Two of the Most Common Types of Lanzhou Shaved Noodles

Lanzhou has a large population of Chinese muslims, and as such, their food does not feature pork at all. That's marked contrast from most other types of Chinese food, where pork is the staple meat most people eat. Typically, a Lanzhou noodle shop offers a lot of beef dishes and some occasional lamb. These cheap and affordable eateries are widespread across China, and one of the most popular offerings is "shaved noodles." A lot of Chinese pasta is made by stretching the dough out into fine threads. Shaved noodles requires the chef to hold a blob of dough and cut of strips with a knife. Here are the two most common and popular of these dishes. 

This is 牛肉刀削面  Niúròu dāoxiāomiàn.  The slices of beef here are more of a garnish than anything else. The real star here is the hearty broth. A lot of Chinese food can be hot, but the redness here doesn't come from peppers. I have found this dish to be a good comfort on really cold days.  In my Chinese city, this bowl usually costs about 10 RMB, which is less than $2, The other variety of shaved noodles isn't a soup.

I will admit this dish doesn't photograph all that well. Anyhow, this is 牛肉炒刀削面  Niúròu chǎo dāoxiāomiàn. Essentially, take those strips of shaved noodles, and don't put them in hearty broth. Stir fry them with beef and vegetables and then dump it onto a plate. This dish tends to be more like 15 RMB or around $2. It's a little more expensive because there is more actual chunks of beef in this dish. The meat is not a garnish here.  There is more of it mixed in. Also, this dish tends to be a little more spicy than the shaved noodle soup mentioned above. However, when it comes to mouth burning, this has nothing on Sichuan or Hunan food. This, like other Lanzhou dishes is affordable comfort food. Once you learn the characters of the Lanzhou dishes, you can easily bypass western fast food in any city. These shaved noodle dishes are that easy to find.