Yuxi Sour Soup Rice Noodles

Yuxi Sour Soup Rice Noodles

　　The uniquely flavored Yuxi Sour Soup Rice Noodles are famous throughout the province for their delicious taste. Those who have visited Yuxi but haven’t tried this dish will surely regret it.

Yang Caike’s Sour Soup Rice Noodles were the most renowned among the many rice noodle stalls in Yuxi’s old town before liberation. Back then, he set up his stall under Xianggu Tower (now at the intersection of Xinnong Road and Beimen Street), using Yuxi’s large white rice (an old variety) as the raw material, which he milled and sold himself. The resulting noodles were fine, white, soft, yet not mushy.

To serve a bowl of the noodles, first place some chopped leeks, then cover with a piece of pea jelly about four fingers wide and one centimeter thick. Next, add sweet vinegar (homemade), soy sauce, sesame paste (also homemade), Chinese toon water, and salt brine. Finally, pour on a spoonful of clear, bright red chili oil dotted with two or three bits of crispy fried pork fat. When the bowl is placed in front of you, the rich aroma is irresistible and instantly whets your appetite. In the bowl, snow-white rice noodles, golden pea jelly, emerald-green leeks, jet-black soy sauce, and bright red chili oil (made fresh daily, hence richly fragrant) create a vibrant, eye-catching medley. The dish is cool, fragrant, delicious, and wonderfully satisfying. In the hot summer months, the eatery is crowded with patrons, and some regular visitors from Kunming even drive over to enjoy a meal, often taking several servings back to share with friends and family. Among the rural folks of Yuxi, there’s a saying: “If you visit the State City market without having a bowl of Yang Caike’s Sour Soup Rice Noodles, you might as well not have come at all.”