New Year's News: A bowl of "salivating water" tangled two generations of love

Xi'an, 29 Jan (China News Service) Title: A bowl of "salivating water" entangled two generations of love

Written by Dang Tianye Zhang Yuan

"Dipped in water and cheeky noodles are full of flavor, they are my favorites." Talking about the feelings of the noodles, Li Yang, who was born and raised in Shaanxi, gushed endlessly, but he was full of resistance to the "salivating water" from snacks to large.

"Saliva water noodles" is a kind of soup noodles unique to Shaanxi, which is popular in Qishan, Fufeng, Wugong and other places in Shaanxi. When eating, pay attention to only eating noodles and not drinking soup, after eating noodles, you should pour the leftover soup in the bowl back into a large pot and cook it, and continue to use it when others eat it again. Because of its unique way of eating, it has a profound meaning and is deeply loved by the local people.

As a "post-80s" Li Yang, he is full of resistance to the saliva water. Once, when he ate noodles, he secretly poured the leftover soup in the garden, and was reprimanded by his mother for this. "My mother said that the noodle soup back to the pot symbolizes family harmony, and it is unlucky to pour it out."

In the rural areas of Qishan County and other places in Shaanxi Province, if there are villagers who do red and white weddings, or celebrate the New Year's Festival, "saliva water" has always been the protagonist of the banquet.

Chen Yong, who lives in Caijiapo, Qishan County, told reporters that in recent years, no matter how the dishes, scale, and restaurants have changed, a bowl of fragrant "saliva water" has always been indispensable. "The banquet without salivating water is equivalent to the New Year's Eve without the Spring Festival Gala, and I always feel that the shortcomings are spirited." Chen Yong said with a smile.

With the development of society and the change of food customs, the unique way of eating "saliva water noodles" that leftover soup back to the pot has been "complained about" by many young people.

"Although most of them are from their own families, the leftover soup leftovers of more than a dozen people are mixed together and eat very unhygienically." Li Yang said that in the past, "salivating water" to return the leftover soup to the pot was a helpless move when there was a shortage of materials, but now that the living conditions are better, this unhygienic way of eating should also be improved.

Li Yang's mother disagreed with her son's claims. "This way of eating is handed down from generation to generation, and people have eaten it for generations." In her opinion, her son's resistance to the "salivating water" is "too pretentious".

The same "distress" also occurred in Sun Aihua's home. She said that this year, her daughter's family of three went home for the New Year, so she specially made a "salivating water" reception, but her daughter said that this way of eating was a bad habit in the past, not only did she not eat it herself, but also did not let her children eat. For this reason, the mother and daughter also quarreled.

"Like a parent eating their child's leftovers, this is an expression of closeness." In the view of Wang Xiaoyong, an expert at the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences, the unique way of returning the leftover soup to the pot of "salivating water" is actually more to show the intimacy and cohesion of the family. For the production requirements of traditional diets, there are generally no clear standards for the people, and with the improvement of living standards, young people are no longer limited to "traditional characteristics" of diet, and have higher requirements for hygiene and ingredients.

"The most memorable thing about 'saliva water' is the meaning of cooking techniques and family harmony, rather than just sticking to the way of eating." Li Yang said that this unhygienic way of eating is the reason why he is reluctant to "get close" to the food of his hometown.

In order to change this eating habit, the local government has formulated an incentive policy to give a cash reward of 500 yuan to local rural families who do not eat "saliva water" for hospitality, but with little effect.

On the second day of the first lunar month, Li Yang's mother had already prepared a table of meals, and the ingredients for the "salivating water" had been prepared. For her, whether her son wants to eat it or not, the bowl of noodles in the family has to be hot. (End)