Grandma Gao’s Noodles

Grandma Gao’s Noodles

　　Beef cold noodles were originally created by the Hui people, which is why they are commonly called “Grandma Gao’s Noodles.” Her son, Gao Dengfa, inherited the family business, and so the beef cold noodles of Langzhong have been passed down through the generations. During the Republican era, Tang Liansan opened a restaurant on Langjiaguai Street to sell this type of beef cold noodles, and people began calling them “Tang’s Cold Noodles.”

The preparation method is as follows: first, lean beef is cut into small pieces and made into a hot meat broth. Then, fine wheat noodles are prepared as cold noodles and served in a bowl with seasonings—especially ground dried chili—and topped with the beef broth. The mixture is stirred together before eating. Its unique qualities are that the cold noodles aren’t actually cold, the hot filling isn’t scalding, and the numbing-spicy aroma lingers beautifully. Back then, even British missionaries would take some of these beef cold noodles back home as travel food. During the Anti-Japanese War, U.S. air force personnel stationed in Chengdu often visited Langzhong and came specifically to buy Tang’s Cold Noodles. They would pack the noodles in lunchboxes and fly back to Chengdu—reportedly, the filling was still warm when they ate it, and they praised it highly.