There used to be such a joke, saying that there are no grilled chicken wings in Orleans, there is no beef noodles in California, and there is no General Tso’s chicken in Hunan. They are all commercial gimmicks. I have been doing food columns for so long, and there is one I was particularly impressed by the famous Lanzhou gourmet beef noodles. Students outside Lanzhou generally call it Lanzhou Ramen. When I first started writing food articles, I would sometimes mention the word "Lanzhou Ramen" and I would always receive it. There are a lot of complaints from Lanzhou friends, and the central idea is that we don’t have the word Lanzhou Ramen in Lanzhou, we didn’t have it before, and we never will have it in the future! The comments were extremely intense. I felt like I would be anxious if I said the word Lanzhou Ramen again, which made the editor feel uneasy.
So I calmed down and carefully searched for the answer to the question. I wanted to know what was going on. I looked up some information and talked with a few classmates in Lanzhou. Find out why Lanzhou people never call beef noodles ramen, and why Lanzhou ramen is everywhere in the country except Lanzhou. Beef noodles in the eyes of Lanzhou people
If you give me a reason to praise Lanzhou, it won’t be because of the stranger’s Lanzhou cigarette, nor will it be the haunting Lanzhou folk songs, but the bowl of hot steam The delicious Lanzhou beef noodles.
Some people say that Lanzhou people are not woken up by the alarm clock in the morning, but by the smell of beef noodles floating into the window. In the cold winter of Lanzhou, it is not yet dawn, if someone is in a hurry When people walk by you, don’t think that they have something urgent to do and need to rush early. It’s very likely that they need to rush to a nearby beef noodle restaurant to have a “head soup”. For Lanzhou people, beef noodles are the beginning of the day. If you want to eat beef noodles, you must get up early, and most beef noodle restaurants open at 6:30 in the morning. The noodles made from the first pot of soup every day are the most delicious.
Never say the word "Lanzhou Ramen" in any corner of Lanzhou, because your identity as an outsider will be exposed in a minute. If you are in a beef noodle restaurant in Lanzhou, shout out: Have a bowl of Lanzhou ramen, no coriander, no garlic sprouts, no chili! I guess the money-collecting aunt will probably fall out with you. Even if she has a good temper, she will probably hum in her heart: Guawazi!
Even if you know that Lanzhou beef noodles cannot be called ramen in Lanzhou, you still won’t make a joke.
A foreigner walked into a noodle shop in Lanzhou, and the chef asked him: "What's next?" The foreigner thought about it and replied: "Beef noodles."
The chef sighed. , I thought, is there any other side to this? Then he asked, "What kind of noodles do you want?!" The outsider said firmly, "Beef noodles!"
The kitchen chef looked at him and finally threw away the crumpled receipt. , turned to the little brother who was kneading the dough and said: "Give this Gawa a little more."
If you are not from Lanzhou, you really don't know that Lanzhou's beef noodles are only in terms of width and shape. There are more than ten kinds! Such as capillary noodles, thin noodles, three thin noodles, two pillar noodles, hairy leek leaves, leek leaves, thin wide noodles, large wide noodles, etc. Most people really don’t understand the situation. When you know that Lanzhou Ramen is divided into wide and thin noodles, at least in Lanzhou Boss In your eyes, it is enough to show that you are an upper-class noble who often frequents high-end places like ramen restaurants.
What makes Lanzhou people a little sad is that the reputation of Lanzhou Ramen is far greater than that of Lanzhou Clear Soup Beef Noodles outside Gansu. This inexplicable name can often make Lanzhou people half-dead. Because since the birth of beef noodles in Lanzhou, there has not been anything called beef noodles in Lanzhou. If you, a foreigner, forcefully change the name of someone else's name, this is called turning against customers. Lanzhou people will naturally be angry.
