Read Ancient Street Food Stall and Restaurant Daily Life (Gourmet)

Chapter 19 Two-Color Cold Noodles

After considering the options carefully, Jiang Zhi finally decided to do both at the same time!

First, I went to the big locust tree at the entrance of the village and got some sweet malt sugar. Then I asked the children playing nearby to help me pick some fresh and clean locust leaves from the top of the tree. After that, I went to a pharmacy and bought some chamomile and chamomile seedlings for medicinal use, about two handfuls of each.

Then, put the locust leaves directly into the pot to blanch them. This step is to remove the bitterness from the leaves, but the time should not be too long, otherwise the green color will be boiled away by the boiling water!

After blanching, you can put it in cold water to cool down!

Once this is finished, we can start processing the chamomile over there. It was bought from a herbal medicine shop. Although it has a unique medicinal fragrance, the dried petals are covered in a dusty, grayish hue.

Jiang Zhi had no choice but to hold the water in both hands, put it in the water, and then rinse it clean little by little with running water before proceeding to the next step.

The function of chrysanthemum flowers is quite similar to that of locust leaves, both serving to color the cold noodles. However, the difference is that the green juice of locust leaves is extracted by hand later, while the coloring comes from the chrysanthemum flowers through the chrysanthemum water that has been boiled.

So, when the chamomile water was bubbling loudly over a high flame, Jiang Zhi knew it was almost ready.

She picked out all the residue from the pot, poured the remaining water into a large bowl, and mixed it with the chamomile sprouts she had just bought and mortared to enhance the aroma.

So I put it back here to cool, and continued making the locust leaves.

The locust leaves had already been cooled in cold water, and Jiang Zhi had specifically asked for a gauze bag when she bought chamomile, which came in handy now.

She put the slightly softened locust leaves into the gauze bag, then stirred and pressed them with both hands, and the green locust leaf juice flowed down Jiang Zhi's palms and dripped into the bowl.

At this point, the coloring liquid has been prepared, and it's time to start making the noodles.

Jiang Zhi first took out two bowls from the cupboard, gently poured half a bowl of wheat flour into each, added a little salt, estimating that half a spoonful would be enough.

This is also Jiang Zhi's experience: if you want noodles to have a unique flavor and a chewy texture, you must add some salt, but not too much, otherwise the taste will be strange.

Then, little by little, the chamomile juice and locust leaf juice that had just been prepared were added.

In this way, while slowly pouring, I kept stirring it with my chopsticks.

Jiang Zhi wasn't stirring very fast or with very little movement. The flour hadn't yet formed any clumps or a ball, so if she stirred it too quickly, it would easily turn into a chaotic mess.

But Jiang Zhi controlled it perfectly, neither letting the flour fly out nor making the speed too slow.

Jiang Zhi only started working on the dough after it had become crumbly.

According to the ancient books Jiang Zhi had read, the fermentation time for locust leaf dough was slightly longer, while that for chamomile dough was much shorter. Therefore, Jiang Zhi first set her sights on the locust leaf!

Once the fibrous dough had been pressed into a smooth and soft dough, Jiang Zhi picked up the damp cloth she had just moistened, covered it with the cloth, and waited for the dough to start fermenting. She then made room to knead another dough.

When both sides of the dough had slightly expanded, Jiang Zhi knew that it had risen enough.

She estimated the size, squeezed the two dough balls into pieces that filled the table, and then rolled each one into a thin, even sheet with a wooden stick that served as a rolling pin. After sprinkling a layer of dry flour on top and making sure the sheets wouldn't stick together, she began to cut them finely.

Jiang Zhi has always had excellent knife skills. Her hands don't shake and her back doesn't ache when she cuts. After the whole table of dough pieces has been cut into noodles, they look almost the same width up close.

Jiang Zhi casually picked up one with her knife, shook it, and then knew that it was almost done.

The amount she has here is about enough for the whole night, but it's clear that noodles are not suitable for cooking too much at once.

So, she roughly pinched it in her hand, hesitated about the approximate amount of food for five people, and after thinking it over again, she added some more.

Then put it directly into the pot that already has enough water.

The water in the pot had already boiled, but when the noodles were added, it was as if cold water had been poured over them, causing the water to stop boiling. Seeing this, Jiang Zhi took advantage of the moment when the water had stopped boiling and added a spoonful of salt to give the noodles some flavor.

Then, she took a pair of long glasses and gently stirred them clockwise to start cooking the noodles.

Noodles may seem similar to other cooked dishes, but they are actually quite different.

When Jiang Zhi was young, she often helped the director cook noodles for breakfast at the orphanage. Naturally, she also suffered some unfair treatment, such as having noodles scooped out before they were fully boiled, so everyone had to eat some undercooked noodles.

Or perhaps the salt was added too late, resulting in everyone eating bland, dry noodles.

