Mall hanging noodles

Mall hanging noodles

　　For the older generation of people in the mall, there was one essential item during the Spring Festival — hanging noodles. Hanging noodles became an indispensable part of the New Year goods.

　　Every year in the lunar December, some skilled artisans would start preparing their tools to make handmade hanging noodles. Villagers from nearby areas would all come to the places where these noodles were made to buy some as New Year goods.

　　Handmade hanging noodles are a traditional Han Chinese noodle dish. As fine as hair and as white as jade, they are clean, white, glossy, and resilient. These are durable, long-boiling handmade noodles made with carefully selected ingredients, crafted meticulously, soft on the palate, and with a long-lasting aftertaste.

　　When cured meat meets hanging noodles, it’s bound to be a delicious bowl of food. During childhood Spring Festivals, when visiting relatives and friends to exchange New Year greetings, cured meat hanging noodles were among the most common dishes served. The elders called it “burning tea,” and this custom of serving burning tea has long been popular in rural areas. When guests came to the house, something had to be offered. But to avoid delaying everyone’s visits to other relatives, cured meat was used to cook hanging noodles — the meal was quick to prepare, simple to eat, and everyone loved it.

　　Nowadays, visiting relatives and friends has become less frequent, and making cured meat hanging noodles is also less common. But if you can enjoy a bowl of cured meat hanging noodles during New Year visits, it might be even more special than a table full of chicken, duck, fish, and meat.