Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — American friend of China “Saikosi”, whose real name is Ronald Sakorski and who supports China’s efforts to combat desertification, arrived at Xinzheng International Airport in Henan Province on 27 August and enthusiastically praised the local sour bean noodles. Speaking in Chinese, he said he was ready to eat the dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Sakorski’s story with China began in Luoyang. In 1999–2000, he came from the United States under an exchange programme and taught at Luoyang Foreign Language School. He still remembers the local cuisine and old friends, especially the noodles.
A dish with a history
Sour bean noodles, also known as “jiangfan”, are a traditional Luoyang folk snack. According to the treatise “Han Feizi”, Zilu, a disciple of Confucius, served the dish to workers building roads when he was head of Hou County.
According to legend, Han emperor Liu Xiu also ate the noodles while fleeing Wang Mang’s forces in the area around Luoyang. The dish is therefore known locally as “Liu Xiu noodles”.
The dish is based on fermented liquid made from green beans, which has a distinctive sour taste. The beans are soaked until they swell, ground into a coarse mixture and filtered, while the liquid is left in a large vessel to ferment naturally. Once it develops a sour, fermented flavour, the noodles are cooked in it. During the Republic of China period, Luoyang had about 30 workshops producing the base, including military, temple and Muslim establishments. Many passed their traditions down through generations and continue to operate today.
First encounter
Twenty-seven years ago, Sakorski was introduced to the noodles by his first Luoyang colleague, Zhai Guanjun. One day, Zhai taught the American how to prepare the dish at his home.
Sakorski wrote everything down in a notebook and immediately ate three large bowls, but still did not feel full. For his guest, Zhai Guanjun took the largest aluminium cooking pot in the house and two buckets of the sour base.
“The sour base from Luoyang is somewhat similar to Beijing douzhi,” Zhai Guanjun told journalists.
“When people in Luoyang prepare these noodles at home, they usually make a large amount. If they do not finish it at once, they leave it for the next meal,” he added.
It is no coincidence that people in the city say: “Three-times-reheated sour noodles are not to be exchanged even for meat.” Mixing the base with noodles does not spoil it; after reheating and further fermentation, the flavour becomes even richer.
How it is prepared today
On the afternoon of 28 August, two large cooking pots stood at the entrance to the Lao Luoyang restaurant serving old-style Luoyang cuisine in the city centre.
Customers took fresh noodles with the white sour base, added ingredients at the counter and ate them on the go.
“Visitors eat with spoons, locals use chopsticks, while true old-timers from Luoyang simply slurp the noodles straight from the bowl,” restaurant owner Wang Tianxi said.
He is a representative of Henan Province’s regional intangible cultural heritage associated with the traditional preparation of Lao Luoyang noodles and takes great care in preparing the dish.
When the base is about to become covered with foam, vegetable oil is added and stirred clockwise so that the oil fully mixes with the liquid.
As it approaches boiling point, the noodles are added to the base, followed by strips of carrot, celery, large green beans and other ingredients. The final additions are two spoonfuls of the “main secret ingredient” — chive blossoms.
Almost everyone in Luoyang knows how to prepare the dish, and it is eaten in nearly every household. “Food is one of the most distinctive forms of folk culture. It allows a person to quickly feel at home in life in Luoyang,” Zhai Guanjun explained, recalling why he once prepared the noodles for Sakorski at home.
The cries of vendors pushing carts of sour base through the streets and the queues around the barrels have become memories of the ancient city.
Today, the noodles are still prepared in ordinary households but are also served in high-end restaurants to guests from China and other countries. According to available data, Lao Luoyang restaurant sells more than 2 million bowls a year. Along with Henan’s Luohan noodles and hulatang pepper soup, the noodles are also produced in convenient packaging and reach travellers’ tables across the country.
“Three oddities of Luoyang”
Luoyang served as the capital under 13 dynasties, and its cuisine has long been known for its variety. Wang Tianxi describes it through “three oddities”:
“People drink soup while sitting by the entrance; noodles are sold after they have turned sour; and soups and dishes with large amounts of broth make up a separate cuisine.”
More than 10 types of soup traditionally eaten for breakfast in Luoyang are usually sold at small street establishments, where customers often eat while sitting directly at the entrance.
After fermentation, the sour noodles develop a distinctive flavour, so visitors sometimes mistake them for spoiled food. Meanwhile, 24 types of soups and dishes containing large amounts of broth make up Luoyang’s famous “Water Banquet”, a traditional feast that has become one of the symbols of local cuisine.
During his current trip, all three “oddities” featured in Sakorski’s breakfasts, lunches and dinners. The dishes revived long-forgotten memories, while walks through familiar places with old friends prompted him to say emotionally: “Even if there is little paper, feelings remain long.” It is a Chinese metaphor meaning that true friendship does not require many words.
“This is not just food. It is the taste of home,” Sakorski said.
On the evening of 29 August, during his final dinner in Luoyang, his former colleague Bai Fan prepared a large bowl of soup with tender meatballs cooked directly in the broth, while Zhai Guanjun himself prepared the same sour bean noodles.
The taste that had remained unchanged for 27 years left the guest with a reluctance to say goodbye and a deep sense of friendship.
