🍽️ Chongqing Noodle

Spicy and aromatic, a daily breakfast for Chongqingers.

Chongqing noodles are the starting point of the day for locals, a plain bowl of noodles with infinite variation. Alkali-treated noodles are springy; the bowl is first dressed with many seasonings, soy, chili oil, Sichuan pepper, ginger-garlic water, sesame paste, pickled mustard, then broth poured in and noodles lifted in, topped with green garlic leaves. It hits layered numbing-spicy savoriness, oil coating each strand with a faint alkaline sweetness, simple yet hugely appetizing. Toppings such as fried egg, pork intestine or beef can be added. Morning lanes fill with locals on stools; a bowl of xiaomian sets the day, the most everyday flavor of the city.