Kneading a good meal: Lanzhou specialty wins fans abroad

The dough stretches and folds between Ma Wenbin's hands with each flick of his wrists.

Press, knead, pull, fold — the movements follow in quick succession. In seconds, a heavy lump of dough is transformed into strands as fine as threads before being dropped into boiling water.

But for Ma, a good bowl of Lanzhou beef noodles is about much more than the noodles themselves.

"It's the broth that gives the bowl its soul," said the fourth-generation Lanzhou beef noodle maker, who has spent nearly five decades perfecting his craft behind the counter.

For people in Lanzhou, Gansu province, that bowl is woven into the very fabric of everyday life.

Some noodle shops open as early as 5 am, before the streets have fully awakened. For many locals, having the first bowl of the day — known as touguo mian, or first-pot noodles — is a morning ritual.

A steaming bowl arrives topped with slices of beef, white radish, garlic sprouts and cilantro. The noodles are pulled to order in a range of widths to suit each diner's preference. Once the last strand is gone and the broth savored to the last drop, there is a particular sense of satisfaction — a feeling locals describe as manfu, meaning comfortable contentment.

"Having a bowl of beef noodles is part of everyday life for people in Lanzhou," Ma said.

Yet the roots of this deeply local dish reach far beyond the city.

The clear, aromatic broth that Ma considers the soul of the dish is prepared with beef, bones and carefully selected spices — some of which, including pepper, nutmeg and fennel seeds, have traveled thousands of kilometers to reach Lanzhou.

Their journeys echo the exchanges that have long taken place along the ancient Silk Road, with Lanzhou historically serving as an important crossroads where regions and cultures meet.

Today, that movement is going in the other direction. The noodles that have long defined mornings in Lanzhou are increasingly being served far beyond Gansu — and well beyond China.

According to the Lanzhou Beef Noodle Industry Association, Lanzhou beef noodle outlets can now be found across over 60 countries and regions.

That expansion raises a question: How can a food so rooted in Lanzhou go global without losing its distinctive identity? Ma Chenghu, deputy secretary-general of the association, said the answer lies in preserving the essentials while allowing for local adaptation.

At the heart of a traditional bowl is a combination known to Lanzhou diners as "one clear, two white, three red, four green and five yellow", referring to the clear broth, white radish, red chili oil, green garlic sprouts and cilantro, and golden noodles.

Behind that seemingly simple bowl lies a rigorous craft. The dough must be repeatedly kneaded to achieve the right elasticity before being pulled by hand into strands of varying thicknesses. Beef and bones are slowly simmered with spices to produce a broth that is rich in flavor yet crystal clear.

Ueno Tomokazu, a Japanese cultural communicator, came to Lanzhou to learn the craft. The dish has become increasingly popular in Japan, where diners are often seen lining up outside noodle shops.

Pulling noodles by hand, however, is harder than it looks. It requires not only strength, but also an intuitive sense of the dough — knowing when it is elastic enough, how much force to apply and how to keep the strands uniform as they multiply between the hands.

For Ueno, what stood out during his time in Lanzhou was not only the technique, but the deep emotional bond local people have with the dish.

"To make a good bowl, you need the skills, but you also need to have a genuine love for the food," he said.

As the Lanzhou specialty travels further afield, some shops have turned the noodle-making itself into part of the dining experience. Diners can watch the process, gaining not just a glimpse of the craft behind an otherwise simple bowl, but a deeper appreciation of Chinese culinary traditions.

Ma Chenghu from the Lanzhou Beef Noodle Industry Association said, "Lanzhou beef noodles carry the imprint of the ancient Silk Road and the Yellow River civilization, and in a single bowl, you can see the meeting of Eastern and Western food cultures."