Among them, what impressed Jiang Zhi the most was that when she cooked noodles for the first time, she suffered from undercooked noodles. After that, she stood on the small stool and listened carefully to the instructions of the headmistress: "Anything that floats can be scooped up."

Then, everyone ate noodles that were undercooked inside and soft on the outside.

In short, noodles are different from other things that are boiled in water. Other things like dumplings, wontons, and glutinous rice balls can basically be eaten as soon as they float to the surface. But noodles are different. Noodles are something that cannot be eaten even if they float to the surface. They need to be covered and simmered for a few minutes to ensure that the inside is cooked through before they can be taken out and rinsed with cold water.

While the water was being steamed under the lid, Jiang Zhi fetched a ladle of clean well water, put it in a bowl, and set it aside for later use.

Once the noodles were thoroughly cooked, inside and out, Jiang Zhi lifted them up with her chopsticks and scooped them into the well water she had just drawn.

This step is to cool the noodles quickly to prevent them from sticking together, and to ensure that the noodles are chewy rather than mushy. In addition, the aroma of locust leaves and chamomile can also be further preserved.

With the noodles cooked, Jiang Zhi smiled again; she was about to unleash her secret weapon.

— Seal with oil and chill.

This step was something Jiang Zhi had read about in an ancient book in her previous life, and it was one of the reasons why she could make such delicious cold noodles.

She first took two spoonfuls of sesame oil and three spoonfuls of lard, and lightly roasted them over a fire to ensure the aromas were well combined. Then she poured the mixture directly into the drained noodles, carefully mixed them with chopsticks to ensure each noodle was coated with oil, and placed them in the well to soak and cool them down, ensuring no water got in, to maintain the desired texture.

Then, taking this opportunity, she began to prepare the seasonings and gluten.

While the noodles were cooking, Jiang Zhi had already begun preparing the gluten in advance.

Knead and let the dough rest as you would for the noodles before, except that you only need to add a little water.

The dough should be kneaded to a slightly firm consistency, but not too stiff. Jiang Zhi was quite confident in this. She kneaded it for less than two or three minutes, and the dough was ready.

When the dough had risen sufficiently, Jiang Zhi placed it directly into a bucket of water and began to knead and wash it repeatedly.

This step is crucial for making gluten. The murky water that is washed away is the residual starch, which can later be used to make dough sheets and the like.

When the water was changed for the third time, it was no longer cloudy, and Jiang Zhi knew that the gluten had been washed properly.

She put the water from the three water changes together, intending to let it sit overnight and then scoop it out the next morning to make cold noodles.

Jiang Zhi then added a small spoonful of salt to the washed, light yellow dough, kneaded it into a long strip, and prepared to turn on the heat to shape it.

Adding salt makes it more chewy and also slightly sets the flavor.

Once everything was done, Jiang Zhi began humming an unknown tune while waiting for the water to boil.

Finally, after waiting for the water to boil, she lifted the lid and let the steam rise before putting the gluten, along with the plate underneath, into the pot.

The reason for waiting for it to boil is simple: if any kind of uncooked pasta is steamed over boiling water, it will become mushy and limp.

After estimating that about an hour had passed, Jiang Zhi finally extinguished the fire under the stove, then covered the pot and let it simmer for a while before opening the pot lid and taking out the steamed gluten.

The gluten was already taking shape, with a pale yellow outer skin and a texture that looked like a sponge—bouncy and soft. Jiang Zhi carefully pinched open a piece, revealing many small holes of varying sizes inside.

At the same time, a delicate aroma of wheat wafted out from the white steam when the boiler was opened.

Without hesitation, Jiang Zhi took the gluten from the pot to the cutting board and quickly cut it into pieces about the size of a finger joint, intending to use it to mix with noodles later!

While she was at it, she made a dipping sauce for the cold noodles.

The cold noodles Jiang Zhi made this time were different from the cold noodles commonly seen at the gates of various universities in her previous life, which aimed to be so spicy that people would fly away.

This time, she opted for a sweeter, more natural flavor. Whether it was the refreshing taste of locust leaves or the sweet aroma of chamomile, neither flavor was suited to be overpowered by strong seasonings.

Therefore, Jiang Zhi only prepared a base of light vinegar, then added two spoonfuls of rice wine, and finally three spoonfuls of soy sauce. She then soaked the gluten in the base to absorb the flavor.

After mixing the noodles and base ingredients together, Jiang Zhi added the cucumber shreds and bean sprouts she had just cut, and stirred it lightly!

The refreshing cold noodles are now ready.

Jiang Zhi picked up a chopstick and tasted it. Hmm, it was indeed slightly sour and appetizing, followed by the saltiness hidden in the soy sauce, and finally a slight spiciness!

Perfect for a hot afternoon like this!

To prevent a big customer like Gu Yuan from being dissatisfied, Jiang Zhi also made a small spicy dish, which contained chopped green onions, minced garlic, some Sichuan peppercorns and dogwood. After pouring a spoonful of oil over it, the fresh and spicy aroma immediately filled the air!