Shaanxi biangbiang mian

[Photo by Fan Zhen/chinadaily.com.cn]

With thousands of years of history growing wheat, Xi'an is home to many kinds of flour-based food. Even the simple noodle has different shapes and tastes. One of them is called biangbiang mian or Biangbiang noodles.

The noodles are thick, fat and long. Each belt-like strand is three-fingers wide, spiraling down into a big bowl. It is served dry, with toppings of chili and pork belly – wuhua meat or five-flowered meat that has alternating layers of fat and lean meat.

The traditional food is famous not only for its distinctive taste, but also for the name itself – its Chinese name cannot be typed out on a computer. Even the local people need a pithy formula to remember how to write the characters consisting of dozens of strokes. It is considered one of the 10 "strange wonders" in Shaanxi province.

"Biang" is the onomatopoeic name the noodles are given, referring to the sound the chef makes when he pulls the dough into noodles and bangs them against the table.

The Chinese character "Biang" has more than 50 strokes.

Edited by Jacob Hooson