Today we have a variety I found locally. Specifically,I got them at Asian Food Center on 130th & Aurora in Seattle. In any event, this store is actually kind of new and pretty awesome. What’s more, we got to see a shoplifter try to escape a security guard and slink out of her coat and backpack to make a getaway! Exciting, yes – but stupid. I don’t understand why people go and do this. Understandably, many people are poor, but this kind of action will result in more problems. In fact, stealing drives up prices for everyone. Hence, let’s crack open this Liu Quan bowl and see it’s innards!

#2372: Liu Quan Instant Spicy Rice Noodle – China

An import sticker (click to enlarge).

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, we have a dilemma. Specifically, there are no cooking instructions. So, we proceed this way: add everything except peanut sachet. Then fill to line with boiling water and cover for 5 minutes. As it turns out though THERE IS NO LINE! It’s kind of like they say ‘here’s a buckets of stuff – figure it out, fool! Finally, garnish with peanuts.

Detail of the lid (click to enlarge).

An included fork!

The rice noodles.

A liquid base sachet.

Bamboo shoots?

Tofu skin?

A garnish sachet.

Boiled peanut.

Finished (click to enlarge). No instructions for preparation – not even a fill line on this big bowl! So I winged it and added boiling water to a reasonably standard level and held off on the peanuts but added everything else. I kept checking on it with a stir here and there, and 7 minutes was the cherry spot for the noodles. So the noodles are plentiful and have a nice light tension to them – perfect kind of rice noodles for me. The broth was an oil slick and has a spicy yet almost vinegary kind of taste to it. The included bamboo shoots were good – crisp and not mushy. The tofu skin came out really well and was awesome, and the peanuts gave a nice little crunch at the end. Interesting and tasty. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 6926392500031.

GUANGXI LIUZHOU SPECIALTY LIUQUAN RICE NOODLE 268G

I’m confused a little by this. At the same time, I want to know what the fook is.