Peng Crystal Thread Sweet Potato Starch Noodles

Peng Crystal Thread Sweet Potato Starch Noodles

Peng Crystal Thread Sweet Potato Starch Noodles is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Peng Crystal Thread Sweet Potato Starch Noodles are a specialty of Pengshui County, Chongqing.

　　 In Pengshui, sweet potatoes are called "hong shao," so noodles made from them are called "shao fen."

　　 To produce high-quality crystal thread starch noodles, the selection of sweet potatoes is the first and most crucial step. Zeng Qinglu, who once lived in Yushan for a long time, is a scholar dedicated to researching the local culture and history. In an article introducing Yushan’s crystal thread starch noodles, he wrote: “In terms of variety, Baihua Shao (a type of sweet potato) must be chosen because it has high yield, high starch extraction rate, and high sweetness. In terms of region, sweet potatoes grown in areas with ample sunlight and sticky yellow soil must be selected, as these conditions result in uniformly sized, smooth-skinned, and firm sweet potatoes that are ideal for processing.”

　　 In fact, those engaged in starch noodle processing have never stopped searching for even better varieties of sweet potatoes. Deng Xinbo, an employee of the Longxu Crystal Thread Sweet Potato Starch Noodles Professional Cooperative, told the author that they now choose the Yu Shu Wang variety, which has higher yield and starch extraction rate, with starch content reaching up to 20%.

　　 An old farming saying goes, “When elm seeds swell, it’s time to plant sweet potatoes,” and “When orioles leave, sweet potatoes are ready.” Every golden autumn, piles of sweet potatoes accumulate in front of processing plants. The sweet potatoes delivered here have red skins and white flesh, uniform in size, and are all premium raw materials for making crystal thread starch noodles.

　　 The first step is to give the sweet potatoes a “bath.” Truckloads of sweet potatoes are poured into a washing machine until their skins are free of mud before moving on to the next step—crushing. Don’t underestimate the cleaning process; the cleaner the sweet potatoes, the more crystal-clear and translucent the resulting starch noodles will be.

　　 After crushing, the pulp without nutritional value is filtered out, and the remaining material is transported to a sedimentation tank for settling.

　　 During the sedimentation process, impurities and oils contained in the sweet potato skins float to the surface. This yellowish layer is what people commonly call “oil starch.” If the oil starch is not removed, the resulting starch noodles will be dark and not transparent. Typically, the oil starch is removed to ensure the noodles are crystal-clear.

　　 After 24 hours of sedimentation, the water is drained, leaving behind the starch, which locals call “shui fen.” The shui fen is as white as cheese and as smooth as mutton fat.

　　 The processes of washing, crushing, filtering, sedimenting, and removing oil starch can all be assisted by machines, but when it comes to the core step of making crystal thread starch noodles—“lang shao fen”—human hands are essential.

　　 The character “lang” is actually a homophone. Deng Xinbo said he doesn’t know how the character should be written properly, but in the Pengshui dialect, this is simply how everyone pronounces it. Before “lang shao fen,” workers scoop a bucket of starch slurry from the sedimentation tank, add water, and stir it in a mixer to create the starch paste. The moisture level of the starch paste is especially critical: if too dry, it won’t spread well, and the resulting noodles may break easily; if too wet, the noodles won’t dry properly and may stick.

　　 The tool used for “lang shao fen” is a homemade “lang pen.” Though called a basin, it is more accurately described as a box. The lang pen is made of aluminum, rectangular in shape, chest-high, and of fixed dimensions. Only one spoonful of starch paste is used each time to ensure the resulting noodle sheets are uniform in size. A large iron pot commonly used in rural areas is filled with water, and when it feels slightly warm to the touch, it’s time to start “lang shao fen.” Workers hold the lang pen over the water surface and gently rock it back and forth. The starch paste spreads across the bottom of the pen, gradually turning from white to transparent. Those with skilled hands can produce noodle sheets of even thickness. When the noodle sheet is almost dry, the pen is submerged in the water for about a minute. After cooking, it is lifted out, and a single noodle sheet is complete.

　　 Once the noodle sheets have cooled, the next step is to peel them off. There’s also a trick to this: before “lang shao fen,” a thin layer of vegetable oil is brushed at the bottom of the lang pen. When peeling, the noodle sheet is slowly pulled from both sides toward the center, and it hangs upside down on a bamboo pole. After one or two days of drying, once the noodle sheets are completely dry, they are cut into strips and dried again.

　　 The drying stage is also when the starch noodles reveal their most beautiful form. On the drying racks, the noodle sheets are glistening, delicate, and lustrous. Once cut into strands, they resemble the smooth, flowing hair of a beautiful woman.

　　 Sweet potatoes are typically considered coarse grains, seemingly unfit for refined dining. However, many don’t know that as early as the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, the people of the Pengshui area changed the fate of sweet potatoes. They removed the impurities and used sweet potatoes to make crystal thread starch noodles, hailed as “treasures of the mountains.”

　　Peng Crystal Thread Sweet Potato Starch Noodles

　　 Pengshui Miao-Tujia Autonomous County Sweet Potato Professional Technology Association

　　 12405997

　　 Crystal Thread Sweet Potato Starch Noodles (Starch Noodles (Strips))