Guogou Rice Noodles Introduction
In the early morning, when the sun is just rising, the courtyard is packed with crowds ready to buy. Once the crowd diminishes, they push carts to the temple entrance, and it usually sells out within an hour, often before 8 AM. This is the legend of "Guo Gou Mi Tai Mu." The founder, Zhuang Jin Hua (born 1938), faced the unfortunate loss of her son, and her daughter-in-law, Yu Liang Ying (Ah Yue), needed to work outside the home. Zhuang Jin Hua began making and selling bowl cakes while caring for her three young grandchildren to supplement the household income. Later, her sister taught her the techniques for making Mi Tai Mu, and she switched to selling that instead. Zhuang Jin Hua initially peddled her wares with a lead bucket along the streets before moving to a cart, and eventually settled at the temple to sell. In 2010, as Zhuang Jin Hua grew older, her daughter-in-law, Yu Liang Ying (Ah Yue), took over the business, continuing the legacy of "Guo Gou Mi Tai Mu" at the temple entrance. The production of Mi Tai Mu is quite labor-intensive. The night before, the glutinous rice (purely Thai sticky rice) needs to be soaked for 5 hours. Rising around 2 AM, they grind the rice into a rice paste using a grinding machine, reserving a small portion for thickening later. The rest is placed in a large pot and stirred by hand until dry. After mixing flour and sweet potato starch in a blender, it becomes the base for the cake. Next, they fry shallots until fragrant and add dried shrimp, crispy shallots, and five-spice powder before setting it aside. Water is added to the pot...
