Dry Tossed Rice Noodles

Dry Tossed Rice Noodles

　　“捞粉,” when “dry tossed,” means served cold and mixed. The noodles are cold, the vegetables are cold, and the sauce is cold—tangy, sweet, smooth, and refreshing, comforting to both the spleen and stomach. It comes with a bowl of clear broth sprinkled with chopped scallions. Dry Tossed Rice Noodles are a specialty snack of Nanning. The dish is made by steaming rice paste into strips and then mixing it with prepared char siu, minced meat, scallions, fried peanuts, sauce, and sesame oil before serving. It is characterized by being fragrant, tangy, crispy, sweet, and salty in perfect balance, delicious without being greasy.

　　Ingredients for Making

　　2 tablespoons Beijing sauce, 2 tablespoons sweet bean sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon cooking wine, 1 teaspoon sugar, a pinch of MSG.

　　Stir-fried Scallion Sauce: ½ tablespoon soy sauce, ⅓ tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, ⅓ tablespoon pepper, spicy-sour sauce

　　Ingredients: 1 scallion, 2 slices of ginger, 3 garlic cloves, 2 green chilies, 2 red chilies.

　　Seasonings: 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon cooking wine, 1 teaspoon vinegar, 3 teaspoons broad bean paste, ½ tablespoon cornstarch slurry.

　　Preparation Method

　　Wash the scallion, peel the ginger and garlic, and finely chop them separately. Remove seeds from the red and green chilies, wash, and finely chop. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan, add the chopped scallion, ginger, and garlic to sauté until fragrant. Stir in the broad bean paste, then mix in the other seasonings. Pour in half a cup of water and bring to a boil, thicken with the cornstarch slurry, and sprinkle with chopped green and red chilies before serving.

　　Cultural Flavor

　　A specialty of Nanning. Rice is ground into a paste and made into noodle-like rice strips, which are generally slightly thicker than ramen but softer. Once made, they are cooled and sold in markets. People buy them (or can also directly eat them at small shops on the streets and alleys of Guilin, very affordable—only 5–6 yuan per bowl. In some places, it may come in soup). They are briefly blanched in hot water for a minute or two, taken out, and then topped with a unique Guilin-style sauce, char siu beef or pork, as well as sour beans or pickled vegetables loved in southern China, or pickled radish, peanuts, soybeans, and ginger slices. Those who like spice can also add chili sauce. No soup is added to the bowl. After finishing the noodles, have a bowl of winter melon soup—it feels great.