Chinese noodles command a big following. Restaurants offer them in many forms: plain noodles and egg noodles; noodles made of wheat, of rice and of beans; thread noodles, thin noodles and broad, irregularly shaped, knife-cut noodles; noodles in soup, stir-fried noodles, roast noodles, cold noodles, and hot noodles.
 
The ongoing Taipei International Beef Noodles Festival, however, is calling for a closer look at the culture and history of "niu rou mian" or beef noodles in particular.

Tasting of beef noodles across Taipei is encouraged during the festival period to run until November 16. Sixty beef noodles restaurants are even offering discounts every Thursday during the festival. Simply go to Web site http://2008tbnf.com.tw for details regarding their exact locations.

The Taipei International Beef Noodles Festival is being undertaken by the Taipei City Government with support from the private sector. The public is invited to participate in the comparison and evaluation of the culinary qualities of beef noodles all over the city.

Foreign chefs are encouraged to compete in presenting their recipes revolving around beef and noodles on November 13. Counties and cities, too, are asked to have two representative beef noodles eateries set up booths at the City Residents' Square near the Taipei City Hall on November 14 and 15.

Roundtable discussion followed by actual noodles tasting by food experts and gourmets can fan public interest during the festival

Of "niu rou mian," historian and essayist on culinary culture Lu Yao-tung had this to say: "Beef soup and beef noodles as known in areas north and south of the Yangtze River in mainland China are defined in form and flavor. Lanzhou has its pulled noodles. The Shanghainese people like to have a serving of beef soup in the morning. Even though the early settlers in Taiwan did not have the habit of eating beef, this did not prevent them from finding market vendors, who collected fresh stomachs and hearts of cattle as well as beef cuts of the day, boiling them for eventual consumption."

Lu added: "As for the so-called 'Sichuan-flavored' beef noodles, suffice it to say that this was an original Taiwanese concoction."

Lu figured that the snack recipe from Chengdu, calling for big chunks of beef, fermented bean sauce, a kind of wild pepper, Japanese star anise, onion and ginger, among others, was adopted with noodles thrown in to create "hung shao niu rou" (red-cooked beef noodles). The food delight first appeared in Kangshan before arriving in Taipei for the eating pleasure of local residents.

Lu elaborated: "Kangshan is where the air force training school is located. In fact, this training center for airmen got relocated from Chengdu in mainland China after the Nationalist forces moved to Taiwan. Many of those who were among the first to come to Taiwan were from Sichuan province."

According to Lu, Kangshan's famous, rather spicy fermented bean sauce called "la tou pan jiang" could be described as an imitation of the sauce produced originally in Sichuan. If the introduction of Sichuan cooking took off successfully in Taiwan, Kangshan's production of the sauce contributed to it.

Lu likewise noted that the authentic Sichuan-style beef noodles do not require this sauce. The misleading "Sichuan" recipe in truth originated from the airmen's village in Kangshan.

The popular "Sichuan-style" beef noodles - a misnomer actually - in Taipei could be traced at first to the neighborhood of the old Bao Kong (Treasure Palace) Cinema along Sinyi Road. Several eateries opened for business in that area. One eventually moved to a location near the triangular park on Yungkang Street. Other stalls and joints serving noodles also popped up on Linsen South Road, Renai Road and Hangzhou Road.

Taipei, circa 1955, saw the sprucing up of a whole stretch of Chunghua Road from Peimen to Siao Nanmen. The different buildings, which became the famous Chung Hua Commercial Center, were where the newly settled mainlanders decided to set up their eateries, serving cuisines from their places of origin. Beijing's sour plum soup, Sichuan's red oil wonton, Shansi knife-cut noodles, Wenzhou's big wonton, and so forth attracted quite a clientele.

Along Hengyang and Taoyuan Streets, some 20 beef noodles places sprang up. Competition in pulling in the customers was very keen. In fact, Hong Kong tourists made it a point to go to this area in Taipei for beef noodles in those days. While there, they enjoyed sightseeing and taking souvenir pictures.

The Shandong style of "niu rou mian" was at one point as popular as the Kangshan kind, noted Lu. Big chunks of meat from an ox butchered that very day were scooped out of a boiling kettle and sliced in front of customers. Actually the diners could take their pick of the beef parts. Preferences could range from the fatty portion to the lean meat.

Stalls catering to the city residents' fondness for Shandong cooking thrived along Huaining Street and Poai Road. These hawkers got driven away eventually during a government campaign to ease traffic congestion in the neighborhood.

Regarding personal memories of beef noodles, Chiao Tung remarked: "The soldiers from mainland China, especially those who hailed from Sichuan province, actively promoted the consumption of beef noodles in post-1949 Taiwan. The people in Taiwan did not eat beef at all in the past."

According to this poet, gourmet, recipe book author and food magazine editor, the big difference about the enjoyment of delicious beef noodles today lies in the fact that it is inexpensive. The experience also does not necessarily have to take place in a fancy restaurant with ambience. The delicious taste of the beef noodles is what truly counts in the final analysis.

"I tend to associate a certain 'wildness' with a bowl of beef noodles," remarked Chiao. "The eating is done quickly. Music and restaurant atmosphere are unimportant. The slurping over the soup and noodles in a crowded space contributes essentially to the most suitable eating environment."

Chen An-chi, a cooking teacher who happens to be the daughter of the celebrated Chinese cuisine authority Fu Pei-mei, revealed that she has always gone to the Yungkang Street area for her beef noodles. Her homesick daughter, while studying in the United States, even asked her to send by email a picture of delicious beef noodles for her to put on her desktop computer as a reminder of the much-missed home aroma and flavor.

The Wang siblings at Old Zhang's Beef Noodles (tel. 02-2396-0927) in an alley off Yungkang Street in Taipei do remember patronage by the mother and daughter. This crowded eatery capable of accommodating about 50 customers has had a history of half a century. In 2006, the beef noodles here got voted as the most delicious during a citywide competition.

Yu Peng, a painter by profession and a gourmet by avocation, remembered how his uncle, an expert butcher, used to bring home a bag filled with parts of a locally bred cow. He would make a savory soup in a big kettle for everyone to relish.

"The fantastic taste was unforgettable," said Yu. "No eatery or home could produce an equally delicious dish. Nowadays imported beef has replaced the native variety in the beef noodles served by stalls and eateries. The resulting taste differs by a long shot."

Chef Tseng Hsiu-pao shared reminiscences of how he grew up on a diet which did not include beef chunks because his mother did not eat beef. At best he could have beef soup only.

"After I received my first pay envelope at my first job years later," said Tseng, "I rushed out to buy myself a bowl of beef noodles with beef chunks included in the serving. What a wonderful flavor the beef noodles had! Pork could not produce something just as delicious."

Tsai Chin-chuan, the brain behind the myriads of ideas at the annual Taiwan Culinary Exhibition, seemed the person most qualified to talk about marketing Taiwan-style "niu rou mian."

As part of his preparation for the yearly food event, he once even traveled to Lanzhou. He recalled: "I had the occasion to eat the famous pulled noodles there. On this particular trip, I was totally taken by the enthusiasm and fervor with which every seller of the noodles spoke knowledgeably about the food specialty of the place. If Taiwan's beef noodles are to make it internationally and gain worldwide acceptance, we all need to be familiar with the noodles' special characteristics and qualities. Coming up with a catchy slogan is going to be very helpful in the marketing of beef noodles, too."


Written and Photo by Nancy T. Lu