As is well known throughout the world, rice is a critical part of Chinese cuisine. However, in many parts of China, particularly North China, wheat-based products including noodles and steamed buns predominate, in contrast to South China where rice is dominant. Despite the importance of rice in Chinese cuisine, at extremely formal occasions, it is sometimes the case that no rice at all will be served. In that case rice would only be provided when no other dishes remained, or as a token dish at the end of the meal.
Before I did this project I didn’t know why certain provinces had different types of noodles. At first I believed that it was a culture thing but as I began to research it turns out that really the type of noodle in a certain area depends on the Agriculture of that area/province. Northern China consists primarily of Wheat agriculture and therefore wheat noodles. Now, with the help of some maps, I am able to see the connection between the type of noodle and its origin.
Signature Chinese Noodle Dishes
Ban Mian (literally “board noodles”): A flat egg noodle soup common in the Fujian Province and usually served with vegetables and anchovies. Although they are called egg noodles, they are made of a wheat flour base and the egg is added in to give the noodles a chewier texture and yellow color. As you can see on the province map Fujian is located on the southeastern corner of china. According to the agricultural map, Fujian is located in a win. Wheat/millet region.
Beef chow fun is a Cantonese dish, made from stir-frying beef, wide rice noodles (ho fun noodles), and bean sprouts. Ho fun noodles originated in the town of Shahe in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is located in a Double rice crop region.
Zha jiang mian is a northern Chinese dish consisting of thick wheat noodles topped with a mixture of ground pork stir-fried with a salty fermented soybean paste. Northern China’s agricultural regions consist almost entirely of Wheat.
Re gan mian is a traditional local cuisine of Wuhan the capital of the Hubei province in central China. It is made of lye-based noodles (Wheat flour and egg) called jian mian with a mixture of sauces and dried vegetables. Hubei is located in a Rice and Wheat agricultural region.
As is well known throughout the world, rice is a critical part of Chinese cuisine. However, in many parts of China, particularly North China, wheat-based products including noodles and steamed buns predominate, in contrast to South China where rice is dominant. Despite the importance of rice in Chinese cuisine, at extremely formal occasions, it is sometimes the case that no rice at all will be served. In that case rice would only be provided when no other dishes remained, or as a token dish at the end of the meal.
Before I did this project I didn’t know why certain provinces had different types of noodles. At first I believed that it was a culture thing but as I began to research it turns out that really the type of noodle in a certain area depends on the Agriculture of that area/province. Northern China consists primarily of Wheat agriculture and therefore wheat noodles. Now, with the help of some maps, I am able to see the connection between the type of noodle and its origin.
Signature Chinese Noodle Dishes
Ban Mian (literally “board noodles”): A flat egg noodle soup common in the Fujian Province and usually served with vegetables and anchovies. Although they are called egg noodles, they are made of a wheat flour base and the egg is added in to give the noodles a chewier texture and yellow color. As you can see on the province map Fujian is located on the southeastern corner of china. According to the agricultural map, Fujian is located in a win. Wheat/millet region.
Beef chow fun is a Cantonese dish, made from stir-frying beef, wide rice noodles (ho fun noodles), and bean sprouts. Ho fun noodles originated in the town of Shahe in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is located in a Double rice crop region.
Zha jiang mian is a northern Chinese dish consisting of thick wheat noodles topped with a mixture of ground pork stir-fried with a salty fermented soybean paste. Northern China’s agricultural regions consist almost entirely of Wheat.
Re gan mian is a traditional local cuisine of Wuhan the capital of the Hubei province in central China. It is made of lye-based noodles (Wheat flour and egg) called jian mian with a mixture of sauces and dried vegetables. Hubei is located in a Rice and Wheat agricultural region.