Rice noodles are a unique delicacy in Qijiang.

Qijiang rice noodles, as the name suggests, are rice noodles from Qijiang. Qijiang rice is pink, white, soft, tender and smooth. In addition to the strip-shaped rice skin, different streets and towns have different cooking methods, different seasonings, and even different cooking methods.

Qijiang rice noodles are a delicacy on the tongue of Qijiang people, embodying the deep longing for their hometown among travelers from far away.

Qijiang rice is pink, white and soft, tender and smooth

Among Qijiang rice noodles, Fuhuan rice noodles are a time-honored brand.

According to the book "Qijiang Street Town History and Culture Series: Humanistic Fuhuan", Fuhuan rice noodles originated during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty (around 1841 AD). At that time, Liu Qingfeng, a wealthy businessman in Fuhuan, owned thousands of acres of farmland, dozens of servants, and lived a prosperous life. He opened shops in Yunnan and Guizhou and his business was booming. Once when Liu Qingfeng returned to Fuhuan, he talked to his family about eating rice cakes in Yunnan. His family was envious and started making rice cake skins himself. They soaked the rice and ground it into a slurry with a stone mill. Then they covered it with cotton cloth on a rice cake mat, scooped out the rice slurry and steamed it. After steaming, they cut it into squares of different sizes with a knife, scalded it with boiling water and put on seasonings. When eaten, it is delicate, smooth, tender and delicious. Liu Qingfeng treated rice peel as a fine delicacy to his guests.

In the 30th year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1850), the technique of making rice cake skins was improved, and the squares became strips. Fuhuan rice noodles have become the signature food of Fuhuan, and the rice noodle restaurants are full of diners every day. During the Republic of China, Fuhuan rice noodle restaurants mushroomed, and five or six new rice noodle restaurants were added to the street.

A rice noodle processing workshop in Fuhuan Town is drying rice noodle

After the reform and opening up, more and more people in Fuhuan Town know how to steam rice noodles, and they have opened rice noodle restaurants one after another. , restaurants such as "Alley Rice Noodles", "Gujia Rice Noodles" and "Youshi Rice Noodles" appeared. In order to win over consumers, rice noodle restaurants work hard on condiments. For this reason, rice noodles have different flavors.

Later, Fuhuan rice noodle restaurants opened in Wansheng, Nanping, Tongzi, Zunyi and other places. There are too many Fuhuan rice noodles in various streets and towns in Qijiang.

"Let's go to Tieshiya to eat rice noodles!" Eating rice noodles at Tieshiya is a saying that most people in Qijiang talk about. Mr. Zhang, 46 years old, lives in Datong Town and works in Qijiang City. Every time he passes Tieshiya on Datong Road, he has to stop and eat a bowl of rice noodles. Mr. Zhang said that Tieshiya rice noodles are a delicacy that he cannot forget, and it is an indelible memory in his life.

Ms. Sun, who worked as a teacher in the central primary school of Ganshui Town in her early years, has a deep memory of Tieshiya rice noodles. The Central Primary School of Ganshui Town is about 3 kilometers away from Tieshiya. Back then, she and her colleagues often walked or took a tricycle to Tieshiya to eat rice noodles. For Ms. Sun, Tieshiya rice noodles are the memory of her youth and the imprint of her life.

There are several rice noodle restaurants in Tieshiya, Ganshui Town, and Tieshiya rice noodles in Ganshui Town have become a well-known synonym for gourmet food, and it is also one of the popular folk delicacies of Qijiang people. Signboards for Tieshiya Rice Noodles in Ganshui Town can be seen in Qijiang City, including the main city of Chongqing, Tongzi, Xishui, Zunyi and other places in Guizhou Province.

