Baoshan Bean Flour

Baoshan Bean Flour

　　“The bean flour in Baoshan has great texture, is soft and fine, and is seasoned with chili, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorn. The aroma wafts from afar, making your mouth water. Even after a full meal, when you burp or sigh on the way home, the fragrance still lingers.” This is a folk rhyme circulating in Baoshan praising the local snack, bean flour, which shows the Baoshan people’s deep fondness for it.

　　 Beautiful Color

　　Traditional and authentic Baoshan bean flour is made from Xiacun bean flour, using locally grown old varieties of peas ground into flour and mixed into a paste. It is cooked to a certain thickness, then scooped into a rectangular wooden tray and left to cool and set naturally for several hours. The surface of the bean flour is light yellow, while the inside is slightly paler, a light yellow tinged with white, with very even coloring.

　　 The knife used to cut the bean flour is a thin, small blade about twenty centimeters long and two or three centimeters wide. Before cutting, a bit of cold water is wiped on both sides of the blade. The flour is sliced into cubes, one piece is lifted with the left palm, and the right hand moves swiftly—almost like a performance. The bean flour strips are three to four centimeters long, square-shaped, about as thick as chopsticks, each slice smooth, soft, and tender, not sticking to each other, all the same length, uniformly thick. Regular customers can tell at a glance it’s top-quality stuff.

　　Abundant Seasonings

　　 According to the owner of Jiayima Bean Flour Shop in Baoshan City, the seasonings used in Baoshan bean flour originally numbered only one or two, but gradually increased to more than ten today: red oil chili, sesame oil, pounded peanuts, Sichuan pepper oil, coriander, mashed garlic, fried sesame, salt, MSG, soy sauce... Once mixed evenly, it’s ready to eat. The taste brings the bold zest of chili and numbing spice that perks you up, the crisp fragrance of peanuts and sesame, the sour-spicy kick that stimulates the appetite, the cool tenderness of raw veggies, and the rich aromatic blend of various seasonings—it’s simply marvelous.

　　 Enjoyable Ways to Eat

　　 There are many ways to eat Baoshan bean flour, such as pan-fried bean flour, deep-fried bean flour, and stewed bean flour. It can be enjoyed as a flavorful snack or served as a dish on the table, hot or cold, salty or spicy, meaty or vegetarian—depending on individual taste, there are endless options to satisfy every craving. It can also be mixed with rice noodles, bean sprouts, leeks, shredded meat, or other vegetables, eaten dry-mixed, or poured with broth or added to sour water—each version has its own unique appeal.

　　 Besides the usual shredded bean flour, many also love crusty bean flour. The part that settles at the bottom during cooking, slightly scorched, is made separately. The soft crusty bean flour, mixed with its crispy bits, is especially delicious. There's also a special way to eat it: first mix in other seasonings and enjoy, and once the bean flour is all gone, pour homemade rice vinegar into the bowl and drink it straight—it’s a little spicy, with a tangy and sweet kick, incredibly refreshing.

　　 Time-Honored Brands

　　 Authentic Xiacun bean flour is called “Chengjiang Bean Flour,” which looks very smooth and has a tender, fresh, and crisp texture. There are several time-honored brands of Xiacun bean flour, among which the most highly praised are “Tuozhi Bean Flour,” “Jiayima,” and “Yicuomao.” Their shop names weren’t self-chosen but given by the locals. These old-brand bean flours feature strands so thin they can wrap around chopsticks, with top-notch texture and knife skills, and perfectly paired seasonings. “Tuozhi Bean Flour” used to be sold on Xiaobeimen Street in Baoshan City back in the 1970s and 1980s. Now the “Tuozhi” man is over 60, having made and sold bean flour for more than 40 years, and has long since retired. “Yicuomao” bean flour can still sometimes be found, while “Jiayima” originally set up a stall in a small alley near Zhengyang South Road Department Store, but has now moved to Zhengyang North Road and opened a flagship store.