"When the world gets bad, a bowl of noodles will make you feel better." This is not an old Chinese proverb, we just made it up, but there is no denying the cathartic nature of a good bowl of noodles-when it comes to noodles, China owns One of the richest menus in the world.

At this time last year, we brought you an illustrated guide to some of the country's most famous noodle varieties-famous noodles such as Sichuan Dandan and Shaanxi Bianbian. Now we are back, its guide goes deeper into the noodle field and introduces some unsung heroes and little-known but still delicious dishes that you need to work in the noodle rotation.

If you missed the first part, you might want to start there as an appetizer:

Mian'splained: An Illustrated Guide to Chinese Noodles, Part One

In our first noodle roundup, when it comes to choices from Sichuan, Dandan noodles took the top spot (and won the first #SoupAndNoodleBowl of RADII), but one of China's most famous food districts has more sources .

Although the province is usually known for its fiery flavors, this dish—as the name suggests—also brings a bit of sweetness to the program. The staple food of Chengdu is a mixture of chewy thick-cut noodles, sweetened soy sauce, a little chili oil and some diced chili peppers, and then sprinkled with crushed peanuts and sometimes powdered sugar. The result is a very satisfying dish, the first bite is sweet, and then spicy. Delicious.

Those who dine for the first time may be frightened by the pungent smell of snail rice noodles or "snail noodles," but this split dish has become very popular in China in recent years.

Snail rice noodles originated in Liuzhou, Guangxi province in southwest China. They combine various unique rice noodles with sour bamboo shoots, fungus, peanuts, fried yuba and fresh green vegetables to make hot and sour snail soup.

In the early stages of the pandemic, a bowl of snail noodles became the most fashionable dish. During the Covid-19 lockdown, young people would buy convenient snail noodles to cook at home. It has become so big that even KFC has launched a version.

KFC launches self-heating snail noodles

Braised noodles, also known as lor mee in Singapore and other places, is a kind of Fujian noodles from Zhangzhou. Eat in a thick gravy, the smooth thin-cut noodles are usually filled with fresh seafood.

The history of this southern Fujian dish can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty and is an early example of "fusion cuisine". Essentially, the story is that the northerners moved to the south and brought a noodle base, but they added seafood and other local ingredients that southerners like to make this dish.

Pork shreds, bamboo shoots, shredded eggs, shiitake mushrooms, squid, dried shrimps, long yellow day lily, etc., if you order this classic dish, it may all appear. Now this versatile dish is far beyond the border of Fujian.

Another southern favorite, wonton noodles is made with crispy noodles, pork or shrimp wontons, and a sweet clear broth. Cantonese people usually start their day with a bowl of this healing breakfast, which strikes a balance between a satisfying, swallowable base and not too heavy flavor, making it ideal for starting the morning. Similar to Japanese ramen noodles, the magic of wonton noodles lies in the bowl of soup that chefs often take 4-5 hours to prepare.

Liangpi, also known as "liangpi noodles", is a noodle-like dish that originated in Shaanxi Province in northern China. Liangpi is made of wheat or rice flour, which has a translucent appearance because they absorb yellow gluten from the special soy sauce used. People often add shredded cucumber and spicy chili oil and stir them to get a cool, light taste and essential summer dishes.

Another popular noodle dish from Sichuan is this noodle dish from Yibin, a city in southeastern Sichuan province. Ran noodles, also known as "burned noodles", are named for their large amounts of oil, but it is also easy to adapt to its flammable flavor profile. A good bowl consists of four main ingredients: sesame oil, dried noodles, pickled rice sprouts, and crushed roasted peanuts. Some variants have minced pork on top, but for purists, it is the last two ingredients that are really popular in this dish.

Zhenjiang Hot Pot Noodles belong to the Su cuisine of Jiangsu Province in eastern China. These are also called “jumping noodles” because of the traditional production method: put the kneaded noodles on a cutting board, then the chef sits on one end of the bamboo pole, and the other end is fixed to the adjacent wall; then the chef uses their weight Beat the noodles on the board to make them elastic.

Chinese takeaway: the most famous ramen in Lanzhou

Anhui is not the most well-known province outside of China, but it has a rich culinary tradition, and its Anhui cuisine is one of the “eight major cuisines” with a long history in China. This dish is the cornerstone of noodle consumption in the region. Beef Pan Mee is traditionally cooked with more than 20 kinds of spices, chilies, and of course, large pieces of beef. These noodles are chewy, a bit spicy and refreshing.

Controversially, some people claim that the best beef noodles can be found in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, northern China, but if you have ever visited this dish’s hometown in Anhui, it’s best to leave this to yourself.

Well, not the most attractive name. But if you travel to Southwest China, you are likely to encounter this popular local delicacy.

A Guizhou chef puts pork blood tofu, crispy noodles, spices and fresh soup into a bowl of noodles, also called rice noodles (cháng wàng miàn in Mandarin). "Changwang" is a homonym of "changwang", which means auspiciousness.

Surprisingly, this Southwestern dish also incorporates other types of noodle cooking methods from different regions of China, including Lanzhou Ramen, Sichuan Dandan and the mellow Wuhan Hot Dry Noodle.

The Lomian, which is beloved by Henan people, is made with high-gluten flour and supplemented with various side dishes. The highlight is that its soup is slowly simmered with tender lamb and lamb bones (separated to reveal the marrow in the middle) for five hours. In addition, there are kelp shreds, vermicelli, coriander, quail eggs and a little chili oil, sugar garlic and crushed chili. It is not as charming or famous as some other noodle dishes from China, but it is definitely worth a try. 

Jujube noodle is famous for its signature red oil, fried fish and braised duck soup. Traditionally, chefs in the eastern Chinese city of Kunshan add some herring to get a fresh fish taste. The braised duck is made by slow stewing the local famous dish "Kunshan hemp duck". The whole bowl is full of flavour, but it lacks the fat that often appears in duck dishes.

An Illustrated Guide to Chinese Dumplings

Chongqing City is very similar to neighboring Sichuan Province, and is often famous for hot pots and other hot foods. Although such dishes are the staple food of the metropolis, its residents sometimes prefer simpler and more approachable dishes. As Chen Xiaoqing, director of the famous Chinese food documentary "The Original Flavor", wrote on his food blog, "Chongqing people taste very tender, especially this bowl of pea noodles with mixed sauce."

Peas, noodles, sauce, and maybe a bit of onion, ginger, and garlic. That's it. Unpretentious, for Chongqing people, eating a bowl of something like this is simply a sense of ritual.

Pianerchuan originated from a noodle restaurant in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, and is a famous dish with a history of more than 100 years. The noodle soup is topped with sliced ​​bamboo shoots, pork and pickles. It is a must-try for tourists who flock to the city’s famous West Lake and other attractions.

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Qishan minced noodles, or sàozi miàn in Mandarin, are characteristic of the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi Province and Longdong in Gansu Province. "Saozi" means diced meat. For northerners who swear by this dish, the color it contains is especially important-yellow eggs, black fungus, orange carrots, green garlic sprouts and white tofu cubes are all this dish. An indispensable noodle offering for fans of dishes. If you like hot and sour taste, then a bowl of Qishan noodles is not to be missed.

If Qishan noodles are rainbow-like colors, giving them a unique flavor, then Yangchun noodles are just the opposite. This dish, also known as plain noodles, is a simple staple food for people in Jiangsu, Shanghai and surrounding areas.

This dish is made with red soup, white noodles, green onions and minced garlic. From Yangzhou City (famous for fried rice), a good bowl of noodles will create miracles with such ordinary ingredients and surprise diners with an unforgettable refreshing taste.

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