All you need to know about Jiangxi rice noodles

Exhibitors introduce products at the inaugural China Rice Noodle Festival in Nanchang, capital city of East China's Jiangxi province on June 12. [Photo/IC]

In the provincial capital of Nanchang, the noodles are usually tossed with sesame oil and garlic, and are paired with soup cooked in a jar.

In Xinyu, the smallest city in the province, the rice noodles are made using only high quality rice and mountain spring water. The complicated preparation process involves a series of steps that ensure the noodles gain an elasticity that helps them retain their form during boiling or frying.

Over in Yingtan, locals eat their noodles with braised beef and a bowl of spicy soup. This particular rendition of the noodles is more fragrant than those found in other parts of Jiangxi, and is a favorite of people who love heavy flavors.

In Anyuan county of Ganzhou, the rice noodles are usually boiled with the lean meat, liver and small intestines of pigs. It is said that the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) scholar and calligrapher Tang Bohu, also known as Tang Yin, once lavished praise on the dish in a poem after he was treated to a bowl of it during a tour of the city.

With these noodles being such an integral part of Jiangxi culture, locals have gone to great lengths to maintain its reputation as a local specialty.

At Poyang Lake Ecological Agriculture Co Ltd, a professional producer of Jiangxi rice noodles based in Yichun, a wide range of testing equipment is utilized to ensure that the products are free of additives like pigments and edible glues.

According to the company's general manager Cao Dongsheng, his factory uses 11 laborious steps that span about three days to transform rice into high quality rice noodles.