Yangchun Noodles

Yangchun noodles are a bowl of plain noodles in clear broth, with no topping—seasoned simply with stock, soy, lard and chopped scallion. The noodles are smooth, the soup clear, plain in look but exacting about the depth of the broth.

Popular across Yangzhou, Huai'an, Suzhou and Shanghai, its name is variously linked to an old slang for the tenth lunar month, the "little spring," and to the ancient melody "Yangchun Baixue." It is one of Jiangnan's most representative everyday noodles.

Eaten on its own as breakfast or a light meal, served hot, it is about savouring the freshness of the broth and the slip of the noodles, often taken with Yangzhou dim sum.

Its hallmark is clarity—no topping, yet all in the craft of a good pot of stock and well-made noodles, plainness expressing the Huaiyang ideal of "prizing the clear."