Old Friend Rice Noodles

One of the most well-loved and famous dishes in Nanning, Guangxi Province, Old Friend Noodles (老友面 lǎoyǒumiàn) or Old Friend Rice Noodles (老友粉 lǎoyǒufěn), have been associated with the snack-loving town for generations. A no-frills, deliciously addictive dish, it is a part of the everyday streetscape of life in Nanning. "I guess most local people take it for granted," says Guangxi native Yang Jie, "but when you haven't had it for a while, you crave it." Having eaten the noodles all her life, The Hutong Chef, who can otherwise be found crusading for nature at environmental group Greenpeace, is passionate about food, its science and its ethnography.

Like an old friend, the legendary noodles provide solace and comfort to the weary eater and, as an added benefit, have much vaunted health properties. This, the most quintessential of Nanning nibbles, is revered as the go-to snack in a city renowned for its food.

Like so many provincial dishes, its unusual moniker is derived from a folktale, its true origins lost with legend and time. The story goes that a loyal customer drank tea at a Nanning teahouse everyday at a set time, with almost religious devotion. Absent for a day after falling afoul with a bad cold, the concerned teahouse proprietor cooked a simple bowl of noodles with garlic, hot and sour chilli sauce, fermented bamboo shoots and beans and pork, and sent them over to the convalescing customer. While eating the noodles, the potent spicy, sour mixture caused the loyal customer to perspire profusely, allowing him to "sweat out" the cold. He made a quick (and tasty) recovery. Grateful for the intervention, the noodles became known as "Old Friend."

Sharing a border with Vietnam, Nanning faces Southeast Asia and is home to more than 30 ethnic minority groups—making for an exciting fusion of flavors. Not unlike its nearby neighbouring province of Guangdong, the food of Nanning places a particular emphasis on freshness, a tender texture and nourishing properties. Humid sub-tropical weather also makes hot, sour and salty three essential appetite-stimulating flavors.

Laoyoufen ticks all the right boxes—tantalizingly sour pickled bamboo excites the tastebuds, and aids digestion. The curiously simple fermenting process used for the uniquely crunchy and sour bamboo doesn't use an added pickling agent, but instead uses clean pure water to draw out the natural sourness in young bamboo shoots. In a hot climate, this was the go-to method for preserving vegetables before modern refrigeration. Custom has persisted to the present day because of the delicious results. Hot chilli raises a sweat and helps the body cool down to cope with the heat. Combining the hot and sour flavors "helps clear the sinuses and provides relief for the common cold," Yang Jie asserts. Silky rice noodles no doubt are easier to eat and are rather soothing for a tired sore throat.

Quite possibly Nanning's answer to the famous Chicken Soup penicillin, think of your Old Friend Noodles as panacea in a bowl!

Old Friend Rice Noodles 老友粉

Ingredients

250g fresh or 150g dried flat rice noodles 米粉 mǐfěn

100g sliced pork shoulder or 3 Tbsp minced pork 猪腿肉/猪绞肉 zhūtuǐròu/zhūjiǎoròu

2 Tbsp chopped pickled bamboo shoots 酸笋 suānsǔn