How Magical Is the Noodle Culture in Fujian?
A true hardcore Fujianese is either brewing tea or eating noodles.
Early in the morning, Fujianese gather from their homes and flock to noodle stalls on the streets. Snow-white porcelain bowls hold clear broth, with slender and springy noodles supporting a few slices of duck meat and seven or eight scallions, along with oysters, razor clams, and various intestines, fried dough sticks, marinated eggs, and assorted fish. Steaming hot, they silently call out: "Pick me! Pick me!"
You might think Southerners don’t eat noodles much,
but Fujianese would say it’s time to update your perception.
Pictured: duck meat vermicelli, with crispy fried shallots as the finishing touch.
Image / Tuchong Creativity · Photo / baworn47
Fujianese noodles are as diverse as the mountains and seas, vibrant and colorful. There are thread-thin vermicelli, box noodles wider than chopsticks, fish noodles that defy recognition, and loach rice noodles with mysterious preparation methods... From Eastern Fujian, Northern Fujian, to Southern and Western Fujian, all kinds of ingredients are skillfully combined by Fujianese hands to create unique flavors of the land and sea.
With a pair of chopsticks and a spoon,
Fujianese noodles (and rice noodles) bloom like flowers.
Pictured: Nanzia loach rice noodles—looks spicy, right? But it’s not.
Image / Tuchong Creativity · Photo / Lu0375
Whether simple or refined, Fujianese noodles have long transcended being just a meal. They can be a snack, an ingredient, or even an essential dish for entertaining guests. So, stop saying "only the North knows noodles." Fujianese would proudly declare: "Lin bei eh mi, siōng hó jiāh!" (My noodles are the best!)
To understand Fujianese noodles, you must first update your perception of "noodles."
In Fujian, noodles and rice noodles go hand in hand.
Places that sell noodles often also sell rice noodles.
Image / Tuchong Creativity · Photo / GAGALing
In many places, "noodles" refer to strip-like foods made from wheat or other coarse grains. But in the land of the Eight Min, "noodles" aren’t just traditional wheat noodles—they can also be wide or thin rice vermicelli, or even unique "noodles" made from fish, sweet potatoes, taro, and more.
Surprised? Fujianese fish noodles are actually made from fish!
In the provincial capital Fuzhou and Eastern Fujian, the most unique noodles are Lianjiang fish noodles and Pingtan mackerel noodles.
Lianjiang fish noodles, at first glance, look like starch noodles.
Only upon closer tasting did I realize it was made from fish!
Photo / Tuchong Creativity Photography / GAGALing
Lianjiang County is located in the northeast of Fuzhou, with a total area of less than 5,000 square kilometers, yet half of the county is covered by the sea. Moreover, it guards the mouth of the Min River, serving not only as the junction between the river and the sea but also as a perfect balance between farming and fishing.
Around the 1960s and 1970s, the wild yellow croaker produced in Lianjiang was not only abundant and high-quality but also affordably priced. The people of Lianjiang, blessed with the sea, grew tired of the usual ways of preparing yellow croaker and decided to transform it—by deboning, skinning, chopping it into a paste, adding mushroom powder, and then kneading, pounding, and slicing it. The result was incredibly fresh yellow croaker noodles.
Bet you didn’t expect that—people in Fujian make noodles directly from fish meat,
paired with seafood, it’s freshness on top of freshness.
Photo / Tuchong Creativity Photography / Waha
Those yellow croaker noodles are as thin as rice paper and remarkably chewy, just like regular noodles, they can be braised or stir-fried. Add some lean meat, squid, mushrooms, and yellow chive sprouts, stir-fry over high heat, and the fish noodles turn white as mutton fat, while the ingredients create a colorful feast—a delight for both the taste buds and the eyes.
However, with the recent rise in yellow croaker prices and Fuzhou’s long summers and short winters making it difficult to preserve fresh fish and fish noodles, people began using other types of fish to make the noodles and drying the fresh fish noodles. Dried fish noodles not only have a unique flavor but also preserve this ultimate freshness. Taken as souvenirs to other places, they have helped Lianjiang fish noodles make a stunning comeback, firmly securing their place as a local specialty.
