Henan Business Daily reporter Ma Qianhui /text/photo/video
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On the first anniversary of the restart in Wuhan, China held a "global special promotion meeting" for Hubei.
Culture is the soul of tourism, and food is the memory of the city for the taste buds. When everyone applauded the "hot dry noodles" in Wuhan, the people of Zhengzhou suddenly found that the hot dry noodles had already crossed the border between Eyu and Yu, and came to Zhengzhou from Xinyang in Henan, and became a special snack loved by the locals.
What is even more surprising is that according to the data of enterprise investigation, individual industrial and commercial households engaged in hot dry noodle related business in Henan account for 75% of the national total, of which Zhengzhou has the largest number.
And in Xinyang , xinyang people who even eat hot dry noodles for breakfast , have only the fifth hot dry noodle shop in Henan Province!
【The number of hot dry noodle shops in Zhengzhou is 4 times that of Xinyang, higher than the number of hubei provinces】
Perhaps, the distance between Xinyang and Wuhan is only 200 kilometers, and most of the migrant workers in Wuhan are Xinyang people.
Therefore, if Wuhan is the first hometown of hot dry noodles, then Xinyang may be even the second hometown of hot dry noodles, and some people call Xinyang hot dry noodles "a delicacy that comes along the railway".
With the passage of time, hot dry noodles have gradually evolved in Xinyang, forming its unique flavor and becoming a characteristic traditional snack in Xinyang City.
Xinyang people's love for hot dry noodles is no less than that of Wuhan people, and the status of hot dry noodles in Xinyang is self-evident, and the locals get up early in the morning, and the first meal is hot dry noodles.
However, the data tells us another fact.
According to enterprise investigation data, as of now, there are 21,000 individual industrial and commercial households engaged in hot and dry noodle related businesses nationwide, and there are 3,027 in Hubei Province, accounting for 14% of the national total. In Henan Province, there are 16,000, accounting for 75% of the national total.
From the perspective of urban distribution, among the individual industrial and commercial households engaged in hot dry noodle related businesses, Wuhan has the largest number in Hubei Province, reaching 1741. In Henan Province, there are 4717 in Zhengzhou, which is higher than that of Hubei Province.
【Hot dry noodles are the breakfast of Wuhan people, it is the Chinese food of Zhengzhou people】
When you see the hot dry noodle enterprise data, you may have a question: the individual industrial and commercial households engaged in hot dry noodle related business in Zhengzhou are 4 times that of Xinyang, which is more than the individual households of hot dry noodles in the whole hubei province. How many people are in Zhengzhou?
According to data from the Zhengzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2019, the permanent population of Zhengzhou was 10.352 million. According to data from the Xinyang Municipal Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2019, the permanent population of Xinyang City was 6.4639 million people. According to data from the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2019, the permanent population of Wuhan was 11.212 million.
That is to say, compared with the number of permanent residents, there are not more people in Zhengzhou than in Wuhan.
So how did Zhengzhou's hot dry noodle shops beat Wuhan? Can't tell.
I only know that Wuhan people and Zhengzhou people eat hot dry noodles, that is a time difference.
In Wuhan, hot dry noodles are the snack of choice for Wuhan people who eat breakfast too early (Wuhan people call breakfast "too early"), just like Henan people drink peppery soup.
According to Xu Yonghong, the founder of Rujian Hot Dry Noodle Shop and a xinyang person, most people in Wuhan eat hot dry noodles as breakfast, and some stores may extend business hours to noon. Xinyang is closer to Wuhan, so it is closer in terms of living habits, and I also like to eat hot dry noodles in the morning.
However, in addition to Xinyang, for a city like Zhengzhou, which is relatively far from Wuhan, all places have their own breakfast culture, and they choose spicy soup, soy milk, porridge and other breakfasts.
Hot dry noodles are The Chinese food of Zhengzhou people.
Why did the hot dry noodles in Wuhan and Xinyang, although popular, lose the breakfast market?
Daxia, the founder of a bowl of hot dry noodles, said: "For a city, when a foreign snack first comes in, the locals may like it because of the special taste, but no matter how much they like it, it will not change the eating habits of the locals, so the dining scene of these foreign snacks will change." Zhengzhou's hot and dry noodle shops are mainly engaged in lunch and dinner, if I want to add breakfast later, I will also choose peppery soup, soy milk, fritters, buns and the like. ”
【Hot dry noodles are the local specialty snacks of Zhengzhou, the traditional snacks of Wuhan】
Can the number of hot dry noodle shops in Zhengzhou beat Wuhan only because of the "jet lag"? Should there be more hot dry noodle shops in one city than hot dry noodle shops in another city?
Xu Yonghong, a Xinyang native, used his 8 years of life experience in Wuhan to give an explanation based on the current business situation of Rujian Re Dry Noodle Shop.
