Crossing the Bridge-Rice-flour Noodles in the Manner of Yunnan

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Yunnan, literally meaning “South of the ColorfulClouds,”is like spring year-round; flowers bloom in all seasons. Among the sketches of Yunnan local customs and sceneries entitled”Eighteen Wonders in Yunnan,”the 17th wonder falls on “Crossing the Bridge-Rice-flour Noodles in the Manner of Yunnan is loved by all.”This saying is in no way an overstatement. Onceyou’ ve had a bowl of rice-flour noodles, you’ ll know instantly how delicious it is.

Like almost all the local snacks in China, rice-flour noodles in the manner of Yunnan are associated with a moving tale. Popular legend has it that in the suburbs of thetown Mengzi, Yunnan was a lake called Nanhu. In the center of Nanhu Lake was a small island on which thick forests and tall bamboo grew. This small island was a nice place to read and study. During the Qing Dynasty,a xiucai(a person who passed the imperial examination at the county level during the Ming and Qing dynasties) whose surname was Yang read and studied poems and ancient classics every day on this island. His wife would take his favorite food, rice-flour noodles, to him every day byway of a stone bridge that led to the island. As it was a long way, the rice-flour noodles often were cold by thetime they reached him. One day, Yang’s wife cooked a pot of chicken soup for him and, to her surprise, she found that the chicken soup was as hot as ever. Upon closer examination, she realized that a film of oil on the souphad kept it warm. Enlightened by this, the wife made this kind of chicken soup often from then on. She brought with her the cooked rice-flour noodles, sliced pork and vegetables, and, when she reached the stone bridge, she put all these into the chicken soup to heat them. When this bowl of noodles reached Yang, it was just ready to be served. Yang finally succeeded in passing the imperial examinations at higher levels and became an official.

However, what is more praiseworthy than his scholarly honor and oficial rank is this bowl of rice-flour noodles.

Nowadays, more attention is given to the soup, the raw and unrefined materials and the ways of eating thenoodles. The soup can be made of either chicken, duck or pork bones. It is clear and has a pleasantly strong taste,

yet it does not overshadow the original flavors of the other food contained in the bowl of rice-flour noodles.

The meat for rice-flour noodles comprises chicken breast, snake-headed fish, squid, pig tenderloin, pig liver, pigkidney, ham, etc., all of which are made into slices as thin as cicada’s wings. Vegetables for rice-flour noodles include spinach, pea sprouts, yellow Chinese chives, soybean milk and hydrated bamboo shoots, all which arefresh and tender. Ground pepper and boiled chicken oil are poured into a deep bowl, then boiling soup is poured in;a film of oil will surface and envelop the soup. The soup appears calm, but is like a scorching fire within. The meat, vegetables and rice-flour noodles are placed intothe soup and thus heated before it is served. Those who are fussy about eating this food also follow “crossing the bridge”when adding the rice-flour noodles: they move the bowl of noodles closer to the soup bowl, make a bridge of the noodles between the bowls, and then move the noodles into the soup bowl without interruption.

Compared with the process of “crossing the bridge,”the practice of just pouring the noodles whole into the soup is not worthy of the charm of the expression “crossing the bridge.”