In Chenzhou, breakfast is incomplete without Qifengdu fish rice noodles. Anyone from Chenzhou would instinctively smack their lips and swallow, as a strong aroma of fish mixed with spiciness comes back to their watering mouth. Qifengdu fish rice noodles are made by placing fresh fish in rice noodles, adding some pickled vegetable and chili. The dish looks bright red in color and tastes delicious, greatly whetting the appetite.
Friends who have visited Chenzhou know that every restaurant has a must-eat dish: sour and spicy fish head. The fish head is typically a carefully selected bighead carp head, topped with a layer of chopped pickled chili and a bit of fermented black beans. The dish is bright in color, spicy but not dry, fresh but not fishy, and appetizing. It makes people feel the fresh, sour, crisp, and refreshing taste, greatly stimulating the appetite.
"Though you travel a thousand miles and ten thousand miles away from home, yet you cannot bear to leave Qifengdu!" This old saying handed down for centuries not only praises the beauty of Qifengdu but also extols its unique traditional snack – Qifengdu fish rice noodles. Whenever Qifengdu fish rice noodles are mentioned, anyone from Chenzhou would instinctively smack their lips and swallow, as a strong fish fragrance mixed with spiciness lingers in their mouth.
The Qifengdu fish rice noodles are originated from in the ancient town of Qifengdu. Legend has it that Qifengdu is connected to Pang Tong, a famous scholar of the Three Kingdoms period. At first, Pang Tong was not given an important post by Liu Bei and was only appointed as the magistrate of Leiyang. On one occasion, he stayed overnight at the Qihe Ancient Ferry Town. Weighed down by worries and lacking appetite, he tossed and turned all night. The next morning, he woke up around noon, feeling extremely hungry. However, the innkeeper had already sold out of food. Coincidentally, a fisherman passed by the inn after returning from fishing. The innkeeper had a bright idea, bought a river fish, quickly prepared it into a fish soup, added local red chili powder, and mixed in local specialty products such as soybean paste and tea oil as seasonings. He then used dried rice noodles saved for the holidays to make a bowl of fish rice noodles. After eating it, Pang Tong broke out in a sweat, his appetite returned, and he felt deeply refreshed. Suddenly full of energy, he exclaimed loudly, "This rustic flavor is worthy of the finest banquet halls! How delightful! How delightful!" Upon arriving in Leiyang, he devoted himself to governance and eventually achieved great success. Because Pang Tong was known as Fengchu (Young Phoenix), later generations named the ancient ferry where Pang Tong stayed overnight as Qifengdu (Ferry of the Young Phoenix) in memory of the magistrate and the bowl of fish rice noodles that inspired him was called "Qifengdu fish rice noodles." That is the origin of Qifengdu fish rice noodles.
The preparation of Qifengdu fish rice noodles is simple in some ways but not so simple in others. The most critical part is the soup base, which is made by simmering various seasonings, including fish, ginger, garlic, chili, and tea oil. The fish must be silver carp, and it should be bought alive in the morning. Using leftover fish from the previous day or fish that has been refrigerated will definitely make the soup base less fresh. Spiciness and freshness together form the special flavor of these fish rice noodles.
River silver carp is prepared and boiled into fish soup, then local red chili powder, local specialty soybean paste, tea oil and other seasonings are added. Finally, dried rice noodles are used to make the fish rice noodles.
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn