Why a coffee tastes like soy sauce in rice noodle rolls

A new breakfast trend on Xiaohongshu replaces the soy sauce normally poured over Guangdong rice noodle rolls with espresso. Posts about the combination have passed ten thousand, drawing reactions from outrage to curiosity. It is the latest example of coffee crossing into traditional Chinese food, following pairings like pork intestine noodles with coffee and fried dough sticks with coffee.

Rice noodle rolls are a Cantonese snack with roots traceable to Longzhou in the Tang Dynasty, now Luoding in Yunfu, Guangdong, and they come in cloth-pulled and drawer-steamed styles. Pouring espresso instead of soy sauce changes the dish's salty, savory profile into something bitter and roasted, which is why many diners say the coffee tastes like soy sauce turned upside down.

What kind of sparks fly when Guangdong's traditional rice noodle rolls meet espresso? Recently, a novel way of eating that replaces the soy sauce for rice noodle rolls with espresso has sparked widespread discussion on social media, with related posts on Xiaohongshu exceeding ten thousand. Some people call it outrageous, while others say they are eager to try it. In fact, cross-border combinations of coffee and traditional Chinese cuisine have existed for a long time, from Chengdu's pork intestine noodles with coffee to fried dough sticks with coffee. Such attempts constantly refresh people's understanding of coffee culture. This article will take you behind the scenes of this phenomenon and share various interesting stories about the localization of coffee.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the personal WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Absolutely unbelievable! This coffee pairing is so unexpected! I never imagined I'd see such a bizarre combination?!

Recently, I discovered a brand-new way of "morning tea" on social media — rice noodle rolls with coffee! The specific method is to replace the usual soy sauce for rice noodle rolls with espresso. Yes, just pour it right in! I originally thought this was just a novelty attempt by a few people, but when I searched on Xiaohongshu, there were actually over ten thousand related posts. After clicking in, the screen was full of breakfast photos posted by bloggers... Many netizens sighed: Guangdong people would probably fall into collective silence upon seeing this...

Rice noodle rolls are a highly representative traditional Han Chinese snack from Guangdong, belonging to the Cantonese cuisine system, with origins traceable to Longzhou in the Tang Dynasty, which is present-day Luoding City, Yunfu, Guangdong Province. Rice noodle rolls are mainly divided into two major schools: those steamed with cloth are called cloth-pulled rice noodle rolls, while those steamed directly using drawers are called drawer-style rice noodle rolls.

Merchants in different regions usually adjust the flavor based on local market preferences and diners' tastes, and prefix the name of the rice noodle rolls with the city name. For example, in the Guangzhou area, they are called Guangzhou Xiguan rice noodle rolls, while in the Chaozhou area, they are called Chaozhou rice noodle rolls.

Although coffee is a foreign beverage, China has a long history of growing coffee beans. In recent years, coffee has been trying various combinations, constantly breaking through circles, with the goal of exploring a coffee culture that truly fits Chinese people. The fusion of coffee and traditional Chinese cuisine precisely shows that China's local coffee culture and contemporary trends are always continuously evolving~

Faced with this rice noodle roll coffee, most netizens reacted with silence or even helplessness: "People who like both rice noodle rolls and coffee don't know what to say after seeing this," "I suddenly feel like I should take your coffee powder and leave," "I'm really... a bit speechless," "These two meeting in the stomach is acceptable, but meeting in the mouth is a no-go," "Doing this might get you beaten up when you go out," "More outrageous than The Knockout"...

However, some netizens also expressed curiosity: "Although it's pretty weird, it's indeed eye-catching," "Breakfast and coffee done in one go, energized all morning," "I think it's cool, fits this Guangdong person's imagination of Shanghai," "If it really hits the market, I'd absolutely be willing to try it".......

In fact, as early as a few years ago, "coffee+" pairings had already made a mark in the Chinese market. For example, in 2021, a "coffee + pork intestine noodles" offering from an old-brand pork intestine noodle shop in Chengdu went viral on social media for a while. It is reported that this shop is located on Peihua East Road in Chengdu, called "Yan Ji Old Brand Pork Intestine Noodle Shop." The owner initially just thought it would be "fun" and set up a coffee stall in his pork intestine noodle shop. Later, it spread among netizens and attracted many people to visit and experience it.

Eating a bowl of pork intestine noodles with a cup of coffee, having a hot meal with a cup of coffee, or a baked pancake with coffee, fried dough sticks with coffee... These combinations sound completely fine — essentially just a pairing method similar to a set meal.

But at some point, the style gradually went off track, evolving into adding espresso to rice noodle rolls, adding espresso to tangyuan, and even adding tofu pudding to coffee, adding sesame paste to coffee... Are these bizarre deep-mix combinations really tasty? Will you get diarrhea after eating them???

What attitude would you take toward this new combination of rice noodle roll coffee??

Anyway, my expression after finishing writing this entire article is like this👇👇👇

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.