Making liangpi (cold noodles) can be a rather intricate process, but it was nothing beyond Li Yi's skills.
In his past life, he had spent a significant amount of time in Guanzhong, where he developed a taste for this local delicacy. He even took the time to learn the preparation techniques from a seasoned master there.
However, as he examined the household's wheat flour, he encountered a small setback.
Liangpi requires medium-gluten flour, but the flour at home was ground using traditional methods, meaning it was mixed with bran and other impurities.
With these present, the flour yield would be low, and the texture of the liangpi would be lacking in elasticity.
Determined, Li Yi found the family's fine sieve and scooped two large bowls of coarse flour to filter out the bran and larger particles, leaving him with the medium-gluten flour he needed.
Next, he added water in a 2:1 ratio to the flour, kneaded it into dough, and let it rest.
The crucial step for liangpi is washing the dough, which involves rinsing it in water to separate the gluten from the starchy slurry.
This step was both time-consuming and labor-intensive, costing Li Yi half an hour.
After finishing, he let the gluten rest for at least half an hour, then filtered and settled the starchy water to remove the top layer of clear liquid.
Li Yi then located the large iron tea tray in the house, greased it, poured the starch mixture on it, and steamed it. Liangpi was ready in five minutes, while the gluten required ten.
Before long, the noodles were done!
He cut them into long strips and tried a piece, savoring its smooth, springy texture and a hint of wheat aroma—a single word summed it up: delicious!
He proceeded to turn the remaining slurry into noodles, yielding a total of 11 sheets.
The flavor of liangpi hinges on two aspects: the quality of the noodles and the preparation of the sauce.
The noodles themselves are tasteless; they provide the texture, while the flavor and visual appeal come from the sauce and toppings.
After rummaging around the kitchen, Li Yi found only vinegar and salt—nothing else.
Just vinegar and salt wouldn't meet his standards, but luckily, he spotted several dried chili peppers hanging on the wall. Li Yi took them down, crushed them, and prepared a batch of chili oil.
Chili oil is indispensable to liangpi, lending it a brilliant red hue and a rich, fragrant aroma.
A bowl of liangpi can be mouthwatering or bland, all depending on the quality of the chili oil.
With this in hand, he went to the garden in the courtyard, picked some seasonal fresh vegetables, washed them, and set them up as toppings.
Soon, a large bowl of visually pleasing and fragrant Guanzhong liangpi was ready.
Of course, liangpi alone wouldn't make a meal. He recalled that the famous Shaanxi Trio includes liangpi, roujiamo (meat-stuffed flatbread), and Ice Peak soda.
Soda was a luxury he couldn't get, and they didn't have meat, but he could at least make the flatbread!
In Guanzhong, these flatbreads are called "mo," but in Li Yi's hometown, they simply call them "bing" (cakes). He mixed more dough and started making them.
Compared to making liangpi, baking flatbreads was straightforward. Before long, he had made over a dozen palm-sized white flatbreads.
As he finished cooking the last one, he heard the family dog barking in the yard. Looking up, he saw his third sister, Li Na, returning with Tang Xue.
Li Na had taken Tang Xue up the mountain for a walk to console her, apologizing repeatedly on behalf of her troublesome little brother. Eventually, she managed to cheer Tang Xue up.
Noticing it was already noon and their parents were likely coming back from the fields soon, she brought Tang Xue home to prepare lunch.
But as soon as they stepped through the gate, they sensed something different—the unmistakable aroma of delicious food filled the air, making them instinctively swallow.
"Xiaoxue, do you smell that? It smells amazing!" Li Na exclaimed.
Tang Xue instinctively nodded, then said, "It smells like the oil from flatbreads... and something else mixed in."
"Maybe my mom came back early to make something nice for her future daughter-in-law," Li Na joked.
At the mention of "future daughter-in-law," a hint of sadness flickered in Tang Xue's eyes.
