Daylily Beef Noodles

Daylily Beef Noodles

　　Daylily Beef Noodles is a specialty dish from Tai'erzhuang District, Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province. The main ingredients of Daylily Beef Noodles include daylily blossoms, yellow beef, yellow ox bones, and noodles. The broth, meat, vegetables, and seasonings blend perfectly to create an oil-rich yet not greasy, richly flavored, and fragrant daylily beef soup — a nutritious and healthy dish.

　　Among the Hui people living across China, it is customary to eat noodles during festive occasions or holidays, though the preparation methods vary. Some make it with tomatoes and eggs; others prepare it with beef or mutton stewed with greens as a topping. Those who are more particular simmer premium golden needles (daylilies), which have been soaked and sliced, together with tender beef or mutton — a dish called “quanzi.” Separately, they boil handmade noodles and serve them topped with this “quanzi.” This ethnic custom is believed to date back as far as the introduction of Islam to China, demonstrating its deep cultural roots. However, while the practice has long existed, it lacked a formal name and was generally referred to simply as “eating noodles,” much like how locals in Zaozhuang refer to eating pancakes or steamed buns. In the early 1990s, Chef Song pondered deeply and eventually named the dish “Daylily Beef Noodles” based on its key ingredients. While preserving tradition, he conducted in-depth research and refinement on the cooking techniques and seasoning blends, integrating the essence of his ethnic culinary culture. He added over 30 kinds of natural plant roots, stems, leaves, and fruits known for their warming, cold-dispersing, and qi-regulating properties, along with rich, authentic bone broth made from yellow ox bones. Gradually, he developed a stable and unique combination of ingredients and cooking method. The resulting dish not only boasts a pure, refreshing taste with a rich, full-bodied flavor where the initial and middle notes are tightly connected, leaving a lingering aftertaste — but also offers significant dietary therapeutic benefits for those with cold spleen and stomach or stagnant qi causing stomach pain. What was once an ordinary folk noodle dish transformed into a highly nutritious, natural green food rich in cultural meaning. In 2002, it was recognized as a “Zaozhuang Local Specialty.” In 2003, it won the title of “Shandong Civilized and Honest Business Household.” In 2006, Zaozhuang’s “Guangcai Star” was successfully registered with the National Trademark Office.

　　Dozens of halal noodle shops in the ancient city of Tai'erzhuang, such as those run by Chef Song, the Sha family, and the Gao family, specialize in Daylily Beef Noodles. From morning until noon, these eateries are packed with diners. Shop owner Song Jiaqi says: “Daylily Beef Noodles were originally the staple food for the Hui people during their fasting festivals. On New Year’s Eve, when families gather to stay up late, Han people make dumplings, while the Hui make daylily beef soup. Beef and ox bone broth simmered overnight over a low flame, served with daylily ‘quanzi’ noodles alongside New Year cake, tastes even better.”

　　As for how he turned the Hui people’s festival dish “quanzi” noodles into a commercial product, he says: “Thirteen years ago, when I ate ‘California Beef Noodles,’ it reminded me of the ‘golden needle quanzi noodles’ we Hui eat during the New Year. I thought, ‘Golden needle quanzi noodles’ are just as good as this.’ My friends didn’t believe me, so I cooked a batch, and everyone loved it — that sparked my business idea. And so, ‘Chef Song’s Noodle Shop’ was born!”

　　The main ingredients of Daylily Beef Noodles are daylily blossoms, yellow beef, yellow ox bones, and noodles. The primary cooking process is as follows: Select high-quality dried daylilies, soak them in cold water for six to seven hours, wash them by hand, tie them into bundles, cut them into inch-long pieces, and set aside. Choose local adult yellow beef with fine texture, rinse it until the water runs clear, cut it into centimeter-sized cubes with a sharp knife, stir-fry until cooked, then add seasonings and simmer until tender. Wash the yellow ox bones, break them, and place them in a cold-water pot to simmer over a low flame for 15 hours to produce a milk-like rich broth. Combine the finely cut daylilies, stir-fried beef, and over ten kinds of valuable Chinese herbs and seasonings known for warming the stomach, regulating qi, and clearing nasal passages into the ox bone broth, then continue simmering until the soup, meat, vegetables, and seasonings are fully integrated — creating an oil-rich yet not greasy, richly flavored, and fragrant daylily beef soup. Boil finely made noodles in water, remove and place them in a bowl, then pour the boiling daylily beef soup over the noodles, filling the bowl halfway with soup and noodles. Add chili, sesame oil, coriander, or small garlic sprouts, stir slightly, and eat directly. Daylily Beef Noodles is a nutritious and health-promoting dish. The noodles can be either machine-made fresh noodles or handmade ones, with the latter being the best.

　　Song Jiaqi named the “golden needle quanzi noodles” as “Daylily Beef Noodles.” By tapping into the essence of his ethnic culinary culture and through repeated experimentation, he developed a stable and unique combination of ingredients and cooking technique, giving the noodles a “refreshing taste, rich flavor, and long-lasting aftertaste,” along with excellent dietary therapeutic effects for those with imbalanced spleen and stomach or blocked qi and blood flow.

　　“Daylily Beef Noodles” is the result of a fusion between northern and southern flavors. Northerners love beef but don’t grow daylilies, while southerners love daylilies but aren’t as fond of beef. It was the legacy of the Grand Canal that provided the opportunity for the blending of dietary customs from north and south of the Yangtze River. Daylily Beef Noodles triggered a culinary revolution in Tai'erzhuang, turning the dish into a distinctive local “food industry.” Dozens of Daylily Beef Noodles restaurants have sprung up in the streets and alleys of Tai'erzhuang, and the dish quickly spread to many major cities.