Xu Yonghong believes that when hot dry noodles are operated as breakfast, in some suburban areas of Wuhan and the old city are in the form of stalls and trolleys, such merchants will not be counted by the enterprise registration system without registration. Among the stall-style merchants in Zhengzhou, barbecues, ramen and other local specialties account for the majority, and it is rare to see stalls selling hot dry noodles. Therefore, hot dry noodles in Zhengzhou are basically in the form of individual industrial and commercial households, and such merchants are in the statistics.
There is also a situation, in Zhengzhou, some of the comprehensive snacks of the shop, the name of the shop is also called hot dry noodle shop.
Judging from the menu of the Rujian hot dry noodle shop, there are not only hot dry noodles, but also fast food such as beef noodles, rice noodles, and rice bowls. Looking at the menu of the bowl of hot dry noodles, in addition to various flavors of hot dry noodles, the store also sells beef noodles, chutney powder, cold skin and other products. While both brands sell a wide variety of products, the "hot dry noodles" staple is in their name.
"Now the rent, manpower and other operating costs are getting higher and higher, if the store only sells hot dry noodles, the product is too single, it is difficult to make a profit, we must provide diners with a variety of choices, the same in Wuhan." If the restaurant is in the business of lunch and dinner, he will also sell rice noodles, noodles, stir-fried vegetables and other products. However, unlike Zhengzhou, hot dry noodles are just a traditional snack for Wuhan, and everyone has long been accustomed to it, so some hot dry noodle shops are named in the form of a food city and restaurant. For example, Cai Lin remembered this hot dry noodle shop, and people in Wuhan knew that his hot dry noodles were very popular, but there were no three words in his shop name. Xu Yonghong said.
[Zhumadian and Luohe robbed Xinyang's play, and the hot dry noodles could not cross the Yellow River]
The data also shows that there are 2676 hot dry noodle shops in Zhumadian City, 1765 in Luohe City, and 1683 in Pingdingshan, while Xinyang City is behind them, with 1087 hot dry noodle shops. From the data alone, there are even more hot dry noodle shops in Zhumadian and Luohe than in Wuhan.
How did Zhumadian and Luohe accidentally "steal the scene"?
Mr. Zhang, a citizen of Zhumadian, speculated that although Xinyang and Zhumadian are in Henan, Xinyang belongs to a southernerly southern city and is close to Wuhan. Xinyang's crops are mainly grown on rice, so the diet of Xinyang people is mainly rice, and Zhumadian people prefer noodles compared to Xinyang people. From a geographical point of view, Zhumadian is very close to Xinyang and Wuhan, so many Zhumadian people will go to Wuhan to work and bring the production skills of hot dry noodles back to Zhumadian after returning home.
Faced with the question of why there are a large number of hot dry noodle shops in Luohe, Mr. Wang of Luohe is consistent with Mr. Zhang's views on Luohe people's love of eating noodles. Then, in addition to loving pasta, Mr. Wang also believes that the hot dry noodle shop in Luohe and the Luohe 3515 Leather Shoe Factory (formerly the 3515 factory of the Chinese People's Liberation Army) are inseparable.
According to Mr. Wang, Luohe 3515 Leather Shoe Factory is a large-scale military backbone enterprise. And this factory was moved from Wuhan. For the thousands of Wuhan people who migrated with the factory at the time, the hot dry noodles in the bowl were filled with nostalgia for their hometown. Over time, the hot dry noodles in the courtyard of 3515 swept the city in Luohe.
(Picture source Dianping APP netizen uploaded picture)
Mr. Wang said: "In Luohe, many hot dry noodle shops like to write 'the original 3515 hot dry noodles in the courtyard' in the promotion, or add '3515' to the name of the store to prove that they are authentic. ”
It is not difficult to understand why the hot dry noodle shops in Zhengzhou, Zhumadian and Luohe will develop so quickly.
In addition, it can be seen from the data that there are many fewer hot dry noodle shops in cities north of Henan than in several cities in the south. Hebi, Sanmenxia, Puyang, Jiaozuo, Luoyang, Shangqiu, Xinxiang, Kaifeng, Anyang, Zhoukou, these areas have no more than 400 registered hot dry noodle shops. In the 7 prefectures outside these areas, there are more than 800 hot dry noodle shops, all of which are south of the Yellow River without exception. You can even say, "Hot dry noodles are not the Yellow River." ”
【After 2014, hot dry noodle shops have grown rapidly in Zhengzhou】
From the production technology point of view, hot dry noodle noodles need to be cooked in advance to eight mature, production only need to be blanched for 30 seconds, and then add some special spices and toppings can be, the meal speed is very fast, as long as 1 minute or so, very in line with the pace of modern people's life, especially young people in Zhengzhou.
