Liugeidou

Liugeidou

　　Liugeidou—Exquisite Coarse Grain Noodles from Pingyao on the Tip of Your Tongue

　　The people of Pingyao are skilled at making coarse grain noodle dishes, characterized by transforming humble grains into refined and delicate cuisine. Liugeidou is one such variety among many coarse grain noodles. Its main ingredient is sorghum flour. Sorghum flour is also known as “shushu,” “shushu,” or “lujì.” It belongs to the Poaceae family and is an annual herbaceous plant. The stalks are erect, with a pithy core. The leaves resemble those of corn—thick and relatively narrow, covered with a waxy powder, smooth, with white midribs. The inflorescence is a panicle, and the spike shape comes in two types: broom-like and hammer-like. The caryopsis comes in various colors including brown, orange, white, and light yellow. It thrives in warm climates and is drought-resistant and waterlogged-tolerant. Based on usage, it can be categorized into edible sorghum, sugar sorghum, and broom sorghum. The grains are used for food, brewing, vinegar-making, and producing maltose. The stalks of sugar sorghum can be used to make syrup, the spikes of broom sorghum can be made into brooms, and the stalks can substitute for bamboo poles to construct supports for plant growth or for roofing frameworks. Fresh tender leaves and green stalks, when dried in the shade and preserved, serve as fodder, making it truly a plant of many uses.

　　 Making liugeidou is simple and easy to learn: mix sorghum flour with boiling water to form a dough. Press the dough through a grater to form small dumpling-like pieces and place them in a steamer basket. Be sure to steam them with boiling water—it takes about 20 minutes or so until they’re cooked, then they can be taken out of the pot. Finally, stir-fry them with oil, salt, scallions, garlic, or serve them with yellow cabbage, seasoned broth, chili, and garlic water.