Hangzhou Pian Er Chuan Preserved Vegetable Noodles 片兒川

My hubby became enamoured of this humble little noodle dish after reading a story about the tennis player Wang Xinyu 王欣瑜.  When asked what her favorite food was, she wistfully replied that it was the noodle dish her grandparents always made for her when she visited.

And there it was, that invisible yet undeniable connection between yummilicious food and love.  The amore each of us put into the food we make for our loved ones, unconsciously connecting us together through time and distance.

So what is this favorite noodle dish of Wang Xinyu then?  It is the classic Hangzhou Pian Er Chuan Preserved Vegetable Noodles 片兒川, a specialty of the Hangzhou 杭州 city in Zhejiang 浙江 province (my mama's province!)  Think sliced bamboo shoots, sliced marinated pork, preserved vegetables topping silky noodles in a rich aromatic broth...nom, nom, nom!  Very delicious and easy to make!

Stir Fry Bamboo and Mushrooms | 炒二冬 | 冬筍炒冬菇

Well, here is something that I have in common with the Chinese panda.  (Besides the both of us being fluffy and adorable that is.)  It turns out that we both love to eat bamboo!  

I recently happened upon this photo of Wang Wang the panda, contentedly chewing on his lovely sprig of bamboo and thought: Wow, I'm hungry!  That's when I knew it was time to make this lovely dish for our dinner: Stir Fry Bamboo and Mushrooms (冬筍炒冬菇), also sometimes called Stir Fry Two Winters (炒二冬).  (This is due to the Chinese character for winter (冬) which you can see shows up twice in the name!)  

This traditional Hangzhou 杭州 vegetarian dish is made with tender winter bamboo shoots and the delicious shitake mushroom.  Easy peasy and yummy too!  I bet Wang Wang the panda would like it as much as we do!