Yanji's "Korean Cold Noodles"

Yanji is the capital of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. The word "bian" tells the geographical location of Yanji: it is more than 60 kilometers away from Russia in the east and only 10 kilometers away from the North Korean border in the south. Yanji is a multi-ethnic city dominated by Koreans, who account for more than half of the total population. Traveling to Jingbo Lake, passing Yanji, I tasted the unforgettable "Korean cold noodles" and felt the warmth and friendship of Korean compatriots known as the white nation and the strange beauty of Korean customs.

Nowadays, "Korean cold noodles" have spread all over the country with the "Korean Wave". But the most authentic and memorable thing is Yanji's "Korean cold noodles".

July is full of fire, and the sun is like fire. Walking down from the clear water and green shade of Jingbo Lake makes people feel like entering a sauna room, sweating and panting. I didn't expect it to be as hot as a steamer in summer in Northeast China. Thanks to the tour guide's understanding, the car went straight to the "Jindalai Cold Noodle Restaurant". Entering the air-conditioned restaurant, everyone's mood has stabilized a lot. The tour guide said that the "Korean cold noodles" here are the most authentic. The fire in my heart seems to have suddenly gone out, and joy has returned to people's faces. The dining room wall is decorated with many photos of "Jindalai", which is pleasing to the eye. "Jindalai" is Korean, in fact, it is azalea, and the south is called Yingshanhong, which is the city flower of Yanji. There are not many people eating in the restaurant because they have already eaten.

When the waiter just brought the cold noodles, it was really a shock. This is not a bowl, but a basin, which is not much smaller than a small washbasin. Someone thought there was a mistake and shouted to the waiter: We want a bowl for each person, not a bowl. The waiter smiled: this is a bowl for one person, not much, very delicious. The waiter wore a short shirt and long skirt, with a light posture and a good face, which attracted everyone to laugh.

The cold bowl is big and the soup is wide. The cold soup is brown noodles, with red beef slices, green shredded cucumbers, crimson pickles, half a yellow and white egg and an attractive apple. There are bits and pieces of sesame seeds floating in the soup. The tour guide told everyone to add some hot sauce and white vinegar to eat cold noodles, so as to have a taste. Do the same thing, the soup turns dark red, tastes more delicious and makes people feel comfortable. I took a sip of cold noodle soup first, which was really unusual. Cold and sour, cool, refreshing, feeling the heat dissipate, the whole body is comfortable. Taste it carefully, it is fragrant, sour, spicy, sweet and salty. The soup tastes slightly sweet, not very spicy, and it tastes excellent. The chilled soup is quite refreshing and appetizing. The cold noodles are slightly darker in color, thin and translucent. They are chewy and slightly sweet. The beef slices are delicious and fresh, and they are quite refreshing to eat. The most distinctive feature is red kimchi, which is not too spicy, crisp and tender in taste, and a little sour in sweetness. The hot sauce added to the soup is not as strong as Sichuan pepper, and it doesn't wash in the mouth, but it has a unique fragrance that keeps the mouth and cheeks fragrant.

I don't know who shouted: how comfortable! Everyone looked up and it turned out to be the middle-aged man who wanted a bowl instead of a basin. He has reimbursed a big bowl of cold noodles. I didn't expect everyone, old and young, to eat all the soup and noodles. Finally, crisp and sweet apple slices suddenly spread the sweetness of apples between the tip of the tongue occupied by "spicy" and "sour", which made people appreciate the "harmonious" beauty of Korean food. The original meaning of harmony is symmetry, appropriateness and coordination. There are five flavors, but they are matched with each other, set off each other and contain each other.

There is a beautiful legend about "Korean cold noodles". Tired of the life in heaven, the Jade Emperor's seven daughters agreed to take a bath in Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain. The seven fairies were about to get dressed after bathing when an eagle took off her colorful clothes and flew into the sky. Just as Untitled Scholar was passing by, he picked up an arrow and hit it, and the brocade fell. In order to thank Untitled Scholar, the Seven Fairies specially invited him to have lunch with Seven Sisters. They ate cold noodles. Untitled Scholar has never eaten such delicious, sweet and sour, smooth and refreshing food, and she is very happy. Seeing that he was so fascinated by cold noodles, the seven fairies taught him how to make cold noodles. Untitled Scholar came home from the mountain and selflessly told the villagers about the cold noodles. Since then, cold noodles have been passed down from generation to generation among Koreans. Every year at noon on the fourth day of the first month, Koreans eat cold noodles for longevity.

On the way back, the tour guide continued to introduce the three main points of authentic "Korean cold noodles": noodles, soup and seasoning. Authentic cold noodles are made by mixing buckwheat noodles, starch and flour in a certain proportion and then pressing them with a special machine. Buckwheat flour is ground from buckwheat and is suitable for growing in cold climate. They are dark in color, but tough and refreshing, which can strengthen the stomach and relieve summer heat. Because of its low sugar content, it is especially suitable for diabetics. The content of buckwheat noodles and starch in inferior cold noodles is very small. In order to make noodles taste stronger, some merchants will add more alkali, and some unscrupulous vendors will add gelatin. Cold soup is very important. Divided into clear soup and broth. No matter what kind of soup, it should be sweet and sour, cool and refreshing, so add ice when making it. The ingredients of cold noodles are often the secret recipe handed down by the store. Traditional Korean Chili sauce is made of Chili powder, apple sauce, Korean soy sauce and honey. Kimchi is also a must, and it is a representative traditional fermented food of Koreans. Korean compatriots can't eat kimchi for a day. Korean women are all experts in making kimchi. Although the materials used are the same, the kimchi made by each family tastes different. Kimchi is made from Chinese cabbage and radish, seasoned with salt, Chili noodles, soy sauce, shrimp paste and fish paste, and then fermented. The fermentation process of kimchi is very important, which directly determines the taste of kimchi. In the process of kimchi fermentation, the ingredients contained in protein, such as shrimp sauce, anchovy sauce and Huangshi fish sauce, will be decomposed into amino acids, and with the maturity of fermentation, acid lactic acid bacteria will be produced, thus making kimchi more delicious and refreshing.

If there were no kimchi, I'm afraid "Korean cold noodles" would not be so unforgettable.