Shanxi · noodle
Scissor-Cut Noodles
剪刀面 · Jiǎndāo Miàn
Shanxi noodles cut from dough with kitchen scissors, in rapid snip-snip motions. Different shape from knife-cut.
Scissor-cut noodles are another Shanxi noodle technique — the cook holds a piece of dough above a pot of boiling water and rapidly snips off small triangular pieces with kitchen scissors. The resulting noodles are short and thick, and have a particularly chewy bite. Less famous than knife-cut noodles outside Shanxi but considered the more refined technique by purists.
Where to try
Shanxi noodle houses. Most Shanxi-style restaurants in Beijing serve at least one scissor-cut variety.
Dietary notes
Wheat (gluten).
Cities to try Scissor-Cut Noodles
Other north dishes
- Beijing Lamb Hot Pot涮羊肉
Beijing-Mongolian style hot pot — clear broth, thinly-sliced lamb, sesame-paste dipping sauce.
- Boiled Dumplings (Shuijiao)水饺
Wheat-wrapper dumplings filled with pork-and-cabbage, lamb-and-leek, or vegetable, boiled and served with vinegar.
- Cat's Ear Noodles猫耳朵
Small thumbnail-pinched Shanxi pasta, shaped like cat's ears. Stir-fried with vegetables or in soup.
- Goubuli Baozi狗不理包子
Tianjin's signature steamed pork buns. The original house, founded 1858, is still operating.