Chengdu Noodles

Although the Chinese, Arabs, and Italians have all claimed to have been the first to create noodles, the first written account of noodles dates from the Chinese East Han Dynasty, between 25 and 220 AD. During the Chinese Song Dynasty (9601279) noodle shops were very popular in the cities, and remained open all night.

In October 2005, the oldest noodles yet discovered were found in Qinghai, China, at the Lajia archaeological site, during excavation of a Neolithic Qijia culture settlement along the Yellow River.[1] The 4,000-year-old noodles appear to have been made from foxtail millet and broomcorn millet.[2] Today, millet is not a commonly used ingredient in Chinese noodles.Chinese noodles are generally made from either wheat flour, rice flour, or mung bean starch, with wheat noodles being more commonly produced and consumed in northern China and rice noodles being more typical of southern China. Egg, lye, or food colouring may also be added to noodles made from wheat flour in order to give the noodles a yellow colour. Arrowroot or tapioca starch are sometimes added to the flour mixture in low quantities to change the texture and tenderness of the noodles' strands.

The dough for noodles made from wheat flour is typically made from wheat flour, salt, and water, with the addition of eggs or lye depending on the desired texture and taste of the noodles. Rice- or other starch-based noodles are typically made with only the starch or rice flour and water. After the formation of a pliable dough mass, one of five types of mechanical processing may be applied to produce the noodles: * Cut (切) - The dough is rolled out into a flat sheet, folded, and then cut into noodles of a desired width. * Extruded (擠壓) - The dough is placed into a mechanical press with holes through which the dough is forced to form strands of noodles. * Peeled (削) - A firm dough is mixed and formed into a long loaf. Strips of dough are then quickly sliced or peeled off the loaf directly into boiling water. * Pulled (拉) - The dough is rolled into a long cylinder, which is then repeatedly stretched and folded to produce thinner and thinner strands. * Kneaded (揉) - A small ball of dough is lightly rolled on a flat surface until it is several centimetres long and spindle shaped.

While cut and extruded noodles can be dried to create a shelf-stable product to be eaten months after production, most peeled, pulled and kneaded noodles are consumed shortly after they are produced.Chinese noodles are an essential ingredient and staple in Chinese cuisine. There is a great variety of noodles, which vary according to their region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation.

Chinese noodles are an important part of most regional cuisines within mainland China, as well as in Taiwan, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian nations with sizable overseas Chinese populations. Chinese noodles have also entered the cuisines of neighboring East Asian countries such as Korea and Japan (dangmyeon and ramen, for example, are both of Chinese origin), as well as Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.

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[Muztube1979]

Nice noodles :P