Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles

Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles

　　Since their introduction in the late Qing Dynasty, Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles have earned fame across the Sichuan area for their uniquely bold spicy flavor, rich taste, and refreshing deliciousness, and have been passed down to this day.

　　At that time, Xie Tianlu, a farmer from Jiangcunba in what was then Nanchong County, set up a makeshift stall at Zhongdukou to sell shoulder-pole cold noodles. His noodles were meticulously prepared, with unique techniques in grinding the powder, stirring the mixture, and seasoning. All who tasted them praised them highly, and Xie’s cold noodles soon gained a reputation. Later, another farmer, Chen Hongshun, carefully studied Xie’s cold noodle-making technique, adopted its strengths, and made improvements, further perfecting the craft. He used fresh white peas ground finely in a small mill, paying great attention to the heat control during stirring. The resulting noodles were delicate, tender, soft yet elastic, smooth but not transparent, fine yet unbroken, and the seasonings were even more ingeniously prepared. Before long, Chen’s cold noodles became famous across northern Sichuan, and “Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles” spread far and wide. To this day, some cold noodle shops in Nanchong and cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing still use “Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles” as their signboard, enjoying booming business without decline. The older generation of proletarian revolutionaries Zhu De and Luo Ruiqing once specially tasted Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles during their inspection visits to Nanchong.

　　The fame of Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles is not only due to the unique preparation of the noodles themselves, but more importantly, the seasonings are exquisitely prepared. The main seasonings include chili oil made from a blend of chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, scallion leaves, and rock sugar, as well as mashed garlic made from carefully selected cloves. Together, they offer a perfect combination of color, aroma, and taste, with a truly distinctive flavor.

　　The famously renowned Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles were created in the late Qing Dynasty when a street vendor named Xie Tianlu set up a stall at a Nanchong ferry crossing to sell cold noodles. Because his noodles had an exceptional taste that people loved, they gradually became famous and developed into a renowned dish.

　　Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles are made from pea starch, resulting in a translucent, bright white color, delicate and tender texture, soft but not mushy. When lifted with chopsticks, they can even be shaken a few times without breaking. As a Sichuan snack, it also carries a strong Sichuanese flavor, typically soaked in plenty of chili oil, showing a white base tinged with red, sprinkled on the surface with chopped scallions, mashed garlic, ginger juice, salt, soy sauce, and a small amount of brown sugar syrup. Authentic Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles are pure white without any impurities, smooth and tender, with a refined mix of seasonings that leaves a lingering spicy aroma in the mouth, offering a taste that lingers long after eating.

　　 Established in Nanchong in the late Qing Dynasty, its noodles are delicate and refreshing, with strongly flavored spicy seasonings. Gradually gaining a reputation, the Xie family passed down the craft of making cold noodles through generations before eventually setting up a formal Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles shop. It has since spread across the province and become a famous snack.

　　 Tracing back to its origins, Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles were created in the Shu Han period, flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and reached their peak in the 1950s. Rooted in the land of Sichuan with its tradition of etiquette, it has been passed down through 28 generations of artisans, with techniques for making the noodles and preparing the broth preserved to this day. This tradition has a history of nearly two thousand years.

　　 Legend has it that as early as the Shu Han period, at the midstream ferry terminal of the Jialing River in Anhan County (now Nanchong City), the founder Xie Tianlu set up a stall to sell cold noodles. Among the fishing boats and cargo ships, atop sand dunes and gravel, there were two cold noodle stalls: a larger one run by the Xue family, known as Xue’s Cold Noodles, and a smaller one run by the Xie family, called Xie’s Cold Noodles. The larger stall served chilled sliced cold noodles, while the smaller one offered hot square-shaped cold noodles. Both shared the traits of being soft and tender, refreshing and pleasant; both boasted numbing, spicy, and delicious flavors that were endlessly satisfying. The Xue family matriarch and daughter-in-law, and the Xie family father and son, grew fond of each other and married happily, living in harmony and passing on their exceptional skills. The two styles of cold noodles merged, with Xie’s Cold Noodles gaining more recognition and making their grand debut in Anhan.

　　 It is said that Zhang Fei, the governor of Baxi Commandery (now Langzhong), visited Anhan and greatly favored Xie’s Cold Noodles. They received high praise and were even served as tribute to Emperor Liu Bei of Shu. This helped Xie’s Cold Noodles gain a place in the bustling markets. Gathering skilled craftsmen, sourcing spicy peppers from the mountains of Xichong in southern Shu and peas from the north of Nanbu in the south, they reformulated the noodle dough, then blended it with chili oil, paired it with crispy and fragrant mini wheat cakes, resulting in a uniquely flavorful and exceptionally delicious dish. In no time, food connoisseurs flocked to the stalls, and the place became bustling with diners.

　　 After weathering hundreds of years of turmoil and passing through dozens of generations, Xie’s Cold Noodles endured many challenges until the 1950s. When Zhu De, then a member of the Party Central Committee, returned to his hometown, he brought Xie’s Cold Noodles to Beijing, where they became wildly popular and gained great fame. Xie’s Cold Noodles then had a turn of fortune—their sign was changed, and they were renamed the State-Owned Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles Shop, earning the title of “China Famous Snack.”

　　 With the morning bells of the White Pagoda, the reflection in Lotus Pond, the rosy haze over Misty Mountain, and the romantic currents of the winding river, the mighty waters of the Jialing flow on, carrying timeless sentiment. Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles have experienced highs and lows, twists and turns, until they encountered talented individuals—Sichuan patriots Mr. Ren Qizhong and Ms. Li Hua, who acted decisively, recognized their value, and spared no expense in traveling to Chongqing three times to bring back this long-standing culinary cultural heritage, becoming the lawful inheritors of Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles. Since then, Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles, which had wandered in Chongqing, returned to their homeland, like fallen leaves finding their roots, re-emerging in Nanchong. As the local saying goes: “Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles are tender and fragrant—you could eat them three times a day and never tire of them.” Sliced Cold Noodles share the same preparation technique as Northern Sichuan Cold Noodles, but are cut into slices with a knife before being served with exclusive seasonings. Due to differences in slicing technique and how the noodles and seasonings are mixed, compared to spun noodles (cut using a specialized spinning knife), sliced cold noodles highlight more of the unique inherent taste of the noodles themselves.