Childhood memories are always so unforgettable.
The hot summer is here again, and I think of the noodles with garlic sauce that I loved as a child. The wonderful deliciousness that has long been integrated into the bone marrow seduces my taste buds, and it still lingers after decades, becoming an eternal food memory for me.
Noodles with garlic sauce are simply called "garlic noodles" by people in my hometown. At noon in midsummer, everywhere is scorching hot. After eating a bowl of garlic noodles that have been soaked in cold water, it is neither hot nor cold, comfortable and comfortable. My hungry stomach will soon feel full, and my whole body will quickly become energetic. I clearly remember that if someone asked what they had for lunch at that time, the person who had eaten this kind of meal would proudly say these three words: "garlic-noodles-sticks!"
Back then , there are conditions for eating garlic noodles. At that time, food was extremely scarce in rural areas, and almost every household was in a state of being unable to fill their stomachs. Fine rice and white flour were even rarer. Only wheat that had just been harvested could be eaten occasionally to improve life, or when guests came to the house. , then you can "eat with you". If we eat fine grains every day like now, and consider coarse grains an improvement, the family will only be able to get enough grain from the production team for a month or two a year. Therefore, housewives must budget carefully, implement the life policy of "mainly coarse grains, supplemented by fine grains" throughout the year, and live a tight life. But that’s it, when the harvest is slow in spring, let alone refined grains, even coarse grains such as dried sweet potatoes and corn grits may not be eaten.
The noodles I ate at that time were all rolled out by my mother with a long rolling pin. When making garlic noodles, my mother would be busy while asking us brothers and sisters to pick amaranth in the private plot. Amaranth is the best partner for garlic noodles. If you change it to other vegetables, it doesn't seem to taste so authentic. This kind of vegetable was also a must-have vegetable variety in the family's private plot in summer at that time. Every household had to plant a few ridges, mainly to go with garlic noodles. In order to save white noodles, housewives put as much amaranth as possible when cooking. At that time, when a family had a meal of garlic noodles, they would put it in a bamboo basket. When eating, there may not be as much noodles in the bowl as there are amaranths. So much so that I have not had a good impression of amaranth for many years, and I feel a little nauseous when I see it. But even the garlic noodles, with amaranth accounting for more than half, still made the whole family gobble them up and enjoy the meal.
The cooked amaranth and noodles in the pot should be put into the "well water" freshly drawn from the well to cool down the noodles and amaranth, so that you don't sweat when you eat it, but Don't leave it in cold water for too long, otherwise it will taste too cold and make you prone to stomach upset. Put it into a bowl and pour it with garlic juice pounded with a stone mortar, and you can eat it. During the meal, both adults and children would carry their bowls to the big honey locust tree at the head of the village. Everyone would sit on the ground, and the parents would be short-lived. They would chat while eating. Within three to five minutes, a bowl of garlic noodles would be eaten, followed by a bowl of noodle soup. "Fill the cracks" and burp twice, this meal can be described in one word - great!
There is a difference in the garlic sauce used to pour noodles. When my family improves their lives, they mash garlic and salt in a stone mortar and add water. At most, I add a few drops of sesame oil with chopsticks. If guests come, I add garlic juice to the noodles. A broken egg - break the egg and cook it in boiling water, then take it out with a strainer and put it into the garlic sauce bowl. Use this 2.0 version of garlic sauce to pour it into the bowl of the guests, it is considered a treat. Therefore, when summer comes, children look forward to having guests at home. Only when guests come can they eat garlic noodles with eggs. In our hometown, summer is about "visiting relatives". Relatives will visit the house from time to time, and the children can use this to improve their lives.
Noodles, amaranth and garlic juice are the "three elements" of garlic noodles. As for why garlic juice must be poured, I heard from the elders that it is because the noodles and amaranth have been soaked in cold water and eaten with garlic juice. There will be no diarrhea. Indeed, when I was a kid, I rarely heard of diarrhea after eating garlic noodles. In summer, when you are thirsty and drink cold water, adults always remind you to eat some garlic cloves.
Some people say that childhood memories are the most unforgettable, and taste memories are the longest. This is absolutely true.
Nowadays, living conditions are many times better than when I was a child, but I can never forget the taste of noodles with garlic sauce. Every time when we eat noodles in hot summer weather, no matter what kind of sauce we make or how many vegetables we stir-fry, we still have to pound some minced garlic with a stone mortar and pour it on the noodles. It still tastes so authentic and unforgettable. However, now I don’t dare to use cold water when eating garlic noodles.
When you go out to a restaurant, if you eat noodles, you will always ask the store to bring you another garlic sauce. Of course, if the restaurant has stone coriander, you will also ask the store to add some stone coriander to make it taste more delicious.
The soil and water support the people. I have never researched the area where garlic noodles are eaten. I wonder how many places this delicacy from my hometown is popular? But as a southerner, my university teacher Professor Wu Gan doesn’t usually eat pasta, but he also fell in love with garlic noodles.
When Teacher Wu came to Nanyang a few years ago, he tasted Nanyang’s specialty snacks, spicy soup and braised noodles, and was full of praise. His classmates also suggested that he try Nanyang’s noodles with garlic sauce, which he readily accepted. Classmate Lao Lu asked the store to serve a garlic sauce with coriander. After eating it, he gave a thumbs up and said, "It's really delicious. I'll eat noodles with garlic sauce next time I come!"
Two famous sayings come to mind: First, what belongs to the nation belongs to the world; second, culture becomes colorful due to exchanges. The same goes for food culture.
Nanyang Evening News □ Ma Xinfeng Editor/Producer Lu Qian