Hey guys, a few notes:

1. Yes, the 'tomatoes' at 3:02 are persimmons lol. There was an awkward cut that I wanted to cover up and lazily used a picture we snapped the other day at the market when we were testing out our new camera. I thought maybe because it was just a couple frames, I could get away with it... probably lingered a few frames too long in hindsight (or maybe I should've not been lazy and just walked the six minutes over to the market haha)

2. Another element that the noodle shops will likely have is a bit of toasted yacai. You can add it if you like, but because Sui Mi Ya Cai is often difficult to find abroad, we elected not to include it. Kangji also has a meat topping for their noodles, but we elected not to try to dive into that (as not all noodle shops have it).

3.  There's a ton of different variations on this theme you can find - some recipes in Chinese aren't much more complicated than "fry some tomatoes, add some soup". We personally enjoyed this blended variety, however.

4.  I should definitely note that the chili powder was basically just my personal addition to the dish. I wanted a bit more of a vibrant color, and Xinjiang chili powder (i.e. Kashmiri) definitely did the trick. It also adds a slight subtle spiciness, which I liked. I haven't seen anyone else pull this move though, full disclosure.

5.  Of the three routes, the "all canned" route is definitely the easiest. Crush some tomatoes with its sauce, mix with water/salt/Shaoxing, fin. No need to boil-then-peel, no need to blend.

6.  Because this recipe is very close to ‘western supermarket friendly’, feel free to swap the Shaoxing for your Shaoxing-substitute-of-choice: Brandy, Sake, or Dry Sherry. Or skip, if you're young or keeping Halal or sth (and on that note, feel free to swap the lard for schmaltz... would also taste quite good)

7.  The footage of the noodle shop is courtesy the excellent Bilibili channel "馒头叔叔就是大馒头". Just a knowledgeable dude that goes around Chengdu on his motorbike, eating noodles. Fantastic content

That's all for now. We're traveling right now in Liangshan (South Sichuan), so we might be a bit slower getting back than normal :)

crazy how the Yunnan tomatoes at 3:02 look strikingly like persimmons!

Yall are killing it with the production value on these videos. I really enjoyed the origin story of the dish with the illustrations

Have you all come around on tomato and egg? I seem to remember both of you saying neither of you enjoyed it.

Just a heads-up, if you're getting canned tomatoes in the US be sure to get ones that do not have calcium chloride in them because it makes them stay weirdly fleshy and hard. I have no idea who thinks this is desirable. May make less of a difference if you're blending them, but I've switched to the imported Italian tomatoes for almost all uses and they're just way better.

Came here for the persimmon comments

"wokking that mile" ... Beautiful pun ❤

I love it when you tell the story with your delightful illustrations. They are whimsical yet informative, and they really enhance the narrative. Oh. and the recipe sounds great, too.

freezing (and even refrigerating) tomatoes destroys a ton of the flavour compounds in them. ripe canned tomatoes will beat ripe then frozen tomatoes every time. dont freeze your tomatoes!

Love this, would honestly love to see more homecooking-esque videos like this, the kind of stuff people might make for their family's after a busy work day in China

Great. I have ruined my sleep now. I have to find some eggs and tomato juice just to ease the pain.

I made this dish for dinner tonight exactly as you wrote it on your substack (including rendering my own lard!). This is absolutely one of the best meals I have ever made. Next time i'll be making a double batch!

I love every time I discover I've reinvented something that's been around in Sichuan for years.

D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes. Love to see it.

@4:03 I remember years ago one of the many cooking shows that I believe was test kitchen, but it's been a minute. Always came up with canned tomatoes or the one outlier that often comes better in flavor. I have always found this to be true. Having done delivery for a specialty tomato that none of the big brands like Cisco could ever get a contract for. Every these tomatoes were sought after by every Italian place and they didn't mind paying the markup because it always brought people in the doors for anything they made. Still to this day if I go to a new Italian place locally I always can taste those specific tomatoes so I could completely understand that. Really good tomatoes canned would be the linchpin for really good flavors.

3:25 In Italy you also use canned tomatoes in the winter, no shame in that it's delicious (ideally canned by your grandmother the summer before)

Decided to try this despite never liking American tomato soup. Really glad I did, because it was easily the best tomato soup I've ever had. And among the best bowls of noodles too.

A terrible day to be allergic to tomatoes, this looks delicious!

Tomato and eggs. Great combo!
Tomato and pork. Great combo!
Tomato and wheat noodles. Great combo!
Tomato and chili. Great combo!
I feel like adding come coriander greens on top would be amazing..

I love that you took the time to give easier alternatives... And really enjoyed the drawings! Appreciate you guys!!