This is like the noodles in Chongqing. If you change the name to "Red Oil Soup Noodles", I believe that the sweet and charming Sichuan girls will not agree, because the smallness of the noodles not only means simplicity, but also represents Chongqing. People's light attitude towards life. "Wuhan hot dry noodles would be renamed sesame paste noodles by outsiders, and Wuhan people would be extremely unhappy. This is not just a name, but a tradition, a respect for food, and a way of life. manner.
Lanzhou beef noodles are cooked in three or two minutes, simple and fast; for a few yuan, it comes with soup, meat and vegetables, and there is no red tape. You can eat it while squatting on the curb. Taking a few sips of it makes you feel refreshed. In the words of Lanzhou people: Oh, I am so blessed.
This is a unique enjoyment for Lanzhou people. After a bowl of beef, all worries can be left behind and you can simply enjoy the warmth and happiness brought by hot noodle soup. Why can only Lanzhou people enjoy this kind of happiness? Because after leaving Lanzhou, Lanzhou beef noodles not only become "Lanzhou Ramen", but the taste seems to be out of shape. Real Lanzhou people will never recognize this kind of "copycat" beef noodles. The real Lanzhou beef noodles have one clear, two white, three green, four red, and five yellow, which means the soup should be clear, the radish slices should be translucent white, the chili oil should be just right, and the soup should not be dyed red, and both coriander and garlic sprouts should be used. Green, the noodles should be slightly yellow, paired with fragrant and tender beef, a portion of "egg and meat", and a few delicious side dishes, this is the correct way to open Lanzhou Beef Noodles. Why are all the Lanzhou Ramen signs in other places?
There is a hilarious saying that as long as the signboard is authentic Lanzhou Beef Ramen, all of them are not authentic, without exception! Of course, now the trademark of Lanzhou Beef Ramen has been officially registered by Lanzhou. If you see this sign, it may be very authentic.
Speaking of "Lanzhou Beef Ramen" that is spread all over the country, we have to mention a neighboring province of Gansu, Qinghai. There is a place in Qinghai called Hualong Hui Autonomous County, located in the east of Qinghai Province, between the Loess Plateau and The transition zone of the Tibetan Plateau. It is remote, poor and has little presence in the country. No one would have thought that it was people from this county who brought Lanzhou Beef Noodles to the whole country.
In the 1980s, the original pioneers of Hualong people settled in Xiamen and started the first Qinghai ramen business. In my impression, Shaxian snacks seemed to be in Xiamen. Xiamen is really a food paradise. Later, because Lanzhou Beef Noodles became more famous, it simply changed its name to "Lanzhou Beef Ramen". Currently, there are nearly 40,000 "Lanzhou Ramen" restaurants from Hualong, Qinghai across the country.
Hualong County has a population of 200,000, and 70,000 people are engaged in the ramen business. Almost every household has one. This ratio is really scary. Since Qinghai people are selling ramen, why don't they use Qinghai ramen and insist on stealing the banner of "Lanzhou ramen"?
Before Qinghai Ramen went global, Lanzhou Beef Noodles had long been a well-known delicacy across the country. If there were two stores on a street, one Lanzhou Beef Noodles and the other Qinghai Ramen, customers would choose Lanzhou. There are more beef noodles. After all, Lanzhou beef noodles are more recognized and familiar. Most people have never heard of Qinghai ramen. In order to expand the market, Qinghai people creatively merged the words Lanzhou and Ramen, directly combining them to form a new phrase for Lanzhou Ramen.
As Hualong people’s ramen business has grown bigger and bigger, and has even opened overseas, the name of Lanzhou ramen has finally been established, and the authentic Lanzhou beef noodles in clear soup have to be compromised. In 2010, the trademark of Lanzhou Beef Noodles was officially registered by Lanzhou at the Trademark Office. Therefore, Lanzhou Beef Noodles are already equivalent to Lanzhou Ramen. There is no need to worry too much about this issue. After all, no one can predict the taste of this bowl of noodles. Erase or change from the memory of Lanzhou people.