Dragon Boat Festival in Northeast China-Tussah Leaf Zongzi

Now every festival, especially the traditional festivals in China, there will always be waves of discussions about the festivals and customs in the north and the south, the comparison of festivals and customs in different regions and so on. In particular, the advantages of Internet communication make this festival very lively.

A circle of friends sees all the customs in China, and there is no difference between good and bad. Some people who grew up on every piece of land are deeply attached to and miss it, and of course there is enough pride between the lines.

Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, thousands of miles away, I can't avoid making friends, and I can't help but miss the Dragon Boat Festival in Northeast China and Zongzi in Northeast China.

I don't know much about zongzi in the three northeastern provinces, but at the foot of my mountain, Changbai Mountain, most of the zongzi here are not bamboo leaves, but oak leaves.

Oak is a very common tree species in our forest. I have always thought that this kind of tree only grows in the northeast forest, so I don't know how to make it clear every time I want to teach others science. Until I came home last autumn, I was playing in the Woods next to the ginseng field and was hit on the head by acorns falling from the tree. I looked up and it turned out to be an oak tree!

Yes! You are not mistaken, the alias of oak tree is oak tree! It's an acorn tree. I laughed at myself for a long time-I was so ignorant.

We still like to call it oak here. The leaves of oak trees are somewhat palm-shaped, with a slightly wider front end, and jagged edge is larger. It smells a little bitter, but there is no lack of fresh fragrance unique to leaves. Oak leaf is also a traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effects of clearing away heat, stopping dysentery, relieving cough, detoxifying and reducing swelling.

There are really countless treasures on this land at the foot of Changbai Mountain! As far as oak leaves are concerned, they can be picked in early summer. Picking leaves with large leaves and no wormholes, directly putting the roots together after picking, drying in the shade, and putting them in a cool and dry place for the next year's Dragon Boat Festival.

Although the leaves just picked are fresh, they are not suitable for making zongzi directly because of their crisp texture, so we all use dried oak leaves prepared the year before last.

I remember from an early age that my mother usually put a bunch of dried oak leaves in a big barrel and soaked them in cold water two days before the Dragon Boat Festival. At the same time, she mixed glutinous rice and rice in a certain proportion and soaked them in cold water. Mom said that oak leaves are soaked because they are soft and easy to wrap zongzi, while glutinous rice-based zongzi is more convenient to eat and not too sticky, so it is difficult to peel off from oak leaves.

That's true. I was anxious to eat when I was a child, but every time rice stuck to the leaves of Zongzi, I couldn't get it off. Even if I dropped part of it, I ate it in a panic, giggling with rice in my mouth. ...

Because oak leaves are small and irregular, it is impossible to directly wrap zongzi with one leaf like bamboo leaves. My mother always staggered several oak leaves, then spread rice in the middle to form a rectangle, then tightened it left and right, then tightened it up and down, and then wrapped zongzi. Where we are, a bundle of zongzi is made up of two covers, so I have a task since I was a child, that is, holding a wrapped cover in my hands, waiting for my mother to wrap the other cover, and tying the two covers together with a straw rope, so that a bundle of zongzi is wrapped!

When eating, the two lids are separated. Eat one cover before eating another.

My zongzi is almost all pure rice, because it is easier to preserve and less sour. Of course, if you want to eat something else, you can. Many people can make candied jujube dumplings, and some people also make eight-treasure dumplings, which benefits from the high-yield advantages of soybeans, peas, kidney beans and red beans in Northeast China. Now think about it more than eight treasures!

Generally speaking, zongzi is wrapped and cooked on the spot the day before the Dragon Boat Festival. You may not believe it, but we use a big black iron pot. First add a pot of water to the bottom of the pot, then put the zongzi one by one, leaving a small nest in the middle. This is putting eggs! Our Dragon Boat Festival jiaozi and eggs are a perfect match! Because it is oak leaves, many people like to cook more eggs with zongzi, so the boiled eggs are delicious! And it's not easy to go bad, because my father likes it very much, so my mother puts a lot of eggs every year.

When all the patterns are put away, you can add water to light the fire! Because it is a wood stove, you can burn it slowly after boiling, and it tastes better after being stuffy for a long time! When I was a child, I couldn't help waiting by the pot and kept clamoring for it. In fact, zongzi should be the best on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, but I can't help it. ...

The night before the Dragon Boat Festival, smoke billowed in the kitchen of the whole town, and the fragrance of oak leaves flowed freely. Adults lead their children to enjoy the cool at home, and neighbors ask what they have packed this year, jiaozi. And warmly invite you to his home to try it. ...

The next morning, I woke up at the Dragon Boat Festival and found that I didn't know when my mother had tied a colorful rope around my wrist. I didn't want to enjoy it, so I rushed to the kitchen to wait for zongzi. As soon as the lid is opened, the rich oak leaf fragrance and mellow rice fragrance are mixed together, which is simply too fragrant!

Dragon Boat Festival is an early summer season in Northeast China, and the temperature is not very low, but fortunately, the wind in Northeast China always has its own refreshing properties, which brings convenience to the preservation of Zongzi. You don't need to put it in the refrigerator, just put it in a cool and ventilated place. It won't go bad for half a month! Now think about it, maybe no matter how technology develops, it is not as magical as nature.

This season's zongzi is finished, and the newly picked oak leaves are almost hung. Find a sealed bag to hang in a cool and dry place, and rely on them to bring a familiar smell this time next year! The bag must be sealed, because all kinds of bugs love the smell of oak leaves!

When I grew up, I almost tasted zongzi all over the country. They are all delicious and have their own characteristics, but there is always a place for rubber-leaf zongzi in my heart. The taste is very special, very fragrant, and even feels like a big forest. ...

Some people say that infatuation with one thing or nostalgia for a taste is actually nostalgia for a period of time and a feeling. Not really. In the Dragon Boat Festival in the northeast, oak leaf zongzi is always the protagonist, and I like it very much. But in the process of eating, I will really think of my childhood. When I was playing in the forest, I stood on tiptoe and couldn't reach the oak leaves. Finally, I got a small piece of oak leaves with mixed surprises. ...

I've always wanted to share with more people the Dragon Boat Festival at the foot of Changbai Mountain, the oak leaf zongzi, the land where I grew up ... but I feel powerless, and I can't find the right words to express many feelings. ...

Well, enjoy having precious things!

pony

20 17 Dragon Boat Festival