Hey all,

I've come up short trying to find info on some Chinese rice noodles
(flakes) that I have now become addicted to. There is precious little
info on the bag but the only English mentions "Guobian flakes." They
are a fairly wide, flat, dried rice noodle.

The only other info is on the mfr. which is Fuzhou Luhong Food Co.
which also turns up nothing. In my own research I found that guo = pot
and bian = side but little else. I only have one source for them and
if it ever fails me I have no way to find more. I posted a Thai Pad
See Ew recipe on my blog recently featuring them and it seems like
folks cannot find these same noodles in their local markets. I've
suggested bahn pho as a kind of alternative, and of course fresh is
always a labor/time intensive option but these guobian flakes are just
a perfect fit.

Any info or help is greatly appreciated,
- Dominic
http://teasphere.wordpress.com

> I've come up short trying to find info on some Chinese rice noodles
> (flakes) that I have now become addicted to. There is precious little
> info on the bag but the only English mentions "Guobian flakes."

Guobian eh? I eat that almost every day in Fuzhou for breakfast. A
bowl costs 1 yuan here. It's a typical local snack of Fuzhou. Every
area, every town or hamlet has their own typical local dishes. Guo
bian got about 400 years of history.

Just had another bowl of guo bian for breakfast. This time, I took a
pictu

http://www.flickr.com/photos/niisonge/2614809958/

That's what guo bian looks like in Fuzhou. Don't know what yours looks
like. Recipies vary of course. This just happens to be the way it's
made where I'm at.

They got tiny dried shrimp, dried fish flakes, dried scallops, bits of
celery and spring onion in it. Some other recipes add mushroom and
larger shrimp.

Btw, when we eat guo bian, it usually accompanies other stuff - like
rou bao (meat buns), man tou (a kind of bun), cha ye dan (tea boiled
egg). That's all considered kind of like fast food here. Fast and
convenient.

On Jun 26, 8:37 pm, niisonge > wrote:
> Just had another bowl of guo bian for breakfast. This time, I took a
> pictu
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/niisonge/2614809958/
>
> That's what guo bian looks like in Fuzhou. Don't know what yours looks
> like. Recipies vary of course. This just happens to be the way it's
> made where I'm at.
>
> They got tiny dried shrimp, dried fish flakes, dried scallops, bits of
> celery and spring onion in it. Some other recipes add mushroom and
> larger shrimp.

Hmm... I see from your post and more searching that "guobian" seems to
be the name of the soup itself... the "guobian flakes" I have must be
the white noodles in the guobian.

Somehow I knew even though it was off-topic, that someone here would
have the info. And I even lucked out and found someone in Fuzhou!
Pretty cool.

I am using them as a replacement for fresh Thai rice noodles, but can
you tell me how the noodles are made for the guobian? Is this a dish
you make yourself or just buy out?

- Dominic

> Hmm... I see from your post and more searching that "guobian" seems to
> be the name of the soup itself... the "guobian flakes" I have must be
> the white noodles in the guobian.

That's right, it's the name of the dish itself.

> I am using them as a replacement for fresh Thai rice noodles, but can
> you tell me how the noodles are made for the guobian? Is this a dish
> you make yourself or just buy out?

This is not a dish that you would want to make yourself. It's kind of
complicated. And the "noodles" really aren't noodles. First, some rice
is made into a paste or slurry in water. Then, it's added to a large
wok, and it's boiled down. As it boils down, the slurry that stuck to
the sides gets dried up. Then, they take a spatula and go around the
edges of the wok, lifiting up this dried up rice paste and putting it
back into the wok of water. They do this repeated times until there
are enough "noodles". That's why it's called "guo bian". The trick
though, is to make thin noodles rather than too thick. And the rest of
the ingredients are cooked in the same wok along with it.

Maybe I can take a picture later of how it's actually made.

I looked around in some Asian stores yesterday and saw some noodles
from China in about half inch squares. It would remind you of
flakes. Also plug Guo Pian Noodles into Google and you see a guy
asking amost the same question. When I want noodles I go to a pho
restaurant. It'll make you give up Italian.

Jim


Dominic T. wrote:

> Hmm... I see from your post and more searching that "guobian" seems to
> be the name of the soup itself... the "guobian flakes" I have must be
> the white noodles in the guobian.

> - Dominic

On Jun 27, 8:41*am, Space Cowboy > wrote:
> I looked around in some Asian stores yesterday and saw some noodles
> from China in about half inch squares. *It would remind you of
> flakes. *Also plug Guo Pian Noodles into Google and you see a guy
> asking amost the same question. *When I want noodles I go to a pho
> restaurant. *It'll make you give up Italian.
>
> Jim

Heh, I'm a huge pho fan I am lucky to have quite possibly the best
hidden gem in Pittsburgh, Tram's Kitchen, which is unrivaled in my
mind and where most of the local chefs and Vietnamese go. Italian has
its place but certainly some hand made Pad See Ew wins hands down in
my book. The "guobian flakes" I use are made by Fuzhou Luhong Food Co
and in a half clear half pale green bag. They are irregular shaped and
about 1"x1" or some can be 2"x4."

- Dominic

On Jun 26, 11:06*pm, niisonge > wrote:
> > Hmm... I see from your post and more searching that "guobian" seems to
> > be the name of the soup itself... the "guobian flakes" I have must be
> > the white noodles in the guobian.
>
> That's right, it's the name of the dish itself.
>
> > I am using them as a replacement for fresh Thai rice noodles, but can
> > you tell me how the noodles are made for the guobian? Is this a dish
> > you make yourself or just buy out?
>
> This is not a dish that you would want to make yourself. It's kind of
> complicated. And the "noodles" really aren't noodles. First, some rice
> is made into a paste or slurry in water. Then, it's added to a large
> wok, and it's boiled down. As it boils down, the slurry that stuck to
> the sides gets dried up. Then, they take a spatula and go around the
> edges of the wok, lifiting up this dried up rice paste and putting it
> back into the wok of water. They do this repeated times until there
> are enough "noodles". That's why it's called "guo bian". The trick
> though, is to make thin noodles rather than too thick. And the rest of
> the ingredients are cooked in the same wok along with it.
>
> Maybe I can take a picture later of how it's actually made.

Wow! Thanks for all of the info! That paints a very clear picture
actually and makes total sense (who said a picture is worth a thousand
words? Although I dug your photos, that old Chinese pot was sweet
and the skewered grub/bug things seemed quite odd.

By any chance could you describe the broth? I am now very interested
in trying to make some real guobian (with the guobian flakes at first
as the other seems a touch time intensive which I sadly do not have
these days) The Internet never ceases to amaze me, I toss out a crazy
off-topic question and find as close to the source as possible in a
matter of hours. Crazy.

Tons of thanks!
- Dominic

> By any chance could you describe the broth?
Lipton Chicken Noodle soup. It kind of tastes like that - sort of.
It's about as salty as that anyway. Though, most Fujian fare is quite
plain - little salt, little spice.
Because there's some dried fish flakes in it, it has a somewhat fishy
taste, though it's quite muted. And the flavor of celery is apparent.
It's actually quite nice. The salted dried fish is probably what makes
it so salty. Just off to eat some guobian and a roubao right now...