Xingyi Mutton Rice Noodles

Xingyi mutton rice noodles use a broth of local black-mountain mutton, with rice noodles blanched and bathed in the original broth, topped with sliced mutton, a house sauce, Sichuan pepper, chilli oil and coriander; the meat is tender, the broth savoury and the noodles smooth, a distinct school within Guizhou's mutton-noodle tradition.

Xingyi mutton rice noodles are said to date from the Qing dynasty, with a history of over three hundred years; the city is hailed as the "home of mutton rice noodles," and its style stands alongside those of Zunyi and Shuicheng as one of Guizhou's three great schools, each with its own character.

Most authentic at first light—a bowl of hot broth and noodles layered with mutton slices, seasoned to taste with Sichuan pepper, chilli oil and coriander, eaten heartily broth and all, the standard way Xingyi begins its day.

The depth of the black-mutton broth, the layered aroma of the house sauce and Sichuan pepper, and the distinctive local rice-noodle texture are what set the Xingyi style apart from the Zunyi and Shuicheng schools.