Cooked mackerel fish noodles—a magical taste experience.
Photo / Tuchong Creativity Photography / Waha
Southeast of Fuzhou, another realm once belonged to yellow croaker. However, perhaps refinement ultimately lost to simplicity, as mackerel smoothly replaced yellow croaker to become another famous dish in Pingtan, Fuzhou—mackerel fish noodles.
Mackerel (known as bayfish in the north) has plentiful meat, few bones, and is snow-white and soft. Simply take the meat, mince it, add an appropriate amount of sweet potato starch, and then roll it into thin sheets and cut it—if sliced into thin strips, it becomes fish noodles; if cut into blocks, it becomes fish slices. If strips and slices are mixed together, that’s a flavor only homemade versions can achieve.
In eastern and northern Fujian, noodles and rice vermicelli thrive together.
Pictured is Minqing Chakou rice vermicelli—chewy and filling.
Photo / Tuchong Creativity Photography / GAGALing
The taste of noodles from the sea splashes, while the flavor of rice vermicelli from the mountains slips smoothly.
To the west of Fuzhou, between the true mountains and the sea, the people of Jianning have developed another flavor born from the blend of mountains and rivers—Nanzia loach rice vermicelli. Rice vermicelli is the Fujian version of noodles, and loach rice vermicelli features loach as the star, full of rustic charm.
In Fujian, rice noodles are also considered a type of noodle—no objections accepted.
Pictured is the vibrant red Nanzia loach rice vermicelli.
Picture / Tuchong Creativity Photo / Green Mountains and Clear Waters 858
To prepare this bowl of Jianning flavor, locals would prepare several plump loaches living in excellent conditions a day in advance. Clear water purges the mud from within the loaches and also washes out their freshness; seasonings such as salt and red yeast rice stimulate the loach's body, giving it a richer taste profile, especially the red yeast rice—a true Eastern Fujian flavor.
Fresh loaches are placed in a pot with cold water, and as the temperature gradually rises, the loaches slowly cook, and the rice noodles gradually expand... Adding ginger, pickled vegetables, and the Fujian people's nostalgia for the natural mountains and fields, a bowl of tender, smooth, and refreshing loach rice noodles is completed.
When Fujian people cook loaches, the broth is always bright red.
Picture / Tuchong Creativity Photo / Waha
Further north, closer to the Wuyi Mountains in Gutian and Pingnan, the wild mountain flavors become even more intense in the Fujian people's noodle bowls.
Hemian is a delicacy unique to Gutian, Fujian. It gets its name from being sold by vendors in food boxes along the streets. To withstand the bumps and jostles of the alleyways, Hemian is anything but delicate—in fact, in terms of noodle thickness, Gutian Hemian stands out in southern China, even rivaling northern thick noodles like suantangzi.
Youxi Dutiao Noodles, snow-white and thick, are incredibly chewy.
Does it look familiar? It might very well be the predecessor of udon noodles.
Picture / Tuchong Creativity Photo / Lu0375
Yudan Noodles are another unique pasta dish only found in Fujian. Bordering Gutian, known for its small taro, the people of Pingnan "borrowed" this local specialty and added sweet potatoes, a household staple. After steaming, stirring, cutting, and boiling, they mix in oysters and celery—a bowl of Pingnan Yudan Noodles that even the people of Gutian can't resist is ready.
Don’t think Wuyi Mountain only has tea—it also has Zixi Noodles.
Chewy in texture, spicy in taste, incredibly satisfying.
Further northwest, where the rivers flow faster and the air is fresher, we arrive at the tea-scented Wuyi Mountain. Outsiders know of Wuyi Mountain's tea fragrance, but few know that the Fujian people have hidden an exceptional delicacy here—Wuyi Mountain Zixi Noodles.
Those who have never tried Zixi Noodles might easily mistake them for the more famous Guilin Rice Noodles. But with just one bite, they would understand: the chewiness is like the peaks of Wuyi Mountain; the spiciness resembles its rushing streams; the broth is like the mountain breeze; and the sausage or meatball toppings are like the breathtaking scenery... Every bite of Zixi Noodles seems to encapsulate the elegance of Wuyi Mountain.
