Gourmet

In my hometown, as long as there are people on the street, there will be a noodle restaurant every three or five steps. No matter what it is called "XX Beef Noodle Restaurant", "XX Beef Noodle Restaurant" or "XX Sour Noodle Restaurant", there must be a bowl of noodles in it, which is also the best-selling noodle for breakfast, and that is "Tofu Noodle"!

Although it's not as famous as Zhajiang noodles in Beijing and Dandan Noodles in Chengdu, it's not as famous as Qishan minced meat noodles in Lanzhou and Lamian Noodles, and it's not as light, refreshing and healthy as Yangchun noodles in Shanghai and Wonton Noodles in Guangzhou ... but it's a taste that every stranger can't quit!

No matter how long you live outside and how much your taste has changed, you will go back to your hometown and do as the Romans do and return to the habit of eating tofu noodles for breakfast. Sometimes I can't even wait to go inside. After getting off the train, I dragged my tired body and ran to the tofu noodle restaurant. Just for the homesickness that I have missed for a long time, just to enjoy the satisfaction of the tip of my tongue when noodles jump in my mouth!

I remember when I was in Germany, in a German class, the teacher asked me to talk about what I had for breakfast. In fact, I haven't eaten noodles for breakfast for many years, but I don't know why, when it was my turn, I blurted out "noodles"!

Our German teacher is an Italian who grew up in Germany. He was surprised and puzzled. He stared at me for a long time until I was sure again, "Yes, Nudel! Yes, noodles! ) ",and explained that-but China is very big, not every place has noodles for breakfast, before he accepted the fact that there is a place in this Far East country that really has noodles for breakfast!

Because in his eyes, noodles belong to dinner, just like their spaghetti.

Yes, is noodles too much for your stomach for breakfast? Not worried about malnutrition? Eat some steamed bread and a bowl of porridge; A few fried dough sticks with soy milk; How about some bread and milk?

..... Not good!

Breakfast, a bowl of tofu is very important to us, just like Regan Noodles comes from Wuhan and Chongqing ... which best represents the temperament of this small town in my hometown: It can be said that it is not an alarm clock or a dream that wakes us up in the morning, but it is time to eat noodles; It can be said that there is only one bowl of tofu noodles for breakfast, and this day officially begins!

The noodles used for tofu noodles are alkaline noodles. As the name implies, this kind of noodles contains alkali.

I have asked many people in my hometown, including the old, young and middle-aged: Why do we like alkaline noodles for breakfast? The answer is without exception-"get used to it!"

Although I am not satisfied with this answer, I always feel that it should have a mysterious origin, or there is a beautiful story behind it, but I really can't tell a thing or two! I only know that I like to eat a bowl of alkaline noodles for breakfast since I was a child. It's probably just a habit. ...

Until one time, when I read China on the Tip of the Tongue and introduced Chongqing noodles, I said: Alkali is the key to mixing noodles. It can make gluten in noodles form a dense network, lock starch particles, prevent noodle soup from being turbid, and make noodles have pleasant elasticity in the mouth ... I think this is probably the original reason for using alkaline noodles for tofu noodles, in order to get a better taste!

Noodle shops usually cook noodles one night in advance, fully dissipate heat and then oil them. The next day, when the diners arrived, they grabbed a handful of alkaline noodles, put them in a colander, covered them with a little mung bean sprouts, then quickly scalded them back and forth in a steaming boiling pot, and then poured them into a big bowl. So bean sprouts are at the bottom of the bowl, so when a bowl of tofu noodles is served, you can't see bean sprouts.

Then, pour the cooked soup, with golden fried tofu and tender tofu, stew kelp and pig blood clots, pour some red oil soup, sprinkle a little chopped green onion, coriander and fried soybeans, which really makes people smell.

After the noodles are served, be sure to mix them first and let them be fully soaked in the noodle soup. At the same time, the mung bean sprouts at the bottom can be evenly mixed with noodles, and when they are eaten, they will make a crisp sound of "bursts-bursts-",which is full of fun!

Of course, if you tell your boss that you don't want Chili, he will leave you butter, or just put a little butter, and the whole bowl of noodles will be much lighter!

In my hometown, soybean milk is usually the companion of tofu noodles, while in Xiangyang area, yellow wine is the first choice. Some noodle restaurants will match free rice soup or red bean soup ... A bowl of light soup just neutralizes the strong taste of dried tofu noodles.

There are so many bean curd noodle restaurants, although the taste of each one is roughly the same, it is not the same. However, there seems to be no authentic, famous and recognized noodle restaurant in the whole city.

If you like, you can even find several criteria to judge whether a bowl of noodles is authentic. Some noodle restaurants pay more attention to spicy soup base, some noodle restaurants taste salty and fresh, and some noodle restaurants cut corners even if they are hemp, spicy and thin, such as no kelp and pig blood ... but it doesn't seem to affect the business in the store. Because, everyone's tastes are different, and the standards for authenticity in their hearts are different. Just like for people who don't eat pig blood, a bowl of tofu noodles without pig blood is still authentic in his mind!

Therefore, when eating tofu noodles, you don't always have to go to one place to eat, but change it every three weeks, and there will be unexpected surprises.

Someone in Zhihu asked: Why can't Xiangyang butter noodles (tofu noodles) go out?

Butter noodles are called by Xiangyang people and are rare in my hometown. On the price list of noodle restaurant, only tofu noodles are written. Generally, the price is a bowl in 4 yuan, but a little bit on the side, a bowl in 3 yuan. I have been wandering outside for many years, and I have never seen a noodle restaurant selling tofu noodles, whether in the north or in the south.

The villagers in Zhihu have answered the questions in a comprehensive way: because they are too particular about taste, they can't satisfy most people's stomachs, and they are also incompatible with the concept of healthy and light life advocated by people today; Because many people are not used to eating alkaline noodles; Because it's not very clean ...

However, do those delicious foods that go out really taste the same? Just like the duck neck in Wuhan, it will be spicy and sweet when sold to Nanjing; Tianjin pancakes were sold to our hometown, but alkali was put in the batter, and the whole pancake was thick with alkali flavor; You will never think that this bowl of noodles in the picture below is the "Lanzhou Lamian Noodles" in our hometown. Except for the noodles themselves, it looks no different from tofu noodles ... how many delicious things have been deliberately changed for the benefit and catering? After it was spread, its inherent taste has disappeared!

China on the Tip of the Tongue says: Most delicacies are fission wonders produced by the collision of different ingredients. If we look at the meeting of ingredients in the way of the world, some are amazing, some are touching and some are shocking. Human activities contribute to the gathering of food, and the separation of food also mobilizes the gathering and dispersion of human beings. Westerners call it "fate", while China calls it "fate".

The encounter between tofu noodles and hometown people is different: it is like a culture and a habit, which has been deeply rubbed into our bones and integrated into our lives, becoming the most unforgettable taste in our lives.

You don't need to be famous in the world, and you don't need to deliberately change yourself in order to go out ... just keep it authentic and protect this area!

-End-