Liangpi
Liangpi is a Chinese dish composed of cold noodles made from wheat or rice flour. It is a specialty dish originating from Xi'an and forms part of the cuisine of Shaanxi Province, but has now spread throughout China. In northwestern areas of China, it is often called liangpi zi. While Liangpi can be eaten year-round, it is consumed by more people during the summer because it is served cold.
History
During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, each village and county had to pay tribute to the court every year. The annual tribute item in Shaanxi Province was rice. Here, people produced the most quality and delicious japonica rice at that time. However, because of a severe drought, the peasants could not bring grain to the imperial court. So the people went to a local squire for help and advice. After thoughtful consideration, the squire decided to use the old rice left over from the first year to make a tribute to the court. They soaked the old rice overnight, and then ground it into a slurry with stone, after precipitation, they filtered the rice milk and steamed it on the steamer. After cooking, people tasted the cooled rice skin and felt full of praise. The texture was smooth, tender, and fragrant.After that, people used seasonings on the cold skin noodles, including chili, vinegar, sesame, salt, and soy sauce unexpectedly, which eventually came as liangpi. Later, people offered liangpi as a tribute to Qin Shi Huang’s taste. After taking a bite, Qin Shi Huang felt the hot and sour taste refreshing, tender and smooth, and very delicious, so he decided to take Shaanxi Liangpi as an annual royal tribute. Since then, liangpi has become popular in the province, and has become a unique Shaanxi snack!
Preparation
Liangpi means cold skin noodles. It contains no animal products. There are several ways of making liangpi:First, wheat or rice flour is turned into a soft dough by adding water and a little salt. Then, the dough is put in a bowl, water is added and the dough has to be "rinsed" until the water is saturated with starch from the dough, turning into a muddy white color. The remainder of the dough is now removed, and the bowl is left to rest overnight at a cool place to allow the dissolved starch to precipitate.
The following day, there will be a kind of starch paste on the bottom of the bowl, with a more or less clear liquid on top, which has to be discarded. Once the liquid has been removed, a small amount of the paste can then be poured into a flat plate or tray and spread evenly in a thin layer. The whole plate is placed into a large pot full of boiling water, where it is steamed for a couple of minutes, and the resulting "pancake" is cut into long pieces vaguely resembling noodles.