Naked-Oat Flour Noodles 莜面

Naked-Oat Flour Noodles (莜面) are the foods made from youmian, the flour of the naked oat, a common food across central and western Inner Mongolia and parts of northern China.

Ingredients

The grain is the naked oat (莜麦, Avena nuda), an oat native to China that is also known as the naked-grain oat. It is called youmai in north China, yumai (玉麦) in the northwest and lingdangmai (铃铛麦) in the northeast. Chinese Wikipedia notes that its seed holds more protein and fat than most grain crops. Naked oats from the high, cold country of Shanxi (山西) are a speciality of the Yanbei (雁北) area there, and their flour is yellowish-white, high in protein and makes a firm, springy dough.

Where it comes from

Youmian is a common food in central and western Inner Mongolia, northern Shanxi, western Hebei (河北), northern Shaanxi (陕西) and Yanqing (延庆) in Beijing. Among the foods made from the flour are pressed youmian noodles (莜面饸饹) and youmian kaolaolao (莜面栲栳栳).

How it is made

Kaolaolao, also called youmian wowo (莜面窝窝), is described as a classic flour food of the Jin-speaking area (晋语区). The dough is rolled between the hands into small rolls or little shapes like wine cups, set out in rows in a steamer basket and steamed, then dipped in a sauce to eat. Chinese Wikipedia gives three rules for making it: mix the flour with boiling water, roll the pieces quickly, and control the heat. In Yanbei the steamed rolls keep hunger away for a long time and have been an important source of energy for working people.