Suqian Rolled Noodle Sheets 宿迁擀面皮

How it is made

A Suqian shop owner calls making the sheets laborious. Flour is mixed into a dough, the gluten is washed out and the mixture is left to ferment; it is then stirred into a batter, spread in a special container and steamed over a high flame for about 45 minutes. Once cooled, the sheet is cut into strips.

To serve, the strips go into a bowl with the broth, shredded cucumber and bean sprouts, then aromatic vinegar and chilli oil, and are stirred until every strip is coated. Pieces of the soft washed-out gluten (面筋) go in with them.

Flavour and texture

The strips are about half a finger wide and translucent, and they are springy and chewy to bite. The chilli oil gives a toasted, hot aroma, set against the crisp cucumber and bean sprouts and the fragrance of crushed sesame. One Suqian cook calls the chilli oil the soul of the dish and makes her own; she notes that many people now also like it with sesame paste (麻酱).

Where it is eaten

Suqian Daily counts many shops selling it in the city, among them one on the Fuqian food street (府前美食街). One of its owners comes from the Huangdun (黄墩) area of Zaohe Town (皂河镇) in Suqian's Hubin New Area (湖滨新区) and names the Xing family (邢家) sheets of Huangdun as a childhood favourite. Ahead of the 2025 Suqian marathon, one shop owner told Suqian Net that she hoped visitors from outside the city would try it as a Suqian speciality.