 The tradition of handmade Siwei vermicelli goes a long way back - over a century, in fact. Siwei is said to be the most famous amongst all vermicelli-making villages in Penghu. The traditional way of making vermicelli takes extremely hard labor and complicated procedures. All villagers had to wake up before dawn and start working from 4 in the morning till sundown, for over 12 hours. The dry, windy weather in Penghu makes great condition for the noodles to be sun-dried and wind-dried evenly, producing that special chewy texture in them. Yet the old-fashioned techniques, which involve a time consuming series of 26 steps, are so complicated that they may take years of experience to master. Nowadays these procedures are mostly modified with the help of modern technology, and the production of noodles is partly by machine and partly by man. Most of all, the sea breezes of Penghu adds to Siwei vermicelli the distinct flavors of a fishing village. |