What
Hot dry noodles are a noodle dish of Wuhan. Wheat noodles made with alkali are boiled until just done, tossed in oil and spread to cool. At serving they are dipped in boiling water in a long-handled strainer to reheat, then tossed with sesame paste, soy sauce and vinegar and topped with diced pickled radish, sour long beans and similar toppings. Wuhan people often eat it for breakfast.1,2,3,4
When
A 2020 origin account links hot dry noodles to Li Bao, a vendor on Changdi Street in Hankou; a more widely told version places the origin somewhat earlier. Cai Linji's old shop stood on Manchun Road in Hankou (2020 account). No dated origin text was found, the accounts disagree, and the Li Bao story is a legend, so no specific origin year is given here.1,2,3
Where
Hot dry noodles come from Wuhan in Hubei, spreading from the Hankou area. As of June 2024, Cai Linji had shops across Hubei and more than 250 nationwide (account republished in January 2026). By January 2026, it had opened shops in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and begun a trial opening in Paris.2,5,6
How
The noodles are made with alkali, boiled, oiled and spread to cool, then reheated in boiling water at serving. The seasoning centers on sesame paste, with soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil and scallion, and more than 10 toppings such as diced pickled radish and sour long beans, all stirred well. For home preparation, loosen the sesame paste with warm water until it coats a spoon and eat within about 3 minutes of mixing.1,2,3,8,9,10
Why
Wuhan summers are humid, and cooked noodles spoil easily, so the noodles were oiled and cooled to keep (2020 account). Wuhan people have a habit of eating breakfast out, called guozao (February 2020 account).1,3,4
Impact and influence
The Cai Linji craft of making hot dry noodles was listed as Hubei provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2011 (2020 account). Cai Linji was recognized as a China Time-honored Brand in 2024 (January 2026 account). In 2024, Wuhan had more than 40 licensed hot dry noodle producers, an industry worth over 10 billion yuan, and a new local production standard.1,3,5,7
The Tale of Li Bao and the Spilled Sesame Oil
Legend has it that a noodle seller in Hankou named Li Bao had cooked noodles left unsold in muggy weather and feared they would spoil. He boiled and drained them, knocked over the sesame oil, and decided to mix the oil in and fan the pile. Asked what the noodles were, he called them hot dry noodles. A man named Cai later refined the method. A food outlet owned by the South China Morning Post, telling the story, adds "whether true or not."
Told in: Told in Hankou and Wuhan, and found in a July 2020 Xinhua report, on Chinese Wikipedia, which calls it a legend, and in a February 2020 article by a food outlet owned by the South China Morning Post. No document from the time was found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
Hot dry noodles are made with alkaline noodles; at home I make the dough myself, roll it out and cut thin strips, though you can also buy fresh alkaline noodles. This is my simplified home version. The key is to oil and cool the boiled noodles, reheat them just before eating, and loosen the sesame paste slowly. The amounts and timings are my own choices at home.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour 400 g
- Water (for the dough) 150 g
- Food-grade alkali 3 g
- Salt (for the dough) 2 g
- Cooking oil 2 tablespoons, for tossing the noodles
- Pure sesame paste 60 g (I check the label and pick one made only from sesame; some blends contain peanuts)
- Warm water about 5 tablespoons, for loosening the paste
- Light soy sauce 2 tablespoons, about 30 ml
- Rice vinegar 1 tablespoon, about 15 ml
- Sesame oil 1 tablespoon, about 15 ml
- Chili oil (I check the label and pick one without peanuts; many contain sesame) 2 tablespoons, to taste
- Sugar 1 teaspoon
- Crushed garlic 1 clove
- Diced pickled radish 50 g
- Diced sour long beans 50 g
- Chopped scallion a handful
Steps
- Put the flour, salt and alkali in a bowl, add the 150 g of water, knead to a smooth dough, cover and rest for 20 minutes.
- Roll the dough out about 2 mm thick, dust it lightly with flour, fold it over and cut thin strips, then shake them loose.
- Boil a big pot of water and cook the noodles until they float and have no white core when bitten. Drain, toss at once with the 2 tablespoons of oil, loosen with chopsticks, spread on a plate and fan to cool.
- For the sauce, put the sesame paste in a bowl and stir in the warm water a tablespoon at a time until it flows and coats the back of a spoon. Then stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili oil, sugar and garlic.
- Just before eating, put a portion of noodles in a strainer, dip it in boiling water for about 10 seconds, drain well and tip it into a bowl.
- Pour on the sauce, add the diced radish, sour long beans and scallion, mix well and eat while hot.
Tips
- Loosen the sesame paste slowly: too much water at once makes it thin, and it will not cling to the noodles.
- Mixed noodles clump if they sit, so I reheat and dress one portion at a time and eat it right away.
Allergens: wheat, sesame, soy
