My roommate is from Gansu. She is a gentle and quiet little girl, but she is very resolute in her actions. We all call her "big brother". From the first day he came to the dormitory, "Big Brother" has continuously stated that his favorite food in this life is their Gansu beef noodles, and he has always emphasized that their beef noodles are different.

Beef noodles, where can I find them? Where can’t I eat it? It just tastes like that. Even the instant noodles have the flavor of braised beef. What can make it different?

When I went home during the summer vacation, my flight was delayed due to heavy rain. After waiting at the airport for two hours, my stomach began to protest with dissatisfaction, so I had to drag my hungry body to look for food at the airport. When I looked up, I saw the big characters "Beef Noodles", and when I looked carefully, there were two small characters "Lanzhou" sandwiched next to them.

I thought, isn’t Lanzhou from Gansu? Suddenly, the voice of "big brother" who kept shouting "Shaanxi beef noodles are the best" in the dormitory was swirling in my mind, lingering like a mosquito that kept "buzzing" in my ears on a summer night. I'm almost starving and am out of my mind, and I don't know how long the flight will be delayed, so let's eat beef noodles.

In my imagination, the beef noodles in Gansu, as described by "Big Brother" with great emotion, should have large chunks of beef in the bowl, and juice will flow out when you pinch it hard. The delicious aroma of beef fills your mouth, the gluten is chewy, and the noodle soup is mellow, sweet, and can absorb all the flavors of beef and noodles.

Unexpectedly, in the bowl of beef noodles that was served, the noodle soup was so clear that one had to suspect that it was a few drops of oil dropped in boiled water. Two thin slices of beef were soaked alone in the soup. There are a few pitiful green onions floating around. After taking a bite, the noodles were soft and the soup had no taste, but the smell of the huge beef seemed to declare that it was not a fake. The hungry soul instantly lost its appetite and left disappointed.

Imaginary Beef Noodles

Realistic Beef Noodles

Of course I don’t blame the beef noodles. After all, the food in the airport is like It was the last multiple-choice question in the math exam, and it was all answered casually.

I went back to school. When "Big Brother" heard that I didn't praise the unparalleled food in her mind, he jumped up from the bed angrily, "Just wait! One day I will let you eat it." Get the authentic beef noodles!" That attitude seemed to drag me to Gansu immediately and eat beef noodles for three days and three nights.

This look is still funny when I think about it now, and it’s a little cute in it.

I can’t explain why, but when people talk about the specialties of their hometown, when they talk about the food they have eaten since childhood, they always show an inexplicable look of pride, just like these foods. At that moment, it gave us some mysterious power and gave us the confidence of "I don't care! Our food is the most delicious!"

My friend Xiao Chen lives like a fairy who doesn’t eat fireworks on weekdays. He speaks softly, chews his meals slowly, and resolutely refuses to eat any fried or other unhealthy things. .

It was such a person who sent me a bottle of "sour bamboo shoots" made by her during a certain winter vacation. She put the bamboo shoots in a pottery jar and pickled them to let them ferment naturally and precipitate the natural sour taste. . Classmate Chen repeatedly told me to eat well, not only with my stomach, but also with my heart.

I got this courier in the early morning. At seven o'clock in the morning, I was holding this big bottle of "sour bamboo shoots" in front of my house and was at a loss. What's important is that after opening the bottle, the smell that came out was like some kind of creature. The smell of excrement is terrifying.

I sent a message to classmate Chen: "Is what you sent me a specialty product or a chemical weapon? I tasted one and couldn't swallow it!"

Two minutes later, Chen The classmate's voice came over like a bomber: "Let me tell you, our sour bamboo shoots can't be eaten directly? You need to stir-fry it on high heat, add less oil, more chili, and you can also add some minced meat, so it is sour and spicy. , I can eat two bowls of it without any problem! It’s so sour and refreshing, I dare say you’ve never experienced it in your life!”

Sent by classmate Chen

After processing

You can’t imagine that classmate Chen, who never speaks loudly on weekdays, actually yelled at me for a bottle of specialty products, and his tone was categorical and unquestionable. As for the bottle of sour bamboo shoots, I followed Classmate Chen’s method and ate them all in less than half a month.

I always laugh at them. When they are shouting about the delicacies of their hometown, they seem to have become the governor of the province. If that attitude of sparing no effort was used in study, I am afraid they would have become "excellent in both character and study". Five good young people who are positive and progressive.

But if you think about it carefully, why am I not like this myself? I might even be the most exaggerated of them all.

Since I went to school in other places, I would strongly ask my mother to send me "獍粑" every Qingming Festival. The glutinous rice cakes we have there are not soft glutinous rice cakes, nor are they the moxa leaf cakes in traditional food.

First steam the glutinous rice. The glutinous rice must be grown naturally without chemical fertilizers. Then put a large ball of hot glutinous rice on the stone pound and beat it with a mallet, and then pull it out. Make out the dumplings one by one, put the stir-fried sesame and peanut filling inside, add a little sugar, and then put them in a steamer to steam for a while.

It doesn’t have the flavor of mugwort cake like mugwort cake, nor does it taste like ordinary glutinous rice dumplings. You can bite this kind of glutinous rice cake while it’s hot. , I no longer care about whether it is hot or not, I just know that the sesame and peanut stuffing covered in sugar juice starts to dance in my mouth. After chewing a few mouthfuls, the glutinous rice has the purest rice aroma, and the hot and sweet smell instantly comes out. It filled the entire mouth, and there was no room left to express a heartfelt admiration.

Among my female friends, those who have eaten "獍粑" all say they want to marry us. To be honest, I have never seen this kind of glutinous rice cake anywhere except my hometown. .

Whenever I have friends over to play at home, I will take out the glutinous rice cake. The glutinous rice cake can be regarded as my most advanced way of hospitality. It can also be said to be "forced amway".

There is also a very interesting way to eat glutinous rice cake. String it on a bamboo skewer, apply some oil on the surface, bake it on an electric stove, and pick it up when it starts to "sizzle". , after one bite, it was sweet, crispy and a little glutinous. I can’t recall it anymore, it’s too cruel.

Original glutinous rice cake

“Interesting” glutinous rice cake

I watched my friend take the first bite with great anticipation. It was strange. I really wanted to have friends. The feedback, the excitement and enthusiasm is like a child holding a perfect score paper for his parents to sign, eager to be recognized.

"How about it?"

"Oh my God, this is so delicious!"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, right? I said that right."

"Oh my god, this is so delicious!" ”

“It’s not you who did it. Why are you happy?”

Why am I so happy?

I don’t know, I just feel that if I can share the delicious food from my hometown with my friends, that would be a very happy thing.

Sometimes the reason why food is delicious is not only because of the food itself, but also because of the unique memory in the taste.

Life is a big word, all-encompassing, ups and downs. As soon as the word "human fireworks" is spoken, aside from the slightly pretentious tone, what remains seems to be filled with deep affection, a deep attachment, and an inescapable sinking.

You want to travel around the world, you want to experience the rolling world, you are eager for encounters and adventures, and you have to find an opportunity to praise your mother's cooking.

You must know that everyone’s taste experience is very private, and everyone’s memory is very private.

If someone is willing to share this "privacy" with you, then this kind of friendship may be regarded as true "intimate".

If you have one, please cherish such friends, and remember to eagerly share your favorite hometown delicacies with them.