Mark's Random Musings: A random walk down the streets of Guiyang

Monday, September 10, 2012

A random walk down the streets of Guiyang

Batons of deep-fried eggplant with fried fermented soya beans; an assortment of preserved meats; and vegetables braised in red chili peppers, at Yi Ding Xuan (壹鼎軒). Changwang noodles (腸旺面), with fried pork belly cubes and marinated egg. Glutinous rice with soya beans and brown sugar (黃粑).

The changwang noodles, a staple food in Guiyang, can be found on every street in the city. The basic ingredients are pig intestines, pig blood, chili oil, and egg noodles. To make the egg noodles, fresh farm eggs and water are mixed with high-gluten flour to yield a malleable dough, which is then pressed, folded and then hand-cut into shreds of noodles. To properly cook the noodles, the starch is blanched and shocked in a cold water bath. Just before serving, the noodles return to hot soup with chili oil, blanched intestine pieces and cooked blood curds. Optional pieces of fried pork belly cubes and soy sauce-marinated egg typically enter the fray to contribute sizzle. The resulting bowl of noodles was a symphony of harmony, with the freshness of the piggy bits fully accentuated by the chili oils, while the pork belly cubes and egg provided added colors and textures to the concoction. The noodles got bite but was not overly chewy, and despite the masculine strength of the chili oil, the egg in the noodles shone through. Local folks typically drop a healthy dose of black vinegar into the soup to enliven the palate even further. I have been told there are better joints for these types of noodles, though I have also been told that everyone in Guiyang has their favorite noodle joint, and that no one restaurant stands out objectively above the rest. In any case, at less than 1 USD a bowl, including all the options, this is definitely the best thing money can buy in this part of China.

Rating: 3 stars to the changwang noodles.

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