The noodle flavors of Eastern and Northern Fujian are an interplay of mountains and oceans. From Fuzhou all the way south, the world of Fujian people's noodle bowls is as vast and tumultuous as the open sea.
Putian Braised Noodles—it’s time to refresh your understanding of Putian.
Picture / Tuchong Creativity Photo / Tian Gong Fei Zhu
Heading south from the provincial capital, the first stop is Putian in central Fujian. Here, the braised noodles are so loaded with toppings that you almost have to search for the noodles among the ingredients. Chopsticks and spoons fly, and drool mixes with the noodle broth...
As a bowl of noodles, Putian Braised Noodles is quite different from the beef noodles or clear broth noodles we often eat. Its "braised" aspect, if compared to a northern dish, would be similar to Henan's spicy soup. The thick, clingy broth is packed with dried scallops, shrimp, dried razor clams, oysters, squid... and a variety of seafood, making it clear that this is not a Fujian flavor easily understood.
Putian braised noodles, with more ingredients than noodles, are full of warmth.
Photo / Tuchong Creativity Photography / Waha
At the same time, the noodles in Putian braised noodles have a talent for triggering OCD—before cooking, the noodles are violently torn into small pieces; during cooking, they undergo rough stirring; after cooking, as a centerpiece dish, the braised noodles are served in a large bowl, facing the attack of multiple chopsticks... Therefore, it is recommended to bring a large spoon when eating braised noodles.
Of course, the spoon is not only essential for eating Putian braised noodles but also suitable for enjoying Quanzhou's thread noodle paste.
Quanzhou thread noodle paste, noodles eaten with a spoon.
True to its name, Quanzhou's thread noodle paste is very "pasty." It’s not that they overcook the noodles, but rather that the dish uses Fujian's specialty thread noodles (also known as dried noodles), which are as thin as hair, and sweet potato starch to thicken the broth, making it more like a porridge.
For the ingredients in thread noodle paste, if you can imagine it, it can be added.
At the same time, the "pasty" nature of thread noodle paste is also reflected in the richness of its ingredients: shrimp, pork heart, large and small intestines, oysters, clams, chicken, duck, goose, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, sea fish, braised offal, large pork knuckles, and another Quanzhou specialty—vinegar-braised pork—can all be added. The base flavor of thread noodle paste is mild, but with added ingredients, it becomes incredibly rich. It can also be paired with fried dough sticks or horse hoof pastries—so fragrant.
Vinegar-braised pork: pork marinated in Yongchun aromatic vinegar and deep-fried.
It can be eaten alone, used in dishes, or paired with thread noodle paste.
Photo / Tuchong Creativity Photography / Xiaolin, who loves egg tarts
The freshness of the sea, the sweetness of vegetables, the richness of fats—almost anything you can imagine—can be contained in a small bowl of thread noodle paste, much like a mustard seed that holds the entire world. It is also reminiscent of the merchant ships that once plied the "Maritime Silk Road," with Quanzhou as their beacon, embracing all streams.
Of course, the flavors of Fujian carried by these ships extend far beyond Quanzhou's thread noodle paste. In Xiamen, a seemingly ordinary bowl of satay noodles is not only a signature dish of "Egret Island" but also a connection to the descendants of those who ventured to Southeast Asia.
Xiamen satay noodles, a rich and bold local flavor.
Satay is originally a mixed spice from Southeast Asia. Brought to China by Fujianese, especially Xiamen natives who sought livelihoods in Southeast Asia, satay sauce rode the monsoon winds to China and was transformed into a Chinese flavor.
The original satay, due to the addition of large amounts of red and yellow chili peppers, has a strong orange-yellow color and is very spicy. Fujianese are not accustomed to spicy food, so upon its arrival in China, satay was adapted to local tastes, significantly reducing its spiciness and replacing it with large amounts of Fujian's specialty—fried crushed peanuts.
Satay sauce can not only be used in noodles but also as a condiment for various ingredients.
It represents Fujian's reinterpretation of an imported product.