The Yujia rice noodle brand was founded more than 30 years ago. Shop owner Yu Guangshu recalled that in May 1986, she founded the Ganshui Yujia Rice Noodle Restaurant in Tieshiya, Ganshui Town. The rice noodle was produced by her family. At that time, she conducted a comprehensive inspection of rice noodle restaurants in Qijiang and found that the production techniques of rice noodles were similar and the quality was acceptable. If you want to create the characteristics of a rice noodle restaurant, you can only work hard on the dumplings. Therefore, she conducted many experiments and developed her own unique recipe of gupzi.

Clear Rice Noodles

During the Spring Festival of 1991, on the recommendation of Qianshui Industrial and Commercial Office, Yu Guangshu rushed to the county seat with his tools, prepared rice noodles, seasonings and dumplings to represent Qianshui. In the catering industry, we participated in the first Qijiang Individual Famous Snacks Exhibition. The delicious taste and unique cooking skills of Yujia rice noodles attracted many citizens to taste them at the exhibition.

Rushui Yujia Rice Noodles finally won the title of "Qijiang County Famous Snacks". As a result, "Cushui Yujia Rice Noodles" has become famous and deeply favored by consumers.

For more than 30 years, "Cushui Yujia Rice Noodles" has never left the place of Cushui Tieshiya. Yujia rice noodles have been integrated into the big brand "Tieshiya rice noodles in Ganshui Town".

"I eat Fuhuan rice noodles almost once a week. Although I live in Zunyi, when I see the Fuhuan rice noodles sign, I can't help but walk in." In Zunyi City, Guizhou Province Liu Ming, who runs a shop, said that she grew up eating Fuhuan rice noodles. When she was young, she studied abroad, and her first meal every time she came home was rice noodles. Now that she works in Zunyi, she still can't forget the taste of rice noodles.

According to Liu Ming, there are several rice noodle shops in Zunyi. The one opened by Fuhuan people is called Fuhuan rice noodle, and the one opened by people driving water is called Tieshiya rice noodle. She often goes to the Fuhuan Rice Noodle Shop, perhaps because the owner is a fellow shopkeeper, so she feels a sense of intimacy when sitting in the shop. "I found that wherever there are many people in Qijiang, there are Fuhuan rice noodle and Tieshiya rice noodle restaurants. Sometimes I really have to thank these Qijiang people who opened rice noodle restaurants, because they brought the taste of hometown to me."

"My favorite food is pickled cabbage rice noodles. The rice noodles are soft and delicate, and pickled cabbage increases the taste..." Wang Yongmin said that pickled cabbage rice noodles are a unique taste among Qijiang rice noodles. When he returned to Qijiang during the Spring Festival last year, he tasted this kind of taste at a "Tieshiya Rice Noodles" restaurant on Shaxi Road, and now his mouth is watering just thinking about it. Whether it is Tieshiya rice noodles or Fuhuan rice noodles, most of them are based on pork dumplings and spicy condiments. This pickled cabbage rice noodles should be another innovation. "My mother came to Chengdu to see me on May Day this year, and she even brought two kilograms of rice noodles to cook for me, but I always felt that the rice noodles cooked by my mother lacked the taste."

Braised Pork Rice Noodles with Rice Noodles

Wang Yongming currently works in a company in Chengdu. He said that when he returns to Qijiang during the Spring Festival this year, he must go to Shaxi Road to eat a bowl of pickled cabbage rice noodles. Maybe you really have to go back to Qijiang and sit in a rice noodle restaurant in Qijiang to taste its unique taste.

"Every local delicacy has strong regional characteristics, and these delicacies can best evoke memories deep in people's hearts." Wang Yongming said, in fact, this is what is deep in everyone's heart. Hometown complex is a concept, and food is the warmest symbol in this concept.

Rice noodles are Qijiang’s favorite delicacy, and rice noodle restaurants can be found all over Qijiang. Whether it's Fuhuan rice noodles, Ganshuitieshiya rice noodles, An'an rice noodles, or Datong rice noodles, they all have the same name: Qijiang rice noodles. A bowl of rice noodles condenses the warmest nostalgia of Qijiang people.