🍽️ Cuoyu Noodles

Hand-rolled fish-shaped noodles, Hexi Corridor staple.

Cuoyu Noodles, or “fish noodles”, are a traditional pasta of Zhangye along the Hexi Corridor in Gansu, named for their shape: small pieces of dough are rolled between the palms into little fish forms, pointed at both ends and thicker in the middle, then boiled. The noodles are small, springy and slippery, and their shape catches sauce beautifully. They are served with tomato-and-egg gravy, fried-meat sauce, or mutton soup, or simply tossed dry. A farmhouse staple of the Hexi Corridor, they are also offered to guests in Zhangye, usually with a minced-mutton or vegetarian gravy, and make a substantial, honest bowl of northwest wheat flavour.