Cuoyuzi (Fish-Shaped Hand-Rolled Noodles)

Cuoyuzi is a noodle form unique to Zhangye: a firm wheat dough, well rested, is rolled under the palms on a board into one-inch segments, tapered at both ends and plump in the middle, like tiny silver fish. The fish-noodles are then stir-fried with seasonal vegetables and diced meat or braised in soup, the everyday staple of old Ganzhou.

The Hexi Corridor has always lived on wheat, and Zhangye—old Ganzhou—at the Silk Road crossroads of farming and herding gave its noodles a particular richness of form. Cuoyuzi is said to have been created by Ganzhou housewives to make coarse flour finer in hand and tastier on the tongue, turning ordinary dough into a shoal of fish with nothing but two hands and a rolling pin, handed down as the city's signature noodle.

The classic version is stir-fried: the fish-noodles are boiled and refreshed, then tossed over high heat with scallion oil, diced meat, green and red pepper and potato slices, finished with vinegar so each chewy strand is deeply savoury. Braised, they go into mutton or vegetable broth, served bowl and all.

Its fish-like shape, springy bite and the housewife's one-stroke rolling skill set cuoyuzi apart from noodles anywhere else.