Guogou Rice Noodle Introduction
In the early morning, as the sky gradually brightens, the Chengyuan is filled with crowds of buyers. Once the crowd thins out, they push carts to the temple entrance, and everything is typically sold out within an hour, well before 8 a.m. This is the legend of "Guo Gou Rice Noodles." The founder, Zhuang Jin-hua (born in 1938), faced the unfortunate loss of his son, and his daughter-in-law, Yu Liang-ying (Ah Yue-za), had to go out to work. Zhuang Jin-hua, meanwhile, took care of his three young grandchildren while making and selling rice pudding to supplement the household income. Later, his sister taught him the secrets of making rice noodles, leading him to switch his business to selling rice noodles. Initially, Zhuang Jin-hua sold his goods by carrying a lead bucket along the street, later transitioning to a cart, and eventually settling at the temple entrance to sell his products. In 2010, as Zhuang Jin-hua aged, his daughter-in-law, Yu Liang-ying (Ah Yue-za), took over the business, continuing the "Guo Gou Rice Noodles" legend at the same location. The process of making rice noodles is labor-intensive. The night before, non-glutinous rice must be soaked for five hours. He wakes up around 2 a.m., grinds the rice into rice milk using a grinding machine, reserving a small portion for thickening, while the rest is poured into a large pot and stirred manually until dry. Then, flour and sweet potato starch are mixed thoroughly in a blender to create the rice cake, which is set aside for later use. Scallions are sautéed until fragrant, along with dried shrimp, crispy shallots, and five-spice powder, and then set aside as well. Water is added to the pot to cook...
