Guoqiao Rice Noodle

Guoqiao is a rice noodle dish that means “across the bridge“.

The Legend of Guoqiao rice noodle

Legend has it that guo qiao mi xian came about when a young scholar in Yunnan province retreated to another place to prepare for the imperial examination in Qing Dynasty. His loving wife would travel and cross a nearby bridge to bring him his daily meal.

Frequently, his meal would turn cold by the time he gets to eat it. One day, quite by chance, she discovered a bowl of chicken soup could keep warm with a layer of oil on top. From then on, she would serve the noodles and meat slices with the oil layer soup and the young scholar could enjoy a warm meal every day. When the scholar did well in the examination, he credited his success to his wife’s noodles hence this dish Across the Bridge Rice Noodles was popularized.

Guoqiao Rice Noodles Recipe

It is a typical Yunnan local food. This dish consists of several assorted ingredients:

Ingredients

• 9 ounces very fine Chinese egg noodles
• 1 ounce spinach
• 2 ounces boneless chicken breasts
• 2 ounces fish fillets, skinned and de-boned
• 2 ounces shrimp or prawns, shelled
• 1/2 teaspoon rice wine
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon soy sauce
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chicken fat

Cooking Directions

1. Blanch the spinach or rape briefly in boiling water, drain, and set aside. Mix the rice wine, ginger, 1/8 tsp of the salt, and the soy sauce into a marinade. Slice the chicken, fish, and prawns paper-thin. Spread out on a serving platter and add the marinade.

2. Heat a pot of water to boiling and add the noodles. Bring back to a boil and cook uncovered until they are soft, about 4 minutes for dried noodles and 2 minutes for fresh ones. Drain in a colander and lay the spinach on top.

3. Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan and add the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt, and the chicken fat. Bring to a fast boil for 1 minute. Transfer to a tureen, previously filled with hot water and then drained, and bring to the table with the platter of meats and the colander of noodles.

4. Pour the meat and noodles into the boiling hot broth. They will cook instantly. Stir and serve in individual bowls.

Learn Some Mandarin Words

guò qiáo mǐ xiàn
过    桥      米  线         Guo qiao rice noodle      n.
shēng yú piàn
生         鱼  片              Sashimi            n.
kuài zī
筷    子                         chopsticks       n.
mǐ fěn
米  粉                          rice noodles         n.

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