过桥米线過橋米線
guò qiáo mǐ xiàn gwo3 kiu4 mai5 sin3
“Crossing-the-bridge” rice noodles arrive as a science kit: scalding broth sealed under a film of oil, and a dozen tiny plates you cook yourself at the table, in strict order, raw meat first.
The story behind it
The story: a scholar studied on an island in Mengzi’s South Lake, and his wife found his lunches cold by the time she crossed the bridge — until she discovered a layer of chicken oil kept the broth scalding, and carried the ingredients separately. True or not, the dish made Yunnan’s rice noodles national. The broth looks deceptively calm under its oil seal; waiters warn every newcomer not to sip first.
Ingredients
- Rich chicken and pork-bone broth with a proper layer of chicken oil
- 200 g fresh rice noodles (米线)
- Paper-thin raw slices: chicken breast, pork loin, fish
- Quail egg, ham slivers, tofu skin, chives, bean sprouts
- Pickled chilies and Yunnan herbs to taste
Steps
- Heat bowls until almost too hot to touch; fill with boiling oil-sealed broth.
- At the table, slide in the raw meats and egg first — they cook in the broth.
- Add tofu skin, vegetables and ham next.
- Finish with the noodles, season, and eat from the top down.