Chinese · Yunnan · main

Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles (Guo Qiao Mi Xian)

Name: Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles (Guo Qiao Mi Xian)
Prep time: 3 h 38 min
Total time: 3 h 38 min
Cuisine: Chinese · Yunnan
Ingredients: chicken — 100 g; pork bones — 500 g; yunnan xuanwei ham — 150 g; water — 4000 g; fresh ginger — 40 g; spring onions — 330 g; salt — 10 g; ground white pepper — 1 g; chicken breast — 150 g; pork loin — 150 g; whitefish — 150 g; eggs — 800 g; shiitake — 150 g; pea shoots — 150 g; rice noodles — 600 g; chicken fat — 54 g

Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles (Guo Qiao Mi Xian) reads richness 5.0, umami 4.3 and salinity 3.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Yunnan main, about 3 hr 38 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 5.0 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 1.1 / 10
Sour & Bright — 0.5 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.6 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.2 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.0 · Umami 4.3 · Salinity 3.5 · Allium 3.2 · Earthy 2.5 · Marine & Briny 2.3 · Warm Spice 2.3 · Herbaceous 2.2 · Sweetness 1.1 · Funk & Ferment 1.0 · Bitterness 0.7 · Heat 0.7 · Nutty 0.5

What's in it (16)

chicken — 100 g
pork bones — 500 g
yunnan xuanwei ham — 150 g
water — 4000 g
fresh ginger — 40 g
spring onions — 330 g
salt — 10 g
ground white pepper — 1 g
chicken breast — 150 g
pork loin — 150 g
whitefish — 150 g
eggs — 800 g
shiitake — 150 g
pea shoots — 150 g
rice noodles — 600 g
chicken fat — 54 g

Time & effort: about 3 hr 38 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 65.7 kcal, 3.5 g protein, 2.3 g fat, 7.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

Blanch the chicken, pork bones and ham in boiling water 5 minutes, drain and rinse.
Return them to the pot with the water, ginger and spring onions. Bring to the boil, skim carefully, then simmer 3 to 4 hours, topping up as needed, until the broth is rich and faintly golden. Strain it, season with the salt and white pepper, and keep the fat you skim off the top.
Arrange the raw sliced chicken, pork and fish on plates in single layers no thicker than 2 mm. This only works if the slices are genuinely thin, so half-freeze the meat for 30 minutes before slicing.
Bring the broth back to a hard boil. Ladle it into very hot deep bowls, preheated with boiling water, and spoon a tablespoon of the reserved chicken fat onto each. The fat forms a lid that traps the heat: the broth stays above 90 C for several minutes off the stove, and that stored heat is what cooks the food. It is also why the surface looks deceptively still, and why every Yunnanese account of the dish comes with a warning not to sip it.
At the table each eater slides in the raw meats and fish first, stirring 20 to 30 seconds until they turn opaque, then the quail eggs and mushrooms, then the greens, and finally the rice noodles. Eat straight away.
Substitutions: Jinhua ham can stand in for the Yunnan xuanwei ham; oyster mushrooms can stand in for the fresh shiitake; chrysanthemum greens can stand in for the pea shoots.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Polvo à Lagareiro — Portuguese
Crawfish Pie — Cajun/Creole
Mirliton and Shrimp Casserole — Cajun/Creole
Crawfish Fettuccine — Cajun/Creole
Sopa de Mandioca — Brazilian

Keep reading: what richness, umami, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.