About Ten Second Crossing Bridge Rice Noodle

The story of Ten Second Crossing Bridge Rice Noodle (过桥米线, "Guò Qiáo Mǐ Xiàn") is a famous tale from Yunnan, China. According to legend, a scholar prepared for his exams on a small island, and his wife would bring him meals every day. The journey required her to cross a bridge, but by the time she arrived, the food would be cold. One day, she discovered that boiling hot chicken broth kept the food warm, and by separating the ingredients (noodles, meat, vegetables) from the soup until they were ready to eat, everything stayed fresh and hot. The scholar could quickly cook the ingredients in the hot broth right before eating — hence the dish’s name. The key feature of this dish is that the broth is so hot, it only takes seconds to cook the noodles and other ingredients once added, leading to its modern nickname: "Ten Second Crossing Bridge Rice Noodle.