03x06 - Beef noodles

[bunniefuu]

BEEF NOODLES

LANZHOU, GANSU

The sun hasn't risen.

One sound can be heard
in every corner in the city.

LANZHOU BEEF NOODLES

Time to make the dough!

Thousands of back kitchens
are brightly lit,

making and kneading dough.

In the end,
ba*ls of shiny dough are produced.

Lanzhou.

The capital of Gansu province.

It has a population of over . million.

To many locals,

morning star
t
s
with a bowl of beef noodles.

One thin noodles,

two extra-thin noodles,

I received yuan from WeChat Pay.

This is the morning rhythm
of the people in Lanzhou.

-Table three, dine in.
-Two thin noodles.

Methodical

and swift.

Pulled by hand.

From pulling the noodles to serving them
takes less than seconds.

The noodles are yellowish and shiny.
The soup is clear.

Add chili oil

and the bowl
of fresh beef noodles is ready.

LANZHOU BEEF NOODLES

In Lanzhou, a slight change
in the price of beef noodles

would cause a stir among everyone.

Each day,

over million portions
of beef noodles are consumed,

and , kg of flour is used.

Lanzhou.

Upstream from the Yellow River.

It has sufficient sunlight
and light rainfall.

Its special sandy fields
breed a unique kind of wheat.

The wheat grains are plump.
They're high in protein,

making the noodle dough firmer,

and creating
infinite possibilities for noodles.

Cut them into small pieces

or shape them
into little fire crackers by hand.

The people in Gansu can always

taste something interesting
based on the slight differences

between the shapes of noodles.

FIRE cr*cker NOODLES

When pulled repeatedly,

the noodles become extremely elastic.

Its texture is smooth and chewy.

HANGMIAN

Lightly press them with your palm
to form a fish-like shape.

Pair it with different ingredients
to form
cuoyumian.

Combined with vegetables and meat,
the dish becomes enriched,

both in color and flavor.

CUOYUMIAN

However,

all these fancy noodles

can't compare with beef noodles.

ZHAO XINMIN

Add potassium carbonate solution.

The salt and alkali in it

will stimulate the protein inside.

The dough will have
a slightly yellowish color.

Knead it repeatedly

and the dough would slowly reach
its ideal elasticity and springiness.

In the hands of a noodle chef,
the prepared dough

quickly transforms.

Control the amount of force
and pull it nine times.

The dough becomes strands
of noodles with even thickness.

This is the thinnest
of Lanzhou beef noodles.

It's only . mm in diameter.

Being able to pull them all from one dough
means the dough passes the mark.

The same dough
can quickly take different forms.

Flat and thick.

From the width of two fingers
to something as thin as leeks.

Cylindrical noodles,

with more than
five varieties of thickness.

A triangular shape
looks the most D among them.

Its cross section looks like a triangle
and has a unique texture.

LIU KUN, LEAD SINGER
OF THE LOW ABSINTHE BAND

DOU TAO, DRUMMER
OF THE LOW ABSINTHE BAND

Lanzhou.
A culinary stronghold in the northwest.

All kinds of snacks
can be found on its streets.

Even something as common as noodles,

the people here
never stopped exploring its flavor.

Wang Hongfei has been making
beef noodles for years.

If pulling noodles requires technique,

then making beef broth requires patience.

After slow-cooking for almost five hours,

the beef fibers loosen,

and its flavor goes into the broth,

emitting a rich aroma.

To the picky Lanzhou eaters,

the soul of beef noodles is in the broth.

Many chefs experiment
with different seasoning ingredients

to achieve slight changes
to the broth's base tones.

Wang Hongfei is not an exception.

Today,

he chose two uncommon side ingredients.

At an inland city,

almost , km from the ocean,

Wang Hongfei begins his experiment
with shrimp shells and paste.

Crushed shrimp shells
release a lot of inosinic acids.

The fermented shrimp paste
also releases a rich umami,

laying the foundation
for the broth's base.

White sugar is added last.

A variety of complex aromas
are magnified at this moment

and burst out together.

After minutes of cooking,

the seasoning broth is complete.

When added to traditional beef broth,

the new combination
creates an unexpected flavor.

At this point, it needs
to be carefully filtered three times

in order to remove impurities,
and get a clear and flavorful soup base.

Two thin noodles.

Whether the experimental broth
would be a hit

still depends on the customers.

Lanzhou noodles

is the most common type of noodles
in China nowadays.

In its hometown,

people define it as the taste of home.

Chefs who strive for excellence
with picky taste buds

let this bowl of noodles that was produced
by accident years ago last forever.

Each early morning,

people would go on the streets
and lovingly call it

Niuda.