Why is the traditional Guangzhou dish "bamboo noodles" still popular after a century?

Northerners have never cared much for southern noodle dishes, but I'm a fan of noodle eating at this level, but I've become very interested in Guangzhou's Bamboo Noodles. In order to find authentic handmade bamboo noodles, by preference, by respect for traditional food culture, respect for traditional craftsmanship, tirelessly visit one by one, one by one to taste. Although every noodle store has a signboard of authentic Guangzhou Bamboo Noodles, we were disappointed to see a noodle press when we entered the store. Despite the repeated failures, when we have the chance to go to Guangzhou, we are still passionate about finding a handmade bamboo noodle shop. We are neither media nor businessmen, so it's not uncommon for us to be offended and maligned by the shopkeepers for taking photos or making inquiries. However, the fact that good wine is not afraid of the deep alley motivated me to find an authentic handmade bamboo noodle shop again and again. I was able to find this handmade bamboo noodle shop hidden in a small alley! When I saw the long bamboo pole placed in the operation room, I was really a bit excited, emotional and thrilled.

When I was a kid, I learned to make noodles from my mom, and she taught me to make the noodles with "three lights", i.e., hand light, noodle light and basin light. Guangzhou people make bamboo noodles, completely different from the northern people with hands and noodles, but all by the big thatched bamboo stalks. If you want to define Bamboo Noodles, I think it should be described like this: noodles and wonton wrappers are made by using a "bamboo pole" (also known as "daluzhu" in Guangzhou) to make the noodles. The master needs to ride on the bamboo rise, bouncing up and down, so that the large bamboo pole constantly crushed dough, pressed thin, folded and pressed again until it becomes as thin as paper before cutting the noodles. It looks simple, but each part is very delicate, usually need to use "bamboo liter" pressure beating 1.5-2 hours to be considered strong enough. It is said that a good bamboo liter is of course essential to choose the length of 1.8m_2m, diameter 10cm thick core bamboo poles for the best. If the bamboo is too big, the pasta will be too hard and not soft, and the noodles will be too thin and not elastic. Of course, in the whole process of making noodles, the most demanding also counts the master's strength to hit the noodles.

That said, I finally found this Wah Lik Keung Noodle Shop on Zidan Street in Guangzhou's Jiangnan West District, which is a small, undecorated store with a simple assortment of whole-egg and half-egg noodles and shrimp wontons. We entered the store around 10:00am, and there were already many customers eating noodles, basically all Guangzhou locals. I eagerly made my way to the door of the kitchen room, and through a small window, through the steaming water, I caught a glimpse of the long, polished bamboo rose! This is a real handmade bamboo rising noodles. Surprised and panicked, I ordered a bowl of whole egg bamboo noodles and a bowl of wonton noodles, and only then did I feel a little hungry, I had planned to eat breakfast at the noodle store, who knew that there were so many unexpected things. Eat to the mouth of the noodles really smooth, crunchy, chewy, the soup base is delicious, and the northern noodles very different style, and with the machine-made bamboo rising noodles, or a world of difference, a qualitative leap.

It is said that with the machine production of bamboo noodles, a person can make about 300 pounds a day, but if you use completely handmade, a person can only make about 30 pounds a day. A bamboo noodle made with care and time is naturally recognized by diners for its sincerity, and therefore deserves more respect and admiration

Hua Liqiang Noodle House's bamboo noodle "is run by Guan Yuehua, one of the third-generation inheritors of the family's name. His father Guan is 78 years old this year, engaged in the "bamboo rising noodles" production has 61 years of history, the old man's biggest wish is to make the best bamboo rising noodles in Guangzhou. Here to choose the old man of a self-explanatory: my family production of the whole egg noodles, with duck eggs and noodles, never add a drop of water, the noodles smooth toughness good, egg flavor is strong. Another kind of noodle is half-egg noodle, which is made by mixing duck eggs with a certain proportion of water, resulting in smooth and tasty noodles with a delicate texture. Wonton skin made in this way is uniform in thickness and texture, and the skin of the wonton is good and not easy to rot the skin and crack the mouth. The soup that goes with the noodles is also very critical, using pork bones, big earth fish, shrimp roe and ancestral secret ingredients to simmer for more than 3 hours before enough fire. Because of the ingredients used, this soup base is comparable to that used to make abalone. Master Kwan emphasizes the use of shrimp roe to add freshness and flavor, and the use of shrimp shells for the soup base will result in a "hot and dry" reaction. Cooking "Bamboo Rise" noodle process is also demanding, when cooking noodles, the fire should be fierce, the water should be open, and open evenly. The water should be clear, and the noodles should be boiled and eaten instantly, with the right amount of homemade high-quality lard to make the flavor more fragrant and stronger. I don't know how many other truly handmade bamboo rising noodles there are in Guangzhou, but this noodle store gave me a comprehensive understanding of bamboo rising noodles. We may have tasted Wuhan Hot Dry Noodles, Shaanxi Whistle Noodles, Shanxi Knife-shaved Noodles, Sichuan Dandan Noodles, Shanghai Yangchun Noodles, Lanzhou Ramen, Henan Giving Noodles, Xinjiang Stripes and so on, if you have a chance to come to Guangzhou, you must eat handmade Bamboo Rising Noodles

Thanks to their perseverance and courage, they have allowed those valuable traditional dietary crafts to be passed on to the society and the future generations of the future generations. Let's applaud and salute them!