Scalded Rice Noodles

Scalded Rice Noodles

　　The "Scalded Rice Noodles" of Yanshan enjoy widespread fame, enduring popularity, and never fail to satisfy.

　　The "Scalded Rice Noodles" of Yanshan are made from high-quality early-season rice, pressed into fresh wet rice noodles. Every early morning, after the noodle workshops finish pressing, they use bamboo sieves to deliver the fresh, thread-like noodles—coiled like yarn—to various scalded noodle shops. The shop chefs then rinse the wet noodles in warm water, place them in blue-rimmed bowls, and then use a large iron pot to bring pre-made pork bone broth to a boil with seasonings such as salt, fennel, rice wine (without sediment), soy sauce, and ginger. Shredded meat, thickened with starch, is added and cooked, then kept warm over low heat. Separately, a clay pot is filled with water, brought to a boil over high heat, and kept ready. When customers arrive, the noodles are poured into a funnel and scalded in the boiling water for 2–3 minutes, drained, and returned to the blue-rimmed bowl. They are then topped with MSG, chopped green onions or cilantro, and rendered lard, and poured over with the meat and broth. Diners can customize their noodles with chili powder, rice vinegar, or other seasonings according to taste, and pair them with side dishes such as youtiao (fried dough sticks), pickled radish shreds, or stir-fried taro shreds.

　　Yanshan’s "Scalded Rice Noodles" are delicious, convenient, and quick to prepare. They are non-sticky, refreshing, and smooth on the palate, yet also economical—with each bowl costing only about 1.5 RMB to fill you up. All year round, early in the morning, elderly people exercising, commuters, and students often choose "Scalded Rice Noodles" as their first breakfast option among many, enjoying them nearby. The "Scalded Rice Noodles" of Yanshan are not just a delicious dish, but also an industry, a brand, and a cultural icon. In the county town of Hekou, there are hundreds of noodle shops scattered throughout the streets and alleys, densely spread across the nine lanes and thirteen streets, with bustling business. Every morning, over 60,000 residents typically eat rice noodles—some dining at shops, others buying them to cook at home. As a result, the suburbs have developed specialized noodle-pressing villages, and some landless farmers have joined the ranks of those selling noodles door-to-door, forming a complete noodle industry chain. Each year, this chain helps process around five million kilograms of grain, generating an output value of more than 20 million RMB. The people of Yanshan have not only opened "Scalded Rice Noodle" shops in neighboring counties and cities such as Shangrao, Yiyang, Hengfeng, and Yingtan, but have also expanded to locations including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, where they are warmly welcomed by diners.