Linxia Water Powder
Linxia's cuisine is renowned throughout the world, with many dishes served as gifts to relatives and friends, transported out of the province and even overseas. However, no matter how smooth and convenient the logistics, Linxia's water powder remains unique and can only be enjoyed in Linxia due to its special production process and shelf-life limitations.
My hometown is located in the north of the thirteen lanes of Baofu, and everything there is full of my childhood memories, and what I miss most is the noodle shop at the corner of the lane.
In my memory, the noodle shop master grinds soybeans, peas, and other ingredients into flour, mixes them with cool water in a certain proportion to create a paste, and then uses a wooden 'ping chu' to repeatedly squeeze the paste. After the starch and water naturally separate, he uses a special scoop to evenly shake the paste out through the holes and drop it into a boiling pot. After the noodles are cooked, they are scooped into a large wooden bucket filled with cool water, and the water powder is complete.
There is also hot and steaming tofu. I remember that the master sliced white and clean yellow beans into pieces, one spoonful at a spoonful, poured them into the grinding eyes, and the ground yellow bean paste flowed from the overflowing grinding slot into the basin. Like this, repeatedly and continuously, and in turn, to take turns to operate, all the yellow beans were ground, and then after processing, delicious tofu appeared before our eyes.
Handmade with traditional methods, the water powder and tofu are as white as jade, refreshing and smooth, and full of bean fragrance, with high nutritional value. This delicious food is well-known in Baofu thirteen lanes and is often remembered by us. It is also because of its exquisite craftsmanship and unique flavor that Linxia water powder was designated as a non-material cultural heritage of Linxia City.
Childhood memories are distant and long, soothing and warm, thin noodles are misty and hazy, hanging over a childish blue sky. When I grew up, every time I passed by the noodle shop, it was hot and steaming, with the sound of people mixed with the sound of machinery. Children and adults had smiles on their faces standing outside buying noodles and talking to each other. In an instant, some familiar scenes in my memory immediately appeared before my eyes, as if I was that child.
Wind, frost, snow, and rain, years have passed. Baofu thirteen lanes have undergone a new look. The old noodle shop, after years of experience, still maintains its colorful appearance. But here the people have changed, but the water powder and tofu are still the familiar taste of our childhood.