With the continuous acceleration of the pace of urban life, fast food snacks such as hot dry noodles, which are efficient, delicious and affordable, are loved by young people. Since the hot dry noodle industry gained a foothold in Zhengzhou in 2008, the number of hot dry noodle shops has expanded wildly with the development of the city in recent years.
Judging from the data queried by the enterprise, before 2014, the hot dry noodle shops in Zhengzhou did not grow much every year, and only after this rapid growth did they grow rapidly. In 2006, there were only 49 new hot dry noodle enterprises in Zhengzhou, 640 new hot dry noodle enterprises in 2016, and 784 new hot dry noodle enterprises in 2017.
In the fierce market competition, Zhengzhou's hot dry noodle merchants have used "real kung fu"! All kinds of hot dry noodle shops have blossomed everywhere in Zhengzhou, and the hot dry noodle market in Zhengzhou has the characteristics of diversification, chaining and branding.
[After the hot dry noodles came to Henan, they have been "improved" because the taste is too dry]
The hot dry noodles in Wuhan are different from Zhengzhou, and even different from Xinyang. When the hot dry noodles came to Henan, they were "improved" everywhere.
Even, when Xu Yonghong, the owner of the hot dry noodle shop, served noodles for customers, he heard "no bean sprouts" and knew where the customer was.
In 2006, Xu Yonghong took authentic Wuhan hot dry noodles and opened the first Rujian hot dry noodle shop near Huanghe Road. That year, there were still very few hot dry noodle shops in Zhengzhou. When it first opened, the people of Zhengzhou did not accept the taste of noodles and sesame sauce mixed together, and the most comment he heard was " Too dry!" ”
In order to dilute the noodles, Xu Yonghong tried to pour the special brine on the hot dry noodles after adjusting again and again, and sprinkled with bean sprouts to increase the crispness of the hot dry noodles. As soon as the hot dry noodles with the aroma of brine meat were launched, they instantly captured the stomachs of the people of Zhengzhou.
As a result, "bean sprouts" became Xu Yonghong's key word to distinguish Hubei and Zhengzhou people. "Any customer who comes to me and says that he does not add bean sprouts, I will give him a little dry, generally this type of customer is Hubei people, other I will add more marinade, we Henan people still like to eat noodles a little thinner."
According to Xu Yonghong, authentic Wuhan hot dry noodles have a dry taste, and only some pickles, dried radish, and capers are used as side dishes. After the development of Xinyang, because Xinyang people love to drink soup and eat thin noodles, in order to adapt to the tastes of the locals, the noodles of Xinyang hot dry noodles are thin, and the hot dry noodles are added with broth, and some shops will also put some thousand sheets as embellishments. In Zhengzhou, every hot dry noodle shop will have its own secret marinade.
"In general, we Henan people prefer noodles with a little bit of soup, do not like too dry, Henan hot dry noodles are improved." Especially in the hot dry noodle market in Zhengzhou, whether it can stand up depends on your spoonful of marinade, each with its own characteristics. Xu Yonghong said.
Therefore, for the spoonful of marinade poured on the hot dry noodles, the effort of the merchant is getting bigger and bigger. In 2016, the founder of bowls of hot dry noodles ran to the birthplace of hot dry noodles, investigated more than 30 noodle restaurants, and innovatively launched hot dry noodles with mixed sauce, hot dry noodles with mushrooms, hot dry noodles with beef, and hot dry noodles with sauerkraut according to the reality of the Zhengzhou market. Different from the traditional black tahini, it has also become the biggest feature of bowls of hot dry noodles.
"When we entered the hot dry noodle market in Zhengzhou, the competition in this market was already fierce. However, we are very bullish on this market. The hero said.
[After too many special diets enter Henan and are "neutralized", they are more "neutral"]
Henan's food culture is broad and profound, and Henan people are famous for their love of eating noodles.
Although the discussion on the Internet about "why there are more hot dry noodle shops in Henan than in Hubei" has never received a standard answer, it also highlights the charm of this fertile land of Henan, where it is inclusive.
In addition to Wuhan hot dry noodles, Shaxian snacks, Lanzhou ramen, Shaanxi Liangpi, Xi'an Zhenzi noodles and other regional specialty snacks have burst out of infinite vitality in Henan.
The tolerant and open character of the Central Plains people has formed a unique flavor after absorbing the strengths of all and integrating and neutralizing the characteristics of the local people's food culture.
Hot dry noodles are just one of the delicacies that thrive in the Central Plains, not the only one. Hometown Henan, in the "middle" of China's geographical position, too many special foods into Henan after being "neutralized", have become more "medium", really in!.
It's a place where you'll say "medium" when you come.
(Editor: Liu Mengge, Lv Ruitian)