Minjie Pressed Noodles 抿节

Minjie Pressed Noodles (抿节) are short noodles made by pushing dough through a perforated board into boiling water. At Erdao Street night market (二道街夜市) in Yan’an (延安), Yinchuan Evening News describes a smooth, chewy bowl with the aroma of pea flour mixed with wheat flour.

Mixing and pressing

Yan’an native Li Hongmei (李红梅), interviewed while working in Yinchuan (银川), uses equal quantities of pea flour and wheat flour. She adds warm water, kneads the dough smooth and rests it under a damp cloth for about thirty minutes. The rested dough is kneaded again, divided and pressed through the board’s small holes into the pot.

A vegetable topping

Li fries chopped scallion, ginger and garlic, adds green beans and diced potatoes, then tofu. After seasoning, she adds water and simmers the mixture, putting in tomatoes last. The cooked noodles receive this topping, followed by chive pieces, coriander, scallion, aromatic vinegar and oil-splashed chilli.