For this project, we decided to interview Weijing(Vicky) Zhu, a friend of Haopeng from high school. Vicky had just finished her first year at the University of Paris as an exchange student. She is originally from Chong Qing, China and grew up in Beijing. Then she attended High school in Minnesota for four years and continued her study at New York University. During her first year in college, she joined an exchange program in Paris. While we have many friends who are very familiar with Chinese noodles, we still decided to interview her because she is not only familiar with Chinese noodles of the south and the north, but also have experienced American Chinese food in the United States for four years. Besides, she is also a great chef with extensive knowledge about different ingredients that were used to make noodles. When Vicky was in high school, she had described many times about her craving for Chong Qing spicy noodles, and Haopeng was very interested in what made this specific type of noodle so special for her. Since Keyi is currently in Chang Zhou, we decided to use Zoom to record this interview.
Vicky started by reflecting on her background, explaining that she was born in Chong Qing and grew up in Beijing. She was a big fan for noodles and she has tasted both northern and southern style noodles from street vendor ‘s. Her life in China, French and United States gave her a lot of experiences with food from different regions and different countries, which made her observations and comments more convincing based on the first-hand information that she gained from her living environment. I started the interview with the question, “what is your favorite type of noodle and why?” Vicky’s answered with the Chong Qing spicy noodle right away, and the reason is connected with her mom. From her answer, we can see how people tend to be attracted to food that they are familiar with at a young age, and family members are usually involved in this special connection that begins from one’s childhood. Because her mother often made spicy noodles for her when she was a kid, that exact taste left a strong impression in her mind. According to Vicky, the idea of spiciness cannot be comprehended easily if you never experienced that with your taste buds. Many residents from Chong Qing like to bring a bottle of chili peppers with them since there are no other places that are selling these types of pepper. The reason why Vicky said the red pepper tasted special is also caused by the various types of red peppers that grew in Sichuan province. There are long stem peppers that were used to make soybean sauce; short and dried red peppers were used to make stir fry dishes; wild green peppers were fermented and added a sour flavor to the dish. Different characteristics contribute greatly to the taste and smell of Sichuan cuisine (Guide to Peppers).
Next, we asked about what type of noodles were usually served in Beijing, where she grew up. She briefly talked about Beijing fried bean sauce noodles which are served with 7 kinds of vegetables. By eating all the vegetables with the noodles, people can maintain the balance between Yin and Yang within their body to keep them healthy, which is a reflection of Chinese culture in regards to the importance of food diversity. Later, when Vicky mentioned that she is not able to find similar noodles when she came back to the United States, but she can still go to restaurants that are run by Chinese families. It is fascinating to see how the hand-pulled noodle-making process can be recreated in Atlanta and how American culture can affect the combination of noodles. Vicky told us that there are different combinations of noodles with meat. However, traditional Lan Zhou Ramen is only paired with beef and beef-based soup boiled with a variety of herbs. Based on our personal experiences, many people from different countries have their own preferences or dietary restrictions. Indians do not eat beef, and Muslims do not eat pork. Therefore, with a mixture of different meat with noodles, it best accompanies the local residents’ needs.
When talking about her most memorable memory about noodles, Vicky told the story of her grandmother’s Chicken Soup Noodle. As she mentioned, there is an old saying that “When you leave, you eat dumplings; when you come back, you have noodles”(上车饺子下车面); therefore, her grandma always makes a bowl of chicken soup noodle when she returns to home. Stewing the black-bone chicken with some types of medicines, such as ginseng and medlars, makes the dish more nutritious and shows Chinese people’s belief of “food as medicine”. The homemade noodle soup actually shows the caring and love between family members. Additionally, Vicky described the scene she saw in the noodle restaurants filled with people when she was in middle school. She said the noodle itself was cheap and simple, but it provides a chance for people to feel the simple happiness by chatting with their friends or just relaxing after work. Besides, Vicky explained the changing of noodles from her grandparents’ generation to nowadays. Instead of doing each process by hands and mixing seeds or herbs to add fragrances, people tend to produce simple noodles in large quantities by machines in factories nowadays. The technological and economical changes have made the process of making and cooking noodles much more convenient to adapt to the fast pace of contemporary life, but they have made it hard to trace the most authentic Chinese noodles in our generation. However, like the story of Vicky and her grandma, the belief of old sayings, the habit of using food as medicine, and using noodles as an expression of caring and love have never changed. The social changes may change the cooking methods and tastes of noodles; nevertheless, these cultural DNAs embedded in Chinese people’s hearts would be passed on through generations.
To wrap up the interview, we asked about Vicky’s thoughts about the meaning of noodles to Chinese people now and throughout history. From her point of view, noodles are always a type of staple food in Chinese people’s daily life and can reflect some cultural differences in different regions. Boiled water, fresh noodles, fresh or preserved vegetables, minced or sliced meat, and seasonings, such as peppers, soy sauce or vinegar, contribute to a bowl of delicious noodle; it is quite easy to make a meal without spending much. Noodles are truly affordable to everyone, so they become one of the most common staple foods from thousands of years ago when living standards of normal civilians were not high enough. Then, Vicky used examples of Beijing fried bean noodles and Chong Qing spicy noodles, which she’s familiar with, to discuss the different dietary habits between northern and southern China. According to Vicky, the main difference is the tastes. Chong Qing spicy noodle is really spicy while Beijing fried bean noodle focuses more on the salty taste. Also, the Chong Qing spicy noodle can be eaten with or without soup, but the Beijing fried bean noodle is always made without a soup base. The different ways of cooking obviously reflect people’s long-formed food preference throughout history. Moreover, as Vicky talked about, noodles in the north are usually made with many ingredients, for example, Beijing fried bean noodle is served with 7 different kinds of vegetables; however, noodles in the south are more simply made as Chong Qing spicy noodle which is served with few vegetables but mainly peppers. Northern people tend to eat noodles with various ingredients and side dishes for lunch and dinner so as to fulfill the needs of energy for a whole day. On the contrary, southern people are more likely to consider noodles as quickly made breakfasts. We believe the reason behind this phenomenon is related to the different staple crops in the north and south. The dry climate and longer sunshine time make wheat the staple crop in the north; as a result of which, northern people obtain their main energy intake from noodles and other flour-made products. In the south, the abundant rain and humidity make rice the staple crop; therefore, southern people tend to eat noodles less and consider them as subsidies for rice.
Our interview with Vicky helped us understand the noodle as an indicator of various aspects. From Vicky’s answers, we can see that noodles have changed under different cultures and social development, but the cultural meanings expressed by who make and eat noodles always remain the same. More importantly, no matter how the tastes and cooking methods change, noodles and food work together as an indispensable connector between family members and friends, different generations, and various cultures.
Interview Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_hnxZYJHw
*The question below was lost because of the technical problem when we paused the recording during the interview:
Q: What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear noodles?
A: Except for my grandma’s chicken soup noodles, I always think of the scene that the small noodle restaurants near my middle school were filled with customers during mealtimes. I could saw people either chatting with their family or enjoying a moment of relaxing after work. The prices were not expensive and the noodle itself was quite simple, but everyone seemed fulfilled with this kind of simple happiness.
Work Cited:
“An Easy Guide to the Types of Peppers + How to Cook with Each.” Wide Open Eats, 10 Nov. 2017, www.wideopeneats.com/the-different-types-of-pepper-and-how-to-use-them/.