过桥米线--

26　过桥米线　Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles

Guoqiao mixian or Guoqiao Rice Noodle(过桥米线)literally means“crossing-the-bridge rice noodle.”This food is a local Yunnan rice noodle，which is made with a hot bowl of chicken broth，another bowl of rice noodles，vegetables，and several pieces of sliced raw fish，chicken，and ham.The broth usually remains boiling in the bowl for some time.Sliced raw ingredients and rice noodles are heated inside the bowl until they are edible.

There is a story that explains the origin of“Guoqiao Noodle.”A long time ago，according to the legend，there was a lake outside the town of Mengzi(蒙自)in the Yunnan area.There was a scenic island in the middle of the lake with green trees，beautiful pavilions，and tall towers.The island was a comfortable and appealing place for scholars to escape from the town and concentrate on studying classic books and poetry.

There was a scholar who stayed on the island to prepare for the imperial civil service exams.Every day，his wife delivered food to him by crossing over a wooden bridge to the island.However，the scholar often forgot to eat the food while it was warm because he was so deeply absorbed in his studies.His wife worried about this irregular diet would affect his health.

One day，his wife slaughtered a fat chicken and stewed it in a casserole.When it was well done，she offered it to her husband in a bowl of chicken broth in which she also added raw rice noodle and other ingredients.Over the surface of the soup was a layer of chicken fat in order to keep the soup from getting cold.Unexpectedly the rice noodles in the broth remained warm for some time and were still tasty.Her husband liked this style，so following that day，his wife continued to deliver the rice noodles cooked in the same way.

The scholar passed his civil service exams.Afterwards，he often recalled having been well treated by his wife who delivered rice noodles in chicken broth.The scholar therefore named the noodles“Crossing-the-bridge Rice Noodles”because his wife crossed the bridge to deliver his food every day.

This story about the scholar and his wife，and the new name of the rice noodles spread across the area，and many local people started cooking rice noodle in the same way as the scholar's wife did.As days went by，people continued refining the noodles'cooking methods，thus enabling it to spread far and wide in Yunnan Province.

Notes: 1)noodles 面条 2)broth 肉汤 3)edible 可食用的 4)pavilion 亭子 5)appealing 动人的 6)irregular 不规则的 7)stew 炖 8)casserole 沙锅 9)refine 精炼;改进