#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Yang + Kathi of Little Rice Noodle

Little Rice Noodle - vegan Asian recipe writers

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

Yang: I was born in Hunan province in China and moved to Guangzhou when I was 6. I also lived in Sichuan and Beijing, then I moved to Spain for some years and now I am living in Austria.

Kathi: I was born and brought up in Austria. I have lived in the U.S., Guangzhou, Peru and Barcelona.

What does home taste like?

Yang: Spicy food (especially when it's cooked with a lot of fresh pepper/chili) and all kinds of Cantonese food always reminds me of home. 

Kathi: It used to be schnitzel and potato salad made by my grandma, but since five years it’s plant-based Asian (mostly Chinese) food made by Yang ;-).

Rice or noodles?

We love both but above all we love rice noodles, hence our name😂. Back in Yang’s hometown people have spicy rice noodles for breakfast, so she started having spicy rice noodles as breakfast when she was 2-3 years old. Kathi started a little bit later with that.

Share a food memory:

Last time we went back to China, we tried out many new vegan restaurants. The one which amazed us the most was an open buffet at a Buddhist temple (Yang is a Buddhist), there were over 250 options, with so many ingredients and dishes we had never seen before.

A Chinese recipe everyone should learn:

A staple home style Hunanese dish: stir-fried tofu with fresh pepper, it’s super easy and delicious, you only need four ingredients to cook it.

Who's your Chinese food legend?

Yang: My aunt and uncle, they used to run their own restaurants and I was always hanging out there when I was young, I gradually learned cooking while watching them cook.

Kathi: It's cheesy - but for me it's Yang. I never cared much for home-cooked food before, but now my favourite place in our apartment is the kitchen.

The most underrated Chinese ingredient is:

Chinese scallion - we add it to most of our dishes. You only need to add it at last and it makes everything taste and smell better.

Dream dinner party guests:

Dr. Jane Goodall - anytime and anywhere we would welcome her. She is such an amazing human being and a constant inspiration, reading her books some years ago was part of the reasons that made me reflect on my lifestyle and stop eating meat. We met her twice at her lectures in Vienna, it was a dream come true for us.

Last meal on earth:

Yang: Spicy rice noodles topped with fried tofu, wood ear mushrooms and a lot of scallion.

Kathi: For me it would also be rice noodles - but not as spicy as how Yang likes it 😂.

What does Chinese food mean to you?

Yang: When I was living in China, Chinese food was the food I had everyday at home or at the local restaurants. After I left China, I started to cook everything I would like to eat, since most of the Chinese restaurants here are not authentic and the options are very limited. Cooking everyday and everything I like from China creates a sense of home for me, and I always think about my mom and my relatives when I am cooking the food that they cook.

Kathi: When I lived in China I loved the food but it was not that personal for me - now it means home for me as well <3.