Hakka Flat Rice Noodles 客家粄条
Hakka Flat Rice Noodles is featured among the local specialties of Taiwan.
Hakka Flat Rice Noodles (客家粄条) are strips cut from a steamed sheet of rice slurry, a Hakka food found across southern China that in Hsinchu County (新竹縣), Taiwan, is most closely tied to the township of Xinpu (新埔). The name comes from the Hakka practice of cutting ban (粄) into strips, tiao (條).
How it is made
Indica rice (在來米) is ground into a slurry, which is poured over flat pans; the pans go into a steamer, and the cooked sheet is cut into strips. Chinese Wikipedia notes that a large amount of lard usually goes in when the noodles are cooked. Hsinchu County's magistrate Yang Wen-ke (楊文科) described the Xinpu version as springy and topped with fried shallots (油蔥) and pork.
Where it comes from
Xinpu lies in the north-east of Hsinchu County and has kept strong Hakka traditions. Its rice noodles are as well known as those of Meinong (美濃) in Kaohsiung, a pairing summed up in the saying 'north Xinpu, south Meinong'. In southern Taiwan's Hakka villages the noodles are called mianpa ban (面帕粄), because the sheet looks like a face towel.
The county's transport and tourism department calls Xinpu its rice-noodle town. The county government and the Xinpu Township Office organised the first Hsinchu County rice-cake festival there for 9–10 November 2024, with funding from the Hakka Affairs Council (客家委員會). For it the township office issued a food map marking 43 noodle shops and planned a walk of about 3.5 kilometres past sights such as the Zhang family temple (張氏家廟), with a stop at a participating shop to eat noodles.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-25. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.
Image credits & notes (1)
- A common version of Hakka Flat Rice Noodles · 客家粄条常见做法参考照片。Photo: Sean Chiu · CC BY-SA 4.0Resized for the web; the photo itself has not been edited.
