts the Yangtze River and the Han River. There are also large and small lakes including the East Lake, and the terrain is mainly plains. Under such climatic conditions, it is difficult for local heat to dissipate in the summer, resulting in hot and humid weather. Food is hard to stay fresh in such circumstances. However, the noodles of hot dry noodles are processed with alkaline water (baking soda + water) which has low water content and is more durable than ordinary noodles. The ingredients of the sauce are also easily stored and hard to get bad. The quality of noodles and sauce allows hot dry noodles to be made by families and restaurants at any time. In winter, due to the lack of terrain barriers, it is easily affected by cold air from the north, the humidity is high and the cold is biting. The weather is cold in the winter. But the noodles of hot dry noodles are dry, durable, and not affected by moisture since they absorb the alkaline water

The climate and environment will also change the appetite of people in Wuhan. In summer, a hot and humid environment makes people feel tired and have poor appetites. But hot dry noodles, due to the sesame paste and vinegar, have a strong taste which could quickly arouse appetite.In winter, people need high-calorie food to keep warm. Sesame paste is high in fat and the noodles are high in carbohydrates which could help people to replenish energy.

Humanities

Pier in Wuhan

Eating breakfast in Wuhan is commonly known as "Guozao" which means the special bond between people in Wuhan and the breakfast. In the 20th century, ships often passed by the docks in Wuhan, and boatmen, dock workers, and merchants from all over the country gathered here. In such a crowded and mobile area, people also demanded simple and fast food, so hot dry noodles became the first choice. Nowadays, people in Wuhan are accustomed to getting up early to go to work or do morning practice. Hot dry noodles are still the top choice for breakfast. Besides that, people in Wuhan have the habit of eating food while walking. The convenience of hot dry noodles makes such a common habit more common.

Variety

During the development and spread of the technique of making hot dry noodles, people in Xinyang, a city in Henan Province, developed their own special way to make them, which became a variant of hot dry noodles eventually.

The difference on hot dry noodle between Wuhan and xinyang is quantity，xinyang hot dry noodle generally use a larger bowl than Wuhan. And Wuhan hot dry noodles are usually eaten in the morning. In Wuhan, they usually cook the noodles in water first and then add the sauce, but xinyang uses beef and minced beef，and then add meat soup. In contrast, Xinyang hot dry noodles have a more mellow flavor. In terms of seasoning, Wuhan hot dry noodles use a higher percentage of peanuts in sesame sauce, but Xinyang is more of a sesame sauce flavor.

Region

China

Small restaurants serving Wuhan's hot dry noodles, which have been a staple of the local population for hundreds of years, are located throughout China and serve a variety of inexpensive dishes, with egg drop soups as well as wonton stews to choose from. Hot noodles can be served with beef or lamb, making it a dish for all seasons.

Japan

There's a restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan that has relatively authentic hot dry noodles for 19 RMB, but interestingly enough, it uses noodles that have been prepared with black sesame seeds and filled with crushed peanuts.

United States

In Flushing, New York, where there is a Chinese hot dry noodle store, Wuhan people there have a sense of home, which is also the only authentic hot dry noodle store, and priced at 30-40 yuan.

See also

• Chinese noodles
• Singapore noodles
• Dandan noodles