🍽️ Rat-Shaped Rice Noodles

Thin long rice noodles, chewy and smooth, a Meizhou Hakka snack.

Rat-shaped rice noodles, or laoshu ban, are a uniquely shaped rice snack of the Meizhou Hakka region. They contain no rat at all: rice dough is rolled into long, slender strips with pointed ends, resembling a small mouse's tail, which gives the dish its name. They are served either in soup or stir-fried: the soupy version boils the noodles in pork-bone broth with minced pork, preserved vegetables and scallion, while the fried version is wok-tossed with chives, cured pork and bean sprouts. The strips are smooth, springy and strongly rice-flavored, with the soupy version light and the fried one savory. Meizhou Hakka people often eat a bowl for breakfast or late-night snack—cheap, filling and distinctly local. Together with Hakka marinated noodles and stuffed tofu, it ranks among the three great everyday street foods of Meizhou, reflecting the mountain-Hakka tradition of using rice in place of wheat.