Wheaten food of Shanxi

There are various shapes – some resembling fish, some linear and some in laminar form. Such foods are soft, savoury, elastic and appetizing. What is most surprising is that Shanxi flour foods are diverse and could independently form a feast without any repetition. Shanxi dishes are mostly flour-based and sour. In other Chinese cuisine families, cooked dishes are always served before staple foods like noodles. However, in Shanxi Cuisine, cooked dishes are served simultaneously along with staple foods.

Typical Shanxi noodles

Mao Erdou: Cat-eared pasta (like orrechiete), which can be paired with sauces but tastes best sautéed with cabbage with soy and vinegar (pork optional)

Dao Xiaomian: Knife-cut noodles, shaved from a giant block of dough which is mounted on the equivalent of a washboard and hoisted over the shoulder, with noodles always shaved off directly into the boiling water

La Mian: Like all hand pulled noodles, these are a wonder to watch as 5 to 10 pounds of flour is kneaded, stretched and pulled into delicate even strands.