When it comes to noodles, Zhangzhou rivals Xiamen, and in the eyes of some food connoisseurs, even surpasses it. Sandwiched between Chaozhou in Guangdong and Xiamen in Fujian, Zhangzhou has, to some extent, blended Fujian and Guangdong noodle styles, creating a rich and complex flavor that is difficult to describe in just a few words.
Dried tofu noodles: cold noodles with hot toppings, noodle-like yet not quite noodles—truly fascinating.
Shacha noodles, oyster noodles, braised noodles, and large intestine vermicelli are all flavors that Zhangzhou excels in. Additionally, there is an unconventional delicacy here—hand-grabbed noodles, also known as dried tofu noodles.
First, alkaline noodles commonly found in the south are boiled and formed into a cake-like shape using the noodles' natural stickiness. Fried tofu is then paired with peanut sauce, shacha sauce, sweet chili sauce, garlic sauce, and mustard sauce—an absolute mix of "five sauces"—generously slathered over the cooled noodle cake, creating a truly bold flavor.
Large intestine braised rice noodles, paired with fried meat—a creation of the people of Zhangzhou.
As a hand-held delicacy, dried tofu noodles combine the coolness and richness loved by Fujian people with a rugged and hearty style that is less typical of the south. Although it is a combination of noodle cake and dried tofu—dry on dry—the sauce plays a key role in harmonizing the flavors, filling the gaps between the noodle cake and tofu, and winning over diners' hearts.
Why do Fujian people love noodles so much?
Fujian's noodles are incredibly unique. As a coastal province, it boasts hometown flavors without seafood; with a southern palate, it exhibits a noodle-loving fervor rivaling the north; as food connoisseurs, Fujian people don’t even distinguish between "rice noodles" and "wheat noodles"... How did Fujian people become such devoted noodle enthusiasts?
Angelica duck noodle soup, a remedy against the late spring chill,
Loved not only by Fujian people but also by people across the strait in Taiwan.
Image / Tuchong Creativity Photography / lcc54613
Fujian people from 2,200 years ago would likely struggle to give us an answer. After all, at that time, aside from indigenous groups, the region was populated by Central Plains people who had migrated under dynastic orders and were entirely unfamiliar with Fujian. To them, the land of Eight Min was still barren; rather than creating distinctive features, their lives were dominated by survival pressures and nostalgia for their homeland.
Fuzhou Lao Hua, a seafood feast for the common folk,
Where the toppings outweigh the noodles (or rice noodles).
Image / Tuchong Creativity Photography / Peach Summer and Sea
Fujian people from 1,700 years ago might not have an answer either. Having just experienced the southward migration of the aristocracy, they were the main force transforming Fujian—they likely never imagined they would reshape this land, nor that their tradition of loving wheat-based foods, brought from the north, would persist to this day.
Mixed noodles and scalded beef—simplicity is the true essence.
Fujian people from three to four hundred years ago gradually provided clearer answers. At that time, they braved winds and waves to bring exotic harvests back home. While "building grand houses," they also inherited their ancestors' pursuit of noodle dishes and reinvented them with foreign flavors, contributing to Fujian's culinary excellence that embraces both land and sea.
Southeast Asian curry noodles, a fusion of Chinese and Southeast Asian flavors,
Now a daily staple for Fujian people.
Image / Tuchong Creativity Photography / sonyacamoz
Even today, Fujian people calmly enjoy their noodles. Whether it’s noodles or rice noodles, wheat or rice, taking sides has long ceased to matter. After all, the mountains remain mountains, and the sea remains the sea; with their homeland behind them and opportunities ahead, Fujian people, ever evolving in cultural inheritance, will never stop pursuing delicious food.
The Fujian people's obsession with noodles runs deep in their souls.
The picture shows the scene of making Quanzhou rice vermicelli.
Fortunately, it is because of this that we can taste both the flavors of Wuyi and the seaside in Fujian people's noodles and soup, while also discovering the legacy of the Tang and Song dynasties and a love for noodles that is just the same as that of northerners.
If you don't understand, you are welcome to visit Fujian—taste it, and you will see.
Header image of the article | Ouyang Honglue
Cover photo | Matcha Not Sweet