stepho&crank

Noodle-making in Xi’an!

One of the highlights of our trip to Xi’an was undoubtedly the amazing foods. I think I am going to have to split this up in to a few different food posts, there was just so much goodness to go around.

First up, the noodle-making. Just outside the Terracotta Warriors we walked down a rainy pedestrian street filled with vendors and restaurants. It must have been a slow day because a number of restaurant owners came out into the street to entice us in a not un-pushy manner to patronize their establishments (truly pushy even by our revised Chinese standards). We had been planning to go back inside the city walls for our lunch, but my curiosity got the better of me and I was intrigued by a loud slapping noise. I wandered towards a man hand-pulling and, for lack of a better word, slapping, large amounts of dough onto a table in front of him. We perused the restaurant’s menu and, wanting to stay out of the rain, decided to lunch early on a menu of dumplings and “beef with noodle dish”.

I wasn’t really sure what I had ordered but I went outside back to my dough-man to see what he would concoct. What the man created, in mere seconds, was a fresh vermicelli-like noodle that he made (it seemed impossible even as I was watching him) by stretching the dough in a cats-cradle-like manner. I was truly amazed at the speed and skill with which he crafted the delicate noodles (behold his impressive skills in the video below). After their preparation the thin, fresh noodles were served in a flavorful but light beef broth laced with scallions. The dish itself was simple and delicious, perfect for our cold and water-logged selves. Total cost: 10¥ ($1.46)