Biang biang mien, or rather bianbiang noodles are interesting for a few reasons. Firstly it is the most complicated, or rather one of the most complicated characters in Chinese. And secondly it is pretty damned good.
So, what the Biang Biang Mien? And where can I find this classic classic Chinese dish?
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What the Biang Biang Mien?
Biangbiang Mien, or Biangbiang noodles are as you’d expect a noodle dish from China. It can also be called youpo chemian. It is a dish that originated in Shaanxi province and is therefore considered part of its cuisine. Xi’an is the main city in the province, so the best place to get the dish.
The noodles are known as one of the “eight curiosities” of Shaanxi (陕西八大怪),[1] and are likened to a belt due to their length and shape.
History of Biang Biang Mien
Alas I would love to be about to answer this, but when it comes to Bang Bang Mien and the character for it no one particulate knows. Some have traced it to the Qin Dynasty, while stories of a canny Chinese student inviting the character to get out of paying have also done the rounds.
Perhaps the most logical story though is that the sound o the chef slapping his noodles on the table just sounds like :”bang” and someone then made a cute character.
What we do know though is that originally this was a fairly obscure dish in Shaanxi which was eaten for ease by workers. And then? Well it got gentrified.
Biang Biang Mien in Chinese
OK, so in Chinese there is classic, as well as moderns simplified – cue the English joke about British and American English! In traditional Chinese it takes 56-70 strokes to write it. When done so it looks a little like this.
Keep in mind though that is quite literally just for the biang part and in traditional Chinese. Below you can see the simplified version of it.
Fun fact I know someone who has biang as tattoo, I shit you not.
Biang Biang Mien as a food
300+ words and we have not even talked about the taste! So they are fairly fat and very long noodles that renowned for being big, easy to eat and a hearty meal.
Nowadays they get served in a very nice bowl and are know to locals and tourists alike. Usually not a Muslim dish the most famous way to have it is with beef, some light spice, small potato cubes and some veg. Usually there’s a little liquid at the bottom, but this is far and away not at all a soupy noodle dish. In fact I got served when I asked for fried noodles, but hey it worked out ok.
The standout thing though is the noodles with any extra part just for flavor. The biang biang noodles tend to curl a little with the hand made delicacy almost to much weight to successfully lift up with chop sticks.
Therefore eating biang biang mian involves a lot of biting and letting the noodles fall back into the bowl. And in case you wee wondering there is definitely a lasagna like texture to the dish, of course with the cheese. Is this why China call spaghetti Italian noodles?
Where can I get biang biang mien?
Well with the short and sharp rise of Shaanxi cuisine you can get it anywhere with a restaurant from here., which is most places. It is though less of a thing than Ro Jia Mo, or the many other favorites of Muslim Street.
Therefore the best place to get it is in Xian where it is available almost everywhere. This is particularly true around the main street food area of the city.
Of course if you want the real deal then head to the backstreets of Xian, or to other places in Shaanxi such as Bao Ji, Hua Shan, or even Yan’an.