Hot dry noodles
When it comes to Wuhan snacks, hot dry noodles must be in the first place. Just as mixed sauce noodles are to Beijingers, Zangzi noodles are to Xi'an people, and Pian'er Chuan is to Hangzhou people, Wuhan is like this bowl of hot dry noodles. On the streets of Wuhan, there are hot and dry noodle restaurants and noodle stalls of all sizes, some selling breakfast and some operating supper. And those fans of hot dry noodles who hold paper bowls and eat while walking are integrated with the hot dry noodle restaurants all over the street, becoming a scene on the streets of Wuhan.
How famous are hot dry noodles? In 2013, at the 2nd China Hotel Culture Festival and the First China Noodle Culture Festival jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce of China and the China Hotel Association, Wuhan Hot Dry Noodles was called "China's Top 10 Noodles" along with 9 kinds of local specialties such as Beijing Mixed Sauce Noodles, Shanxi Knife Cut Noodles and Sichuan Dandan Noodles, and ranked first on the list.
The noodles used for hot dry noodles are alkaline water, which has a chewy texture and is not easy to cook. Because the noodles are cooked until medium-rare, the hot dry noodles are served very quickly, and the noodles are grabbed, blanched, and put in the ingredients, and it takes less than two minutes to serve. Sesame paste, soy sauce, diced radish sauce, and chopped green onion are the basic ingredients, but red oil, marinade, balsamic vinegar, and sour cowpeas can be added according to the characteristics of each store and personal preference. A bowl of ordinary hot dry noodles costs four to seven yuan, and adding meat is a different story.
Hot dry noodles take a long time to prepare, which is not only what sets it apart from other types of noodles, but also the most critical step in hot dry noodles. Cook the alkaline noodles until medium-rare, remove and pour the oil, and use chopsticks to pick up the noodles over and over again, so that the noodles are fully in contact with the oil, and finally dry and shake for later use. Therefore, hot dry noodles often need to be prepared a day in advance.
However, many foreign diners only feel that the taste is the same as chewing wax when they first taste hot dry noodles, and it is difficult to understand the charm of "the top ten noodles in China". If you want to eat a bowl of hot dry noodles, mixing noodles is a technical job, and the older generation of Wuhan people have condensed the know-how of mixing noodles into the four characters of "three turns and nine mixing", and only by making each noodle attached to sesame sauce, soup, and condiments can it be tasted. In addition, there is a saying in Wuhan that "the golden 6 minutes of hot dry noodles" means that the time from the time of serving to the end of the meal should be controlled within 6 minutes, which is said to be the best time to enjoy hot dry noodles.
