What does the strong coastal wind blow? It can't blow away the not-so-chewy Hsinchu rice noodles and the people who make them.

Reported and photographed by Yu Jiayun / Hsinchu

The strong coastal wind of Hsinchu brings out bright red dried persimmons and golden mullet roe, and of course, rice noodles — whether stir-fried or boiled, they’re also one of the delicious dishes. In the past, Hsinchu’s rice noodle workshops gathered hundreds of families making noodles, but with the decline of traditional industries, there are now only a handful left. In Xiangshan, Hsinchu, one family-run shop that has been passed down through four generations still preserves the traditional sun-drying process of making rice noodles. It is also the only heritage brand in Hsinchu inherited by a woman. Amidst modern innovation, it upholds the perseverance of the previous generation, using rice noodles to preserve the memory of Hsinchu’s wind and flavors.

▲Sun-dried rice noodles are now quite rare.

▲Hsinchu Kuo Family International Rice Noodles.

“In the past, our shop never closed its doors, not even for 24 hours. We started grinding rice at 1 a.m., steamed and pulled the noodles in the afternoon, and by evening, people would start coming to buy them. Even late at night, you could hear the sound of people pounding rice, which was very lively,” said Kuo Li-feng. She explained that back then, there were around 20 households making rice noodles in the area, and the whole settlement smelled richly of rice. Kuo Li-feng said that in those days, her family alone could produce 5,000 kilograms of rice noodles a day — an astonishing output that showed just how popular Hsinchu rice noodles were.

▲Everyone in the rice noodle factory works together in division of labor.

▲The extruded noodles need to cool down.

With the prevalence of machines and the decline of traditional industries, there are now only about 15 rice noodle shops left in Hsinchu, and even fewer are willing to follow the old methods and use traditional sun-drying techniques. “My dad was the best — he could just look outside when he woke up and know what the weather would be like for the day, but he’s only just taught me that skill,” said Kuo Li-feng. In the past, when the daily production was 5,000 kilograms, it was impossible to rely entirely on sun-drying, so they had to use drying ovens. But sun-dried noodles couldn’t touch water — if it looked like rain, they had to be collected right away. Being even a bit slow could ruin the noodles, and you’d get scolded.

▲Kuo Li-feng shares her childhood experiences making rice noodles with everyone.

▲Rice noodles are rolled into different sizes depending on the packaging.

Interestingly, while most people think “chewy and springy” is the highest compliment for rice noodles, for the people who make them, that springiness is actually a compromise. “A lot of people buy our pure-rice noodles to stir-fry, and then come back asking why yours break apart, why they’re not chewy and don’t cook well,” she said. But in reality, 100% pure rice noodles are naturally less elastic. To cater to modern tastes, adjustments had to be made in the ingredient ratios. Although this compromise once led to misunderstandings and even dealt a heavy blow to Hsinchu’s rice noodle industry, under the blowing of the coastal wind, the doubts and misunderstandings will eventually fade — but they can’t blow away the people whose lives are deeply connected to these slender strands of noodles and to this land.

▲%Many steps are still completed manually.