Found this one at Asian Food Center on 130th and Aurora. So it’s a really neat store and they have a lot of interesting stuff there. My wife Kit sees this one and we are instantly in love with the artwork. Looks interesting! So this is a cold noodle variety. Very interesting looking… So what’s Shaanxi? Let’s ask wikipedia about Shaanxi cuising:

Shaanxi cuisine (simplified Chinese: 陕西菜; traditional Chinese: 陝西菜; pinyin: Shǎnxī cài), or Qin cuisine (秦菜; Qín cài), is derived from the native cooking styles of Shaanxi province and parts of northwestern China. Shaanxi cuisine makes elaborate use of ordinary materials, and is best known for its pork and lamb / mutton dishes.

The flavour is strong and the taste is heavy. There is an emphasis on savoury flavours such as salt, garlic, onion, and vinegar; sugar is seldom used. The main cooking methods are steaming, frying, and stir-frying. Due to its geographical location between the provinces of Shanxi and Sichuan, the taste of Shaanxi cuisine include both sour and spicy, in addition to the salty taste. In comparison to other Chinese cuisines, noodles are more widely used than rice, but in contrast to the noodles of Beijing cuisine, and to a certain degree, Shanxi cuisine, the noodles of Shaanxi cuisine are nearly always wider, thicker, and longer.

The taste of “Shaanxi cuisine” can be quite spicy. However, this can be diluted by adding a little soy sauce to the cuisine. Furthermore, different types of meat can be included in “Shaanxi cuisine” such as duck, lamb, chicken, or beef. Additionally, there are vegetarian options in which no meat is included, but rather more spices resulting in hotter dishes.

The cuisine includes three regional styles:

Northern Shaanxi style is characterised by the wide use of steaming as the method of cooking. The most common meat is pork, although lamb and mutton are also popular.

Guanzhong style, which uses pork and lamb / mutton equally with heavy flavours and tastes.

Hanzhong style, similar to Sichuan cuisine, is characterised by its spicy taste.

So after reading this, I’m wondering if this is Hanzhong style as this one is spicy. However, many instant noodle variants from China are spicy anyways so it is hard to tell. Let’s give this one a look!

Liang Cheng Mei Shaanxi Cold Noodle: Mustard Spicy – China

Detail of the underside of the package (click to enlarge). Unsure whether it contains meat. To prepare, add noodles to boiling water and let steep for 5-8 minutes (I’m going to do 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Add in sachet contents. Stir and enjoy!

Under the cardboard outer packaging is this tray.

A card inside looks like it’s mentioning some kind of charity (click to enlarge).

An included fork.

The fresh noodles pouch.

A liquid base sachet.

A dark liquid with a spicy scent.

A liquid sachet.

Unsure what this is; has an odd scent.

Another liquid sachet.

I think this may be the same liquid as the last sachet.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added coriander, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts and sliced garlic. The noodles came out pretty well. They are wide and have an interesting chew. The problem with this one was the flavor. I really would like to try this in a restaurant as I wasn’t altogether enamored with the funky taste. Did see something about garlic water and it just didn’t work here. I don’t know. This one piques my curiosity  and I’m looking forward to trying more varieties from this brand. 1.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 6928988002691.

Old Land, New Tales: Twenty Short Stories by Writers of the Shanxi Region in China

A video about Shanxi Province, China.