Hekou Cold Skin Noodles 河口凉皮

Hekou Cold Skin Noodles (河口凉皮) are the cold dressed sheets sold at shops and street stalls all over Hekou District (河口区) in Dongying (东营), Shandong. Dazhong reports that liangpi is originally a snack of the northwest and that it became a common snack in Hekou as people from all over China settled there with the development of the Shengli Oilfield (胜利油田). Local cooks have since adapted it to Hekou tastes.

How it is eaten

A standard Hekou serving, as Dazhong describes it, starts with sliced sheets topped with wheat gluten (面筋) and shredded cucumber. Sesame paste goes on next, then sesame seeds and coriander, garlic water and chilli oil, and pickled vegetables and crushed peanuts can go in too. Hekou sellers have also come up with a hot-soup version for winter and a way of serving a whole uncut sheet wrapped around the fillings.

How it is made

The Yellow River Estuary Evening News (黄河口晚刊) set out the traditional method in its report on Dongying's first liangpi-making contest: flour dough is washed at room temperature about six hours ahead, then separated, left to settle, filtered and steamed, and the sheets are served with a sauce simmered with spices. The final was held in Hekou District in September 2019, and first prize went to Liu Qijun (刘其军) of the Liu Sao liangpi shop (刘嫂凉皮店) in Hekou's Hening market (河宁市场). Judges tasted sheets served with pale yellow gluten, green cucumber shreds, vinegar and red chilli oil.