Huangchuan Tribute Noodles 潢川贡面

How they are made

Henan Wangxin Food Co. (河南旺鑫食品有限公司) showed its Wangxin-brand hollow tribute noodles at the 17th China International Agricultural Products Fair in Nanchang (南昌) in 2019. The company's head told Henan officials there that the noodles go through more than 20 processing stages taking more than 20 hours, with no additives at any point. The company also showed a naked-oat version (莜麦贡面), sold vacuum-packed.

Where they come from

Yingxiang (映象网), the news site of Henan Radio and Television, reported that the Wangxin noodles are a national geographical-indication product, a Henan time-honoured brand (老字号), a "tribute of the Central Plains" (中原贡品) and a Xinyang intangible-heritage item.

The same report dates Huangchuan hollow tribute noodles to the Tang dynasty and their heyday to the Song, and repeats the stories told about them. They are said to have been served at the banquet marking Wu Zetian's (武则天) first hundred days on the throne and praised as "the foremost of noodles" (“面中之魁”). Emperor Renzong of Song (宋仁宗) is said to have favoured them, and they were praised as "Fine indeed, the tribute noodles of Guangzhou" (“美哉，光州贡面”; 光州, not the southern city 广州). Yuan Shikai (袁世凯) is said to have eaten them for breakfast all his life.

How they are eaten

In Huangchuan the noodles are a required food on three local occasions: weddings, birthdays and songyueli (送月礼).