Dabu Rat Noodles

Dabu Rat Noodles

　　Rat noodles, originating in the Dabu area, are said to have a history of several hundred years in Hakka regions. Because they are pointed at both ends and resemble a mouse, and since the Hakka people commonly refer to “noodles” as “bǎn (粄),” they are called rat noodles. Later, they spread to places such as Guangzhou, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

　　[Traditional Way of Eating]

　　Soup Noodles: Boil the rat noodles and serve them in a bowl, topped with minced meat, scallions, pepper, shredded mushrooms, dried shrimp, and other ingredients.

　　Stir-Fried Noodles: Stir-fry various ingredients together with the rat noodles.

　　[Workshop Visit]

　　When we first heard about rat noodles, we were quite surprised—do they really look like mice? Can you eat them? With these questions in mind, our group visited a workshop that makes rat noodles in Dabu County, where we were lucky enough to witness the making process.

　　The master, surnamed Sun, is 58 years old and has been making rat noodles for over 20 years. His craft is family-inherited—he started learning from his father at a young age. Through exposure and natural talent, he quickly mastered the skill.

　　Every morning, Master Sun soaks the sticky rice used for making rat noodles in water for three hours before beginning production. He then scoops out the soaked rice, drains the water, and puts it into a machine to grind it into powder. Water is added to mix it, which is then poured into molds and pressed into a large, hard block of rice dough using a stone slab. The pressing process takes about three hours, and the moisture must be thoroughly pressed out. While chatting with us, Master Sun divided the pressed dough into several small pieces and placed them into a big pot of boiling water. Cooking the dough block takes about 10–15 minutes until it’s just half-cooked. When asked how to tell whether it’s half-cooked, he modestly said, “I can’t really explain, I judge by experience.”

　　The cooked dough block is then placed in a basin to be kneaded until it becomes soft. It is then placed on a noodle scraper above a big pot, and the maker vigorously scrapes back and forth. The resulting noodles are about 1–2 inches long, dropping into the pot. Once the noodles float up, they are fished out and soaked in cold water. After cooling, they are taken out and dried to complete the process.

　　Master Sun says the whole process relies on manual work and is quite labor-intensive, taking about 2–3 hours without stopping; otherwise, good rat noodles can’t be made. He explained that rat noodles are sold at 3 yuan per jin (500g). In the off-season, he makes about 20 jin of rice per day, and in peak season around 50 jin. One jin of rice can yield roughly 1.8 jin of noodles. Now, it's just him and his wife doing the work. Being older, they can't make much. They usually sell to familiar breakfast shops and neighbors—who all love the noodles—and they make as much as they can manage.