Wheaten food of Shanxi

What separates these various kinds of noodles, just like what separates a lasagna noodle from a spaghetti noodle, lies not in the ingredients. Shanxi's noodles are all made from the same basic wheat-flour noodle dough. What separates Shanxi's noodles lies not in the dough.

But what truly separates Shanxi noodles from other noodles is how that dough is formed into actual noodles. You can pull, tear, cut, roll and shave the dough into all kinds of shapes and sizes of noodle.

Although all the noodles from Shanxi taste the same, they all feel different. The most popular noodle in Shanxi: The shaved noodle.

What to Look for:

A noodle chef making shaved noodles is a sight to be seen. There is a phrase that describes his noodle-making: "One noodle in the boiling water, one flying in the air, and one just being cut." The chef stands in front of a big pot of boiling water, with a piece of noodle dough about the size of a thick bamboo trunk in one hand and a special shaving knife (similar to a trowel) in the other. He shaves off slips of the dough, which drop into the boiling water.

An experienced chef can work very quickly, shaving off noodles that are 6 inches long at a rate of 200 per minute. People often say shaved noodles are as much a feast for your eyes as they are for your mouth.

Made into a dish, shaved noodles are usually served in Shanxi bowl-of-noodles style, which means mixed with fresh vegetables – such as cucumber, leek, mung bean sprouts, and soybean sprouts – in a mild meat-based broth with a touch of Shanxi vinegar (laochencu), all in a big bowl.

Editor: Feng Hui