Traditional rice noodles

Traditional rice noodles

　　Traditional rice noodles are handmade, crafted from high-quality local late-season rice. The production process involves soaking, grinding into slurry, filtering, boiling the dough, pounding the dough, mixing the powder, pressing into strands, rinsing, sun-drying, and bundling. The main production areas include Longxia, Beikeng, Xiahan, and Wuxi in Shuibian Town, as well as Yuanjia and Zhangjia in Luotian Township, with those from Longxia and Beikeng being of especially high quality.

During the Republican era, traditional rice noodles were a major commercial product. Dozens of loads were peddled to streets daily, mostly concentrated around Shuidongmen. The February 1949 issue of “Survey of Important Local Products in Jiangxi Province’s Counties” recorded that Xiashan County produced 100 tons of dried rice noodles annually, with 65 tons shipped to Nanchang, Ji’an, and Ganzhou throughout the year.

In the early years after liberation, the production of traditional rice noodles remained relatively high, with the county producing 250 tons annually in 1950. After the implementation of the unified purchase and marketing system for grain in 1953, household production of traditional rice noodles was restricted, leading to a significant decline in output. Only a portion of grain was allocated by authorities for designated household processing. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the household responsibility system in agriculture was introduced, and some farmers resumed making traditional rice noodles. This led to the emergence of specialized rice noodle producers, with some areas even establishing cooperative processing workshops.

Traditional rice noodles are white, tender, and smooth in texture. They can be stir-fried, boiled, steamed, deep-fried, or served cold in salads. High-quality rice noodles have the characteristics of not breaking apart when stir-fried for long periods or becoming mushy when boiled for extended durations.