Empress Steamed Cold Noodles

Empress Steamed Cold Noodles

　　Empress Steamed Cold Noodles, also known as Guangyuan Cold Noodles, feature five distinct flavors: sour, sweet, numbing, spicy, and fragrant. The noodles are white in color, soft and tender, chewy yet not sticky.

　　Empress Steamed Cold Noodles, also called Couple’s Rice Cold Noodles, is a specialty snack from Guangyuan, Sichuan. It remains widely enjoyed in Guangyuan—the hometown of Empress Wu Zetian—but outside the region, authentic Empress Steamed Cold Noodles are almost impossible to find. It is said that only using water from Guangyuan and the unique climatic conditions of the Wind City can produce its genuine taste. When made the same way elsewhere, the noodles become bland and tasteless.

　　Legend has it that during the Tang Dynasty, in the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the 14-year-old Wu Meiniang (Wu Zetian’s original name), daughter of the Minister of Works Wu Shì, was selected to serve as a Cairen (a low-ranking imperial concubine) in the palace by Emperor Taizong. In her childhood, aside from studying, Wu Meiniang often strolled along the river with her childhood sweetheart, Chang Jianfeng. At the river crossing, there was a noodle shop, and each time they went there, they would stop for a bowl. They became familiar with the shop owner and often chatted about noodle-making while eating. Later, they thought how nice it would be to have a cold noodle dish in the summer. So they experimented with the shop’s noodle master and eventually developed a soft, tender, and non-sticky rice noodle made from rice paste. The noodle master jokingly said to the young couple, “Why not call these ‘Couple’s Rice Cold Noodles’?” The name spread, and the noodles became a beloved local snack. Later, when Meiniang went to the capital Chang’an and became an empress, she still longed for the “Couple’s Rice Cold Noodles” and would order her imperial chefs to make a bowl for her on her birthday every year.

　　How to make Empress Steamed Cold Noodles: Select high-quality rice, wash it thoroughly, and soak it in water for one day. Then mix it with one-tenth the amount of cooked rice, grind it into a moderately thin paste, steam it in a steamer lined with cheesecloth, and spread it out on an oiled (with either sesame oil or vegetable oil) cutting board to cool. Once cooled, slice it into fine strips and toss it to make the cold noodles. These noodles are chewy and refreshing, and there are many ways to eat them. The most common method is to place the cold noodles in a bowl, then add soy sauce, vinegar, chili, chili oil, sesame oil, sugar, ground Sichuan peppercorn, and garlic water (mashed garlic mixed with water). Stir well to enjoy all five flavors—sour, sweet, numbing, spicy, and fragrant.