Yi mein is a variety of flat Cantonese

Cantonese cuisine

Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...

 egg

Egg (food)

Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

 noodles made from wheat flour

Wheat flour

Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. More wheat flour is produced than any other flour. Wheat varieties are called "clean," "white," or "brown" if they have high gluten content, and they are called "soft" or "weak" flour if gluten content is low...

. They are known for their golden yellow color and chewy characteristics. The slightly chewy and slightly spongy texture of the noodles is due to the soda water

Carbonated water

Carbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....

 used in making the dough (as opposed to regular non-carbonated water).

The noodles available in dried form in plastic packages. They come in the form of flat patty-like dried bricks. The processing involves the fresh noodles being fried, then dried into this form.

Preparation

The noodles may be cooked a number of ways. They are boiled first, then can be stir fried or used in soups or salads. Good noodles maintain their elasticity, allowing the noodles to stretch and remain chewy.

Dishes

Yi mein noodles can be consumed directly or used in various dishes:

• Plain yi mein
• Plain yi mein with Chinese chives
  Garlic chives
  Garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, is a vegetable related to onion. The plant has a distinctive growth habit with strap-shaped leaves unlike either onion or garlic, and straight thin white-flowering stalks that are much taller than the leaves. The flavor is more like garlic than chives. It grows in...
  
   (韭王)
• Dried fried yi mein (乾炒伊麵)
• Crab
  Crab
  True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
  
   meat yi mein (蟹肉伊麵)

Traditions

When Yi mein is consumed on birthday

Birthday

A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...

s, it is generally referred to as Longevity noodles or Sau mein (壽麵/寿面). The Chinese character for "long" (長壽麵/长寿面) is also added as a prefix to represent "long life". Usually it is consumed with longevity buns during birthday celebrations.

External links

• E-fu noodles from The Cook's Thesaurus site
• photo