The baby fell to the ground, studying hard in a cold window, wearing flowers and candles in the bridal chamber, and being an octogenarian. Life is like the four seasons, but a seemingly ordinary bowl of noodles has extraordinary meaning in Shijiazhuang. A person's life is inextricably linked with noodles.
The birth of a child: Handmade noodles
The hundred-day banquet of a newborn child is a highlight for every family. In addition to clothes and gifts during the confinement period in Shijiazhuang, dried noodles are an indispensable and important gift, and they are also a high-level courtesy at the Hundred Days Banquet Ceremony.
Winter wheat in northern China is usually sown in late October, and wheat goes dormant over the winter. When spring warms and the flowers bloom, the green seedlings will grow rapidly chasing the warm spring sunshine, and slowly there will be signs of a good harvest. After the cold winter, the flour ground from the winter wheat that has withstood the spring drought has more flavor, and the noodles made from it are more chewy.
The noodles are simple and unpretentious and the packaging is full of joy. People like to combine noodles and eggs, put them together in a box, and finally stamp them with the character "福" in capital letters.
Such boxes full of blessings have become an important way for Shijiazhuang people to convey blessings and express emotions for hundreds of years.
Shijiazhuang people use precious handmade noodles as a gift to welcome the arrival of life and give their best wishes to newborns. The production and inheritance of handmade noodles are Shijiazhuang people's respect for life and pasta, and it is also the inheritance of Shijiazhuang people's pasta culture for thousands of years.
Studying hard in the cold window: Bearded Noodles
When life bids farewell to childhood and enters the stage of seeking knowledge and study, and welcomes the title of the gold medal, the fastidious Shijiazhuang people will make a special pasta for their children to get good luck and comfort. Thousands of students study hard while living in poverty.
The refreshing and smooth noodles are loved by many people. As soon as autumn comes, mothers in Jingxing begin to prepare authentic squid noodles for their children who are about to give birth. A bowl of noodles before the exam symbolizes smoothness and success, while a bowl of noodles after the exam symbolizes harmony and beauty. Such warm blessings are the best wishes from parents to their children.
The standard for squid is four to five centimeters long, with two pointed ends, like a tadpole. It is sipped directly into a pot of boiling water. It is very cooked. Take it out and pour it with pickled cabbage or tomato and egg gravy. A bowl of Jingxing special squid. The noodles are done.
A squid with a soft texture, bean flavor and noodle flavor is a mother's love, and it is also the best gift for children to enter a new stage of life.
Bridal room flowers and candles: 饸饹面
"The old road of dragons is rich in grains, and people eat 饸饹 and it will run smoothly."饸饹 is an ancient and unique traditional soup noodle in northern China. At the end of the year, every household will eat glutinous rice noodles to symbolize family harmony.
There is a custom in Shijiazhuang that the day before the wedding, the groom’s family must treat relatives and friends to eat a bowl of authentic glutinous rice noodles, which means that they can grow old together.
Relatives and friends enjoyed this bowl of "Hele (饸饹)" noodles under the wedding tent set up by the groom, and sent their most sincere blessings to the newlyweds in advance.
The dumplings are made using traditional manual methods. Place the dumpling bed on the pot. When the water boils, fill the round hole with the kneaded dough. Then place the wooden core at the hole and press down with the lever and wooden stick. , the glutinous rice flour will fall into the pot from the small hole.
Take the glutinous rice out and put it into a porcelain bowl, sprinkle with a little coriander, and then pour the carefully cooked and slow-cooked beef marinade. This bowl of glutinous rice noodles is ready to be served. Satisfies the taste buds and rolls over the tongue. Overflowing with fragrance, soft but not sticky, dazzling with various flavors, this is the taste of life.
There is a local custom in Shijiazhuang that the mother of the girl's family specially treats her daughter who has left the pavilion to eat "Li Niang Noodles". The man prepares "horse noodles" for the groom. At this moment, there is nothing more important in the hearts of Shijiazhuang people than eating glutinous rice dumplings to send good wishes to the newlyweds.
Old age: Palace noodles
There is a kind of noodles that was once valued as a tribute to the palace, which is called palace noodles. As a food that can conquer everyone's mouth, it is nothing more than delicious.
Gong noodles are not only delicious but also very special. The noodles are thin enough to thread a needle, and the hollow core is tough. Being able to do this has a lot to do with its place of origin.
Gaocheng has the reputation of being the granary of Hebei and is the main producing area of high-quality wheat in the country. Authentic palace noodles are all handmade by craftsmen and have a long history. For hundreds of years, neither humans nor modern machines have been able to surpass it.
In Shijiazhuang, when old people celebrate their birthdays, a bowl of authentic Gaocheng palace noodles is indispensable, which means longevity, longevity and blessings. If you want to eat a bowl of authentic Gaocheng Palace Noodles at your birthday banquet, you need to make a reservation one month in advance. Because the time and process of making Gaocheng Palace Noodles are extremely complicated and cumbersome, this reflects the craftsmanship of the experienced craftsmen.
The production environment of Gaocheng Palace Noodles is strict, and there are only more than 100 days in a year for normal production. A bowl of handmade Gaocheng Palace Noodles takes more than 20 hours to make, including 13 complex processes such as loose noodles, rested noodles, and wire rods.
So many delicate and indispensable processes create a cover that is thin enough to thread a needle, hollow and flexible. Although the palace noodles are thin, they can withstand cooking. They can be cooked for a long time without becoming rotten, and they can be stored for a long time without becoming bad. They are the best noodles. They taste very chewy, have a smooth texture, are as delicate as jade, and have a unique flavor.
A bowl of hot noodles expresses the younger generation’s expectations for their elders’ health and longevity. Noodles are not only a symbol of birthday celebrations for Chinese people, but also the embodiment of Chinese food culture and dietary wisdom.
An ordinary bowl of noodles is the most familiar taste in everyone's life. A bowl of noodles is soaked with the taste of life, releases a strong northern nostalgia, and carries the beautiful meaning of life. It can really be called a bowl of noodles in life.
