This traditional northern style noodle has served as my comfort food for more than a decade since I left my hometown, Beijing, and moved to the Southern coastal city of Shanghai. Growing up with my grandparents, the little me has been fed many of the frugal yet delicious traditional northern dishes, and Da Lu noodle is definitely the one I constantly ask for. 

Back in the old days, Da Lu noodle serves as a simple dish whose ingredients can be afforded by most households. The most original version only has one gravy, which is tomato scrambled egg along with shredded cucumber, and it tastes amazingly good when served on top of the noodles. 

This most classic gravy has various health benefits. Tomato is a good source of vitamin C, whitening skin and also playing an important role in anti-aging. The egg white contains numerous amounts of protein, as abundant as 6.3 grams in a large egg, along with many other essential amino acids, which enables our body to fully absorb the protein; whereas the egg yolk serves as a good source of healthy fats. Benefits of eating whole food-based fats are that they stabilize blood sugar, reduce sugar cravings and promote hormone balance. Even greater, the egg is the only naturally occurring source of vitamin D, a nutrient many people take through supplements yet are unaware of its rich existence in egg. 

In my preparation, I chose one other gravy, which was the Mapo Tofu. This is another popular dish across all parts of China and is even ranked among the most ordered dishes in Chinese restaurants in the US. Tofu serves as another great source of protein while remaining very low in fat, and the spicy taste of the Mapo tofu sauce promotes digestion through its spices. 

In China, there are three main types of noodles, the Daoxiao noodle, the La/Chen noodle and the Shougan noodle. The first type is made by slicing a well-kneaded dough with a knife into the desired shape as “Dao” means knife and “Xiao” means cut in the Chinese language. The La noodle, or Chen noodle, is made by stretching the dough with two hands to whatever desired thickness and length. Meanwhile, the Da Lu noodle is a product of the Shougan noodle, which is made by a rolling pin with a subsequent folding of the dough and cutting it into strips.

This type of noodle contains minimal ingredients and its soft texture allows for easy digestion. It is mainly served in the northern provinces, especially in Shandong Province, Dongbei Province, Hebei Province and the metro-Beijing area. However, it is served on different occasions across different regions.

Back in the old days in Beijing, the Da Lu noodle was only served on special occasions, such as during a festival, family gatherings or memorable days — a wedding, move-in day, 1-year anniversary of a newborn, or the 60th birthday of an elderly family member. On these occasions, there were usually many “Lu”s for guests to choose from, and they ranged from the most ordinary one, tomato scrambled egg, to fancy crab meat. It is often an indicator of the wealth of a family, for the wealthier ones are able to afford expensive ingredients to make “Lu”s and offer a wide range of varieties to treat their guests, while the less rich households only make several simple “Lu”s with the most common ingredients from the market. Throughout history, Da Lu noodles are mainly made at home, because the Beijing locals claim that restaurants are too stingy to offer the best “Lu”. 

For Shandong Province and the northern coastal provinces, the “Lu”s typically consist of some freshly-produced seafood, such as tiny shrimp, crab or dried products like dried fish skins. Unlike the Beijing version, the Da Lu noodle in these regions tends to be a less fancy but a more stable weekly essential — who doesn’t crave for a bowl of Da Lu noodle after not having it for a week! The “Lu”s are simpler to make, usually only containing two “Lu”, and it is a common meal that anyone could see and afford to order in a restaurant. 

For the Dongbei Province, however, many of the “Lu” dishes contain pork as a key ingredient. Because Dongbei is an important export region of high-quality pork, its price within the province is relatively low, making it the most affordable and popular meat in the region. Thus, you will see that most “Lu”s contain mashed pork ribs as a component. Similar to the Shandong, the Da Lu noodle is a food that every household can easily afford to make.

These regional differences that arose from the Da Lu noodle reflects the diversity of Chinese dishes; but the essence of this noodle remains in the mixing of “Lu” and the noodle. Nowadays people have shifted their focus away from the most “authentic” Da Lu noodle, but based more on personal preferences in the choice of “Lu”s. In my project, I have chosen one classic “Lu”, which is the tomato scrambled egg, along with Mapo Tofu, another one of my favorite dishes, to serve as the second “Lu”. Having the noodle brings me back to my childhood memory of relentlessly asking my grandmother to make me some Da Lu noodles; I conjure up the sweet indulgence of my grandparents on me — they always tried to create different “Lu”s to enlighten the little me, have always been using the best flour to make the hand-rolled noodles, and, most importantly, they put care and love in raising me.