Lianping Tuber Starch Noodles 连平薯丝粉

Lianping Tuber Starch Noodles (连平薯丝粉) are noodles made from sweet potatoes in Lianping County (连平县), in Heyuan (河源), Guangdong. The Heyuan city government lists them among the county's main local products, and the Lianping county government describes them as refreshing, lightly sweet and smooth without being greasy.

How it is made

Heyuan Fabu (河源发布), an account on the Nanfang+ (南方+) news platform, describes how the noodles chosen for the 2025 ‘Lianping table’ (连平一桌菜) selection of county dishes are made. Sweet potatoes grown locally in the uplands are washed again and again in mountain spring water, left to settle, steamed and sun-dried, then cut into strands by hand, with no additives.

Flavour and texture

The finished strands are translucent and supple, with a clear sweetness and the smell of sweet potato. They are smooth rather than greasy in the mouth.

How it is eaten

Heyuan Fabu names chicken-giblet noodle pot (鸡杂薯丝煲) as the most authentic way to eat them. Giblets from free-range farm chickens are fried until fragrant, winter bamboo shoot strips and slices of shiitake mushroom are added, and chicken stock simmered for half a day is poured in. When the stock comes to a milky boil, the noodles go in to simmer gently and soak up the fat and mushroom flavour. At New Year and at banquets for guests, sweet-potato noodles are always on the table. The noodles were one of 12 dishes picked for the Lianping table by expert judges and a public vote.