Lanzhou beef noodles or ''Lanzhou lamian'' is a type of beef noodle soup from

Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. This dish has an extensive history, and the recipe differs by region due to cultural factors, availability of ingredients, and local innovations.

History

Lanzhou beef noodles are named after the city of

, in

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

province, which stretches to the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

and was a stop on the ancient

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

. During the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Hui people The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Islam in China, Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the Northwest China, northwestern provinces and in the Zhongy ...

developed a variation of beef noodle soup noodle that is compatible with the Muslim diet, with easy-to-prepare ingredients. Local lore attributes its creation to Ma Baozi (), a Hui Chinese man from Lanzhou. There are numerous beef noodle soups available in China, with a wider variety in the

west West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

than the

east East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

. An old saying states that Lanzhou has three treasures: "Auspicious

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...

s, beef noodles, and sheepskin rafts".

Description

Lanzhou beef noodles consist of hand-pulled ''

lamian Lamian (; "pulled noodles") is a type of soft wheat flour Chinese noodles, Chinese noodle that is particularly common in Northern and southern China, northern China. Lamian is made by twisting, stretching and folding the dough into strands, u ...

'' noodles, and clear consommé broth made from stewed beef. It often uses ''qingzhen'' (

halal ''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...

) meat and contains no

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, resulting in a lighter taste that may be flavored by salt and herbs. Because of this, it is sometimes called "''Qingdun'' beef noodles" (), where ''qingdun'' means meat stewed in clear broth without soy sauce. In halal restaurants, only quality local beef from the

Southern Yellow cattle The Southern Yellow is a group of cattle breeds distributed in southern China. It is one of the three principal groups within the overall Chinese Yellow cattle population, which includes all indigenous Chinese cattle of both ''Bos taurus'' and '' B ...

() prepared by the local halal butcher is used. Chinese radish and a specially cooked spicy oil are also indispensable partners to Lanzhou beef noodles. To identify the ingredients and the dish, the local government news company suggests preparing the soup by the following five steps: "One Clear, Two White, Three Red, Four Green, Five Yellow" (). First, the beef soup should look clear; Second, the radish slides should be crystal white; Thirdly, the color of the chili oil should be bright red; Fourth, the green cilantro leaves and garlic shoots should be jade, and, lastly, the noodle should be smooth and bright yellow. In overseas Chinese communities in North America, this food can be found in Chinese restaurants. In

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, a large bowl of it is often taken as a whole meal with or without any side dishes.

Styles

Traditional Lanzhou beef soup noodle could be made from any one of eight styles of noodles: Thinnest (), Thinner (), Thin (), Thick (), Thicker (), Prism (), Wide (), and Wider (). Thinnest or hair thin is "a round noodle about two-thirds of the thickness of a spaghetti", and the thinner style and thin style are just about the size of spaghetti with minimal difference. The thick and thicker style is round noodles that are sized thicker than thin. Prism, wide, and wider are flat thin noodles that provide a different texture. Additionally, a more novel type of noodle is Qiaomaileng (), in which the noodle is highlighted by its angular shape. To provide an example, take a look at the 1919 Lanzhou Beef Noodle restaurant for more information about the noodle styles. Many restaurants across the globe include but are not limited to these seven types of noodle styles. This is because of the evolution of noodle making and the combination of the local culture. According t
omnivore's cookbook
the Lanzhou hand-pull noodles should be even in its width and thickness, and the ingredients should also be prepared in certain dimensions. In mainland China, restaurants that specialize in Lanzhou beef noodle soup may provide customers to watch how the noodles are made, similar to the food production line layout of

Din Tai Fung Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese restaurant chain specializing in Chinese cuisine, particularly famous for its xiaolongbao. Based in Taipei, Taiwan, Din Tai Fung also has branches in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, China, Malaysia, the Philipp ...

. The dough for hand-made noodle is normally made the day before being used, but the hand-made noodles are freshly pulled into shapes right before being cooked. The noodle pulling process is quick and can take up to several minutes, including repetitively rolling, pulling, and spinning. As soon as the noodle is shaped, it is placed in boiling water until fully cooked.

Gallery

File:Beef noodle soup at Western Mahua, Sanlihe (20220224174228).jpg File:Beef noodle soup in Erzhuzi thickness (20200102131419).jpg File:Lanzhou-style beef noodle soup at Qiaotou (20190610190359).jpg Beef noodle soup(Lanzhou).jpg File:Lanzhou La Mian.jpg, Without chili oil File:Lanzhou beef lamian (20150227145650).JPG, Thin noodles

References

{{Reflist Lanzhou Chinese soups Chinese noodle dishes Chinese meat dishes