Wuhan Noodles

So besides bats what else do Wuhanese eat? Noodles apparently. I am originally from this now infamous city of 11 million. One of my favourite breakfast item was Hot and Dry Noodles aka Wuhan Noodles. Since I don’t know when will be the next time I can have the real thing in my hometown I decide to recreate this meal on this nostalgic spring morning.

Name: Wuhan Noodles (Hot and Dry)

Difficulty: 7.5 out of 10

Time: 25 mins.

Ingredients: Chinese egg noodles (available in Asian grocery stores), carrots, ginger, garlic, green onions, peanut butter (smooth), sesame oil, soya sauce, vinegar (Chinese), chili powder, bacon bits,

1. Boil a pot of water and add a teaspoon of salt to the water. Flash boil the noodles for 3-5 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water, set aside and drizzle with sesame oil.
2. mince garlic, ginger and chop onion and carrots, set aside. Mix peanut butter (one tablespoon per serving) with sesame oil and soya sauce, make a consistent paste that is fairly liquidy.
3. Lay out all the condiments and dressings with the noodles on a nice platter and ring the dinner bell for the family. They can all take part and dress their own noodles to their liking. The noodle is eaten hot and dry, thus the name. Feel free to add vinegar half way through the meal to give it a different taste. I like adding hot chili powder toward the end to spice things up.

Feel free to try different variations. Some people add a meaty broth or slices of beef. Other’s use minced carrots and pickled cabbage.

I share this recipe to help you get to know Wuhan as a city of real people. They had better days for sure. They dream of nothing more than being able to get up, brush their teeth and stroll around the corner to get a bowl of Wuhan Noodles, chatting up their neighbours about soccer or the weather. They cannot do this right now. They are barely hanging to their lives and their sanity. Let us raise a bowl to our brothers and sisters in Wuhan and wish them good health.

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