Foochow Long Yien (Home made Foochow Egg Pancake Noodle)

My documentation is not chronological . I am writing about the best and most impactful events first like the one that I am going to relate below.

During the early days of Foochow settlement in Sibu not many of the frugal rubber tappers would spend their hard earned money on snacks in the town . At the most they would buy a few cents worth of kong pian (guang bing or kompia). At home their wives and  their old China born mothers would be able to  make a special snack called Long Yien or Egg Pancake Noodle if they did not have mien sien or mee sua in their keep safe(recycled biscuit) tins.

My translation of the term "long yien" is still short of the real meaning of the term. (The name on the menu list is the second one from the right in the first picture.)

This trip to Kutien in Fuzhou gave my team and I a chance to taste the Long Yien Soup several times. Indeed we were glad that one contact in Kutien even arranged for a demonstration. How nice it was to taste once again the snack my grandmother and aunts used to make so long ago downriver in Ah Nang Chong (Lower Nang Chong Village).

Here the nice cook prepares the batter of egg and flour for the pancake. (22/4/20l0)

She fries the pancake using a wok. - This is what we call "long yien".

Long Yien waiting to be cooled and cut into strip-like noodles.

A deep wok of soup is prepared (clams and vegetables and minced meat) when it is boiling hot the egg noodles are added. Fantastic!

Here we are enjoying the bowls of long yien. The sweet Kutien lady standing tells us the intricate details of the long yien.

Sitting down next to the road with my friend Yeh Fang and Frank Shu I just cannot help but clarify my memories of my grandmother and how she cooked for us in the bygone days. The texture of the egg noodle is soft and gentle like the love of a grandmother.

suggested ingredients:

• 9 tea cups of  plain flour (cup could be any size you’ve at home, just make sure you use the same cup / size throughout)
• 3 tea cups of  best tapioca starch
• 2 - 3  eggs
• 1 tea cup of light veg oil
• 6 – 8 tea cups of water (add in the water until the flour mixture is runnier than pancake mixture)

This dish is usually served on birthdays a long time ago........My grandmother Lien Tie loved this dish. My second aunt (Mrs. Lau Pang Kui) is best in making this as she was born in Fuzhou City. As far as I remember not many other people in Sibu can make this dish as well as she can.

Today long yien is still popular as a street food in Kutien (Fuzhou China)

I welcome my dear readers to give me the English name of this dish. Thank you.

For my readers who can read Chinese and for my children especially :
蛋燕是永泰县一道名闻遐迩的特色菜，而以古镇嵩口最具特色。蛋燕也叫太平燕，不管是结婚乔迁升官贺寿等喜庆宴会，还 是朋友相聚家庭接待等一般聚会，蛋燕都是一道必不可少的压轴菜，都是一道争先点名的大众菜。蛋燕象征着幸福美满，平安吉祥，健康长寿。     蛋燕本来是叫蛋面，它改名换姓是跟脍炙人口的“铁印直行”故事有关。我想，太平燕不叫太平面可能受此影响吧。 
    传说明朝正德皇帝曾来嵩口古镇，正值嵩口巡检司周大人下田耕作，司衙大唱空城计。帝令随从衙门口击鼓，紧接着，对面响起鸣锣，遥相呼应。不出一刻时辰，周大人与众兵丁，挽着高泥腿，握紧长锄头，齐集衙门口。帝见巡检司与众兵丁，官不官、兵不兵、农不农，心中纳闷，细问 之下，方知巡检司、众兵丁俸禄少得可怜，要靠自力耕作，艰难度日。再看厨灶锅中，仅蒸着数条番薯当午饭。乡民纷纷诉说，周大人为官不易，勤政爱民，廉洁奉 公，不涉民脂。帝心方悦。周大人猜想来头不小，愧无物奉敬，只能献上蒸熟番薯，暂且充饥。紧挨衙门的邻居煮了一道祖传蛋面送到衙门敬客。正德帝正皱着眉头 啃两口番薯，一看到黄澄澄、香喷喷的蛋面，立即举筷，啧啧赞叹；细细询问，乃知嵩阳名菜叫蛋面也称太平面，龙颜大悦，或许是乡音南北差异，帝将面听成燕， 连连称赞：“蛋燕，香也！”金口御言一出，从此蛋燕名动四方，扬名大江南北！帝返京都之后，颁下一枚铁印给嵩口司，嘱其有紧事直奏天听，行文无须经由府 县，嵩口司铁印直行遂风行闽省。
     蛋燕是传承文化的一本史书。
    小时候，家庭贫困很少做蛋燕，即使做了，也只下少得可怜的蛋；但记得母亲在灶台熟练搅拌、泼浆、翻煎、起锅，起锅时蛋燕就势手掌上转了一圈，啊！简直是在 欣赏艺术品制造。偷偷的摘下一小块，高高的举在空中，轻轻的放到嘴里，慢慢的品嚼着，幸福感迅速弥漫开来。现在，老婆经常做蛋燕，看到女儿吃得津津有味， 顿觉得家庭充盈、惬意、和谐。在酒桌，一遇见色彩黄橙，芳香四溢的蛋燕，就有一种回到家里的安逸感觉。
    蛋燕是承载乡愁的一叶扁舟。
    去年，中央电视台介绍嵩口古镇的特色小吃，把蛋燕的燕理解成燕子的燕，说是蛋燕薄、轻，身轻如燕，因此顾名思义。真是别有情趣的解释。
    蛋燕是传播文明的一个好片。
    蛋燕由精制番薯粉、上等鸡鸭蛋搅拌，再煎烙、切块煮成。
既可以充饥，又可以配酒；既可以干炒，又可以水煮；既有传统意义，又有现实需要；既可以独自出戏，又可以联袂登台； 既可以登大雅之堂，又可以作家常便饭。
    蛋燕色彩鲜艳，味美爽口；营养丰富但经济实惠；色香味俱全，老少壮皆宜。蛋燕取材容易，应用广泛，灵活多样，寓意深刻，是永泰人民生活，乡村文化底蕴重要 组成部分。在游览青山绿水、乡间民居之后，亲手制造并倾心享用一碗美妙的蛋燕，实在是人生的乐事。
    现在，蛋燕已走出了大山，挤进了都市，逐渐成为人们生活不可或缺的一部分。好友文想抓住商机，创办蛋燕生产，我相信这对丰富永泰文化，推动农业发展，加快 农民致富，改善饮食结构，倡导健康生活，都具有十分重要的意义。小小蛋燕可以做称大文章。我朋友也一定生意兴隆，财源滚滚。(Source: http://zhangpeifen.blog.sohu.com/142267296.html)