Char Siu Rice Noodles (广西叉烧粉)

A breakfast classic in the Guangxi province.

Where in the world has the very best rice noodles?

I think if you asked most people, their answer'd probably be Vietnam. And it's a strong choice, no doubt, but also consider Thailand or Myanmar, both of which also bring a pretty strong game. And for China? The Fujian province's got their famed Char Kway Tiao, and of course you've got Guangdong that's got Beef Hofun and Changfen rice noodle rolls.

But there’s an eternally under-rated cuisine that I don't think gets quite enough international acclaim for the sheer depth of their rice noodle culture – the autonomous region of Guangxi, sandwiched between Guangdong and Vietnam.

Because this one small province? It's got… practically an entire country's worth of rice noodle dishes: the ever popular Guilin mifen, of course, but also… Liuzhou's snail rice noodles, Nanning's ol' buddy rice noodles, Quanzhou chili oil rice noodles, Yulin's beef jerky rice noodles, Longlin chicken soup rice noodles, various juantongfen – rice noodle rolls, roast duck rice noodles, cold rice noodles, shengzhafen, fenchong, the list goes on and on.

Walk into a market in Nanning and you're immediately greeted with rice noodle stands front and center – vendors complete with an impressive mélange of shapes, sizes, and textures of rice in noodle form. Wake up early and head down the street, and you're bound to see scores of people, perched up on plastic stools, slurping down a Guangxi-style Char Siu rice noodle soup for breakfast.

What are Char Siu Noodles?

There is a lot of stuff we wanna cover here, but it's that breakfast style noodle, Char Siu rice noodles, that we wanted to show you today. It's a soothing, delicious dish, and unlike a lot of street food classics is actually relatively reasonable to whip up at home.

That said, if you do want to have it first thing for breakfast, it will take a bit of prep in advance… but as long as you have your components ready you'll be able to whip up a bowl in no time flat.

In Guangxi, this is served basically buffet style where you can add your toppings of choice. And further confusing things… many restaurants'll have their own mix. But the constants here would probably be (1) rice noodles, of course, (2) pork bone stock (3) char siu barbecue pork (4) scallion, and (5) pickled bamboo shoots.

Component #1: Pickled Bamboo Shoots

• Pickled Bamboo Shoots (酸笋), 300g.

• Chili powder, 1 tbsp. Optional.

Process:

Julienne 300g of pickled bamboo shoots, squeeze out the excess liquid.

Over a high flame, toast for 5-6 minutes, or until the surface is mostly dry. Remove.

Over a low flame, add ~2 tbsp of oil and quickly fry 1 tbsp chili powder for ~15 seconds. Up the flame to high, add the toasted bamboo shoots and - if your package of pickled bamboo shoots came with some pickled chilis - also toss those in. Fry everything together for ~2 minutes. Jar it up. Should last at least a couple weeks in the fridge.

Component #2: Guangxi style Char Siu

• Lean pork (瘦肉), 1kg.

• Marinade:

  Scallion, 100g.

  Ginger (姜), 50g.

  Garlic, 50g.

  Star anise (八角), 3g/two pieces.

  Sand ginger a.k.a. kencur (沙姜), 3g/12 pieces. Or equivalent amount dried galangal or ginger.

  White peppercorns (白胡椒), 6g/1 tbsp.

  Licorice root (甘草), 3g/3 pieces. Optional.

  Cinnamon, 1g/third of a stick.

  Salt, 10g/2tsp.

  Sugar, 30g/2tbsp.

  Soy sauce (生抽), 60g/third cup.

  Dark soy sauce (老抽), 10g/2 tsp.

  Water, 60g/quarter cup.

  High proof alcohol (vodka, rum, baijiu, etc), 30g/quarter cup.

  Red yeast rice powder (红曲粉), 4g/1tsp or 2 drops red food color or skip this.

Process:

Cut 1kg of lean pork into strips with the grain (we'll be slicing against the grain once finished).

Grind together the spices (3g/two pieces star anise, 3g/12 pieces sand ginger or equivalent dried galangal or ginger, 6g/1 tbsp white peppercorns, 3g/3 pieces licorice root - optional, 1g/third of a stick cinnamon). Rub together 100g scallion, 50g ginger, and 50g garlic until the scallion wilts a little. Add 10g/2tsp salt, 30g/2tbsp sugar, and spices, and continue to rub until the scallion's released much of its liquid. Add the remainder of the marinade ingredients (60g/third cup soy sauce, 10g/2 tsp dark soy sauce, 60g/quarter cup water, 30g/quarter cup high proof alcohol, 4g/1tsp red yeast rice powder (or 2 drops red food color or whatever), and massage that into the pork for ~5 minutes, or until your hands start to feel a little spicy from the ginger. Marinate for at least 24 hours, ideally 48.

Place the pork together with its marinade into a non-stick skillet, and over a medium high heat cook it down. This will take ~20 minutes or so, flip when needed. Cook until the pork is cooked through, then remove and rinse off any marinade. Pat dry.

Deep fry (or shallow fry) for one minute at 170C. If shallow frying, flip at the 30 second mark.

Put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Component #3: Pork Bone Stock

• Pork bones, 1kg. Ideally with a little meat still attached.

• Aromatics:

  Ginger, ~2 inches. Smashed.

  Scallion, ~30g. Tied in a knot.

• Water, 5L.

Process:

Blanch 1kg pork bones (ideally with a little meat still attached) for ~3 minutes, then rinse.

Add the blanched pork bones and aromatics (~2 inches smashed ginger, ~30g scallion tied in a knot) to a stock pot with 5L cool water. Bring up to a boil, skim, then down to a heavy simmer. Cover (with the lid ajar if you have a heavy lid), cook for at least three hours.

Remove the aromatics and the pork. Store as you would stock (we use water bottles & freeze).

Assembly:

Per serving:

• Dried rice noodles, 100g. The sort that you'd use for Pho. e.g. [Amazon link]

• Seasoning:

  Salt, ⅛ tsp.

  Sugar, ⅛ tsp.

  MSG (味精), ⅛ tsp.

  White pepper powder, ⅛ tsp.

• Sliced Char Siu, 40-50g.

• Sliced scallion, ~1.5 tbsp.

• Pickled bamboo shoots, ~1.5 tbsp.

Process:

Cook the rice noodles according to the package. Slice up a scallion or two.

Heat up the stock, re-heating the Char Siu slices in the soup (if your Char Siu was frozen). Assemble the above.