At eighteen or nineteen, she had once dreamed of wearing a red wedding dress, marrying the man of her dreams.
But she had never imagined that man would be someone like Li Yi.
As the thought crossed her mind, tears welled up in her eyes, but her stubborn nature kept them from spilling over.
Noticing her friend's reaction, Li Na silently cursed her brother again, then changed the subject, "Xiaoxue, don't think too much. Let's go inside and see what my mom made for us!"
However, when the two entered the house, they were surprised to find that Li Yi, not their mother, was busy at the stove!
Seeing the large bowls of strange-looking noodles and the plate of pale flatbreads on the table, the two were even more astonished.
They knew exactly what kind of person Li Yi was.
Although the Li family was an ordinary household, Li Yi, born when his parents were older, was very spoiled.
With three older sisters, Li Yi had lived an easy life despite the family's limited means. He had never suffered any hardships.
Even during the collective farming years, Li Yi hadn't needed to work for labor points, and he never did housework.
Growing up, he hadn't even washed his own socks!
Cooking had always been his eldest sister's job, then passed to the second sister after she married, and now it was Li Na's responsibility. All Li Yi had to do was come home to eat.
"Little Yi... did you make all this?" Li Na asked in surprise.
Li Yi chuckled and replied, "Try my cooking!"
Li Na pulled Tang Xue over to the table, inspected the food, and said, "Little Yi, what is this? It looks nice, smells delicious... but I wonder if it tastes any good?"
Before Li Yi could answer, Tang Xue softly said, "This looks like the cold noodles from my hometown!"
"That's right, it's cold noodles!" Li Yi confirmed.
Just then, they heard the sound of bells in the yard. Li Shankui and his wife were returning with their mule cart.
Li Shankui set about unloading and feeding the animals, while Zhang Yuehong placed her hoe aside, ready to help with lunch.
When she saw the cold noodles and flatbreads on the table, she immediately said to Li Na, "Nana, why didn't you take out the cured pork and fry it up to nourish Xiaoxue?"
Li Na quickly said, "Mom, I didn't make today's meal..."
"Oh, child, Xiaoxue isn't even married in yet, and you have her cooking..." her mother began.
Before she could finish, Li Na interrupted, "It wasn't Xiaoxue either. The truth is, Little Yi made everything!"
"Little Yi… that's impossible…"
Just then, Li Shankui entered, overhearing her, and asked, "What's going on here?"
"Your daughter says Little Yi cooked all this!" Zhang Yuehong replied.
Looking at the food on the table, Li Shankui paused, then frowned, "Did you buy this from somewhere? Don't go wasting money like this."
Li Yi laughed, "My dear dad, take a good look at what this is first before you assume anything."
He added, "These are called cold noodles, a specialty from Qin Province. Trust me, I'm dead broke; even if I had money, you wouldn't find these in the county!"
"Hmm!"
Li Shankui gave him a skeptical look, clearly not buying it, leaving Li Yi a bit awkward.
Knowing how her husband and son could lock horns, Zhang Yuehong quickly intervened, "Alright, enough talk—let's dig in and see how it tastes!"
At her urging, the five family members gathered around, each with a large enamel bowl, and started eating.
The spicy chili oil awakened their taste buds, and the cool, smooth cold noodles provided refreshing relief from the heat!
It was everyone's first time eating cold noodles, and they were delighted, almost swallowing their tongues at the incredible taste.
Even Tang Xue, who was from Qin Province, felt Li Yi's cold noodles rivaled those made by experienced chefs, eagerly devouring a full bowl.
"So, you really made this?" Li Shankui asked, still doubting.
"Yes, I made it. How's it taste?"
"Not bad."
Seeing her father's reluctance to admit his approval, Li Na smirked, "Not bad? This... cold noodles are amazing! With skills like this, my brother could make a living selling these in town!"
At her words, a spark ignited in Li Yi's mind—it was as if he'd found the key to unlock the doors to wealth.