It's no secret that Chinese love to eat. In a culture that treasures a good meal, it's no surprise that many dishes have their own legends and history. Crossing-the-Bridge noodles, a staple in Yunnan Province, is one such dish.
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)，many scholars lived on the shores of South Lake in southeastern Yunnan. Amongst the beautiful scenery they poured over their texts and dreamed of becoming officials. One man, Yang, sat and r ead each day at the pavilion in the middle of the lake. Although his wife always took him meals, Yang was so absorbed in his studies that he often forgot to eat. By the time
he would look up from his texts and see the dishes, the food would be cold.
Concerned about Yang's health, his wife mulled over the problem, but she couldn't figure out a solution. One day, she killed a hen, cooked it and took the chicken and soup to her husband. When she returned to collect the empty bowl, she discovered her husband hadn't touched his food. With a sigh, she bent down to pick up the pot, planning to reheat the soup for Yang to eat later. To her surprise, the
pot was still warm. When she lifted the lid, she discovered a layer of chicken oil floating on the top. The oil and the pot helped keep in the heat. She had finally found a way to ensure her husband always ate a hot lunch.
Since Yang and his wife had to cross the bridge to reach the pavilion, rice noodles cooked in a ceramic pot with chicken broth became known as "Guoqiao Mixian (Crossing-the-Bridge rice noodles)."
Rice noodles are a staple food in Yunnan. Northern Chinese fill up on noodles made from wheat flour and dumplings, but rice-and foods derived from rice-makes up the bulk of southerners' diets. Bao Qing, owner of Dai Ethnic Restaurant in Beijing and a native of southwest Yunnan, says she eats rice noodles everyday, even for breakfast.”People from Yunnan, who are working in Beijing, love to eat rice
noodles, especially for lunch," she says.
Many Yunnan-style restaurants, such as Dai Ethnic Restaurant, make Crossing-the-Bridge noodles by first preparing a steaming-hot chicken broth. Then, a waitress carries a tray to the table. On the tray is the soup, a plate of cold rice noodles and a variety of uncooked eggs, vegetables and thinly sliced meats.
Normally, the meat will be chicken, ham or kidney, but the more expensive varieties of the dish use exotic meats, such as snake, fish or squid. To finish preparing the dish, the waitress tosses all of the ingredients Into the pot of near-boiling broth.
