Guangping Cold Noodles

Guangping Cold Noodles

　　Guangping County has a long history of civilization and prosperity. Over time, its people have developed many unique local delicacies through daily life and production, and Guangping Cold Noodles is one of them.

　　Legend has it that in the spring of the 11th year of the Tianbao era (752 AD) during the Tang Dynasty, the poetic genius Li Bai visited his nephew Li Yu, who was serving as the county magistrate in Qingzhang County (the predecessor of Guangping County). After a day of sightseeing, he returned to the county office feeling hot and drowsy. The cook hurriedly served him a steaming bowl of noodles. Bai frowned and said, “It’s too hot and dry, I can’t eat this.” Seeing this, the cook had a sudden inspiration: he soaked the noodles in cold water for a short while, then took them out, added fresh, raw greens, and seasoned them with oil, salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, chili, and more before serving them again. Li Bai took a look—the noodles were as white as jade, the greens vibrant green, and a variety of fragrances wafted through the cool air. His appetite was instantly stirred, and he ate three bowls in a row, repeatedly praising the dish. Since then, cold noodles have become a staple dish for entertaining guests in the area. The poetic sage Du Fu was also particularly fond of cold noodles and even wrote a poem titled “Cold Willow Leaf Noodles,” which reads: “Bright greens shine on the chopsticks, fragrant rice wraps reeds. Colder than snow upon the teeth, a treasure worth cherishing.”

　　Today’s Guangping Cold Noodles are made with even more refined techniques. Premium strong flour is selected, and eggs are added during kneading. The dough is hand-kneaded to achieve the perfect firmness, then cut into strips and boiled in boiling water until 90% cooked before being removed. The noodles are then immersed in cold water for 3–5 minutes, after which they are placed in a bowl and topped with prepared fresh greens, ham slices, chili, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, mashed garlic, salt, and other condiments. A delicious bowl of Guangping Cold Noodles is thus complete. Nowadays, to cater to different tastes, various meat and vegetable hot braised sauces are also offered with the cold noodles.

　　There is also an interesting folk story about Guangping Cold Noodles. During the Republican era, in a village in Guangping County, a middle-aged man remarried a woman from another place. Though the couple was deeply in love after their marriage, the woman initially had difficulty understanding the local accent. One day, the woman asked her husband what he liked to eat, and he replied, “Guo liang mian” (cold noodles). At noon, when the husband returned home, his wife eagerly served him what she thought he meant—"Guo liang mian" (bridge-crossing noodles). To her husband’s shock, the noodles were covered in dust and dirt, and the soup was murky. Furious, the husband yelled. His wife responded, “You said you loved ‘Guo liang mian.’ Though I’m handy in the kitchen, I’m not very strong. Our house beam is so high—I only managed to carry the freshly made noodles over the beam three times, and they ended up like this. Next time, please stay home while I make the noodles. I’ll handle the kneading, and you can do the ‘crossing the beam’ part.”