The Kaleidoscope of Guangxi Rice Noodles

For Chinese, there is a widely circulated saying that humanity's most fundamental relationship is with what we eat. Food seems like an especial language that serves for revealing the history, society and culture of a certain region. As the beloved of Guangxi people, rice noodles not only offer the joyfulness created by mouth-watering taste, but also turns into a symbol of social culture. Twisting the kaleidoscope of Guangxi Rice Noodles enables you to open a varicolored map of humanistic style, experiencing the splendors of Guangxi. 

Behind the delicacy made from rice

Rice noodles are a rice product with strip shape, silk shape or roll-shape after the rice have been soaking, grinding, steaming and shaping, boasting flexible texture. Accompanied by a variety of ingredients or soups, rice noodles would amaze tasters. For Guangxi people, rice noodles are indispnsable, which is also a unique component of Guangxi culture. Therefore, approaching Guangxi rice noodles enables people to realize hidden folk stories, historical legend and social evolution of this region, enhancing the sense of cultural assimilation.

In Nanning City, the provincial capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Laoyou (meaning "old friend" in Chinese) Rice Noodles are a notable representative of folk delicacy without stratification, which wonderfully coalesce sour with spicy taste. The whole cooking process attaches importance to fierce fire and fast stir-fried, otherwise the meat and rice noodles hardly attain the greatest mouthfeel.

It is said that Laoyou Rice Noodles are born of a folk story. In the 1930s, a food enthusiast catching a cold with a bad appetite went to a restaurant to find a master who could cook some noodles for him. The cooker adopted an original idea and cooked a bowl of noodles with fermented black soybeans, garlic, chili, sour bamboo shoots and minced pork. The spicy and sour flavors instantly increased his appetite. The lover sent a plaque bearing "Lao You Chang Lai" meaning that wish old friends come frequently.

There is a widespread sentence that "East or west, Guilin's scenery is the best". In fact, Guilin Rice Noodles have been as famous as Guilin's scenery with soft and smooth taste. The most vital process is the production of the master stock, a seasoning made by pork and beef bones, siraitia grosvenorii and other condiments. The perfect match of the master stock, side dishes and gliding rice noodles, generates a mouth-watering folk relish.

Behind the Guilin Rice Noodles, a historial legend cannot be ignored. In order to unify China, Emperor Ying Zheng of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) sent troops to fight in The Namied Kingdom that situates in a mountainous area with poor transportation, so the Qin Army faced food shortage, being hungry and sick easily. Instead, the cooker took the rice as raw materials because this area was rich in rice, and the hand-made rice noodles were born. At the same time, the army doctor used local Chinese herbs and produced an medicinal soup to prevent illness. Because of the tension of the war, soldiers often smashed rice noodles and medicinal soups together. Over time, Guilin Rice Noodles with master stock have gradually formed a popular dish.

Liuzhou River Snails Rice Noodles own a worldwide reputation because of its delicacy and distinct soup, which is made of river snails, kaempferia galanga, illicium verum, cinnamon, cloves and various peppers. The hot-and-spicy soup base and rich accessories of Liuzhou River Snails Rice Noodles resemble the bold and forthright temperament of Liuzhou people, that is why the rice noodles are the indulgence of the native.

The origins of Liuzhou River Snails Rice Noodles have little information. Neverthless, Chinese archaeologists thought that the history of Liuzhou human relates to the food culture of river snails. More than 40 years ago, they found a large amount of snail shell being stored at Bailian Cave of Liuzhou City, so it is evident to estimate that about 20,000 years ago, Liujiang men (the earliest modern humans living in LiuJiang of Guangxi) who lived in Bailian Cave began fishing for river snails and learned to taste. The existence of Liuzhou River Snails Rice Noodles are not only for keeping people fed, but also for evidencing the social evolution of this city.

Tips:

How to cook the Laoyou Rice Noodles 

1. Sour bamboo shoots, garlics, fermented black soybeans, chili, ginger and other ingredients are stir-fried in the pan. After a fragrant appearing, pork or beef are put into the pan to stir-fry again to produce the "Old Friend Ingredients", which is cooked with rice noodles and soup-stock, and he chopped green onion are sprinkled finally.

Transmitting the culture of rice noodles 

Those stories and connotations empower rice noodles a higher cultural value worth being cherished by people. Thus, the Rice Noodles Museum located in Nanning City catches the sight of the public. The museum presents the long-established culture of rice noodles in the forms of cultural relics, antique utensils and graphic displays. At the same time, nearly 50 types of molds of rice noodles from all over Guangxi have been displayed in four exhibition halls. After visiting, citizens are capable of contacting and familiarizing with the culture of Guangxi rice noodles, promoting the inheritance and dissemination of Guangxi's folk culture.

In addition, external communication of rice-noodle culture is also an considerable issue. The World Rice Noodle Expo 2019 held from November 11, 2019 to November 18, 2019 at Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center of Guangxi, is a great platform where rice noodles turn into a bridge linking diverse cultural layers and transmitting the culture of rice noodles, the growth of Guangxi, and the beauty of China to the world.

Food is able to carry the cultural power that unfold the spirit of a country. Guangxi rice noodles possess a great ability that people can discovery the splendor of Guangxi in the common life. 

Tips:

Rice Noodles Museum

1.Adds: No.18 Changhu Road, Qingxiu District, Nanning City, Guangxi, China

2.Four exhibition halls: The History and Culture of Rice Noodles Exhibition Hall, Rice Noodles DIY and Handmade Stone-Mill Rice Noodles Workshop, Rice Noodles Banquet Hall and Guangxi Top Ten Rice Noodles Experience Store

Source: China-ASEAN Panorama