Hometown on the tip of her tongue _ Yongding taro steamed bun

? My hometown is Yongding, Fujian. Many people may not know about Yongding, but I believe everyone will know something about Yongding Tulou. Successfully applied for World Heritage in 2008. It is a world cultural heritage and a national five-star tourist attraction. All the friends I want to go to must know that there is such a snack-taro bag, which is a traditional classic food of Hakka people and is deeply favored by our local men, women and children.

In my hometown, every woman can make taro buns, even if she is a wanderer all the year round, because I have been exposed to my mother's cooking since I was a child, and I have helped her. For example, that's how I got here. It's just that cassava flour is hard to find outside, so I can only bring some cassava flour home to cook. Surprisingly, I saw someone selling it twice in Xiamen. It was a simple booth with the words "Hakka taro buns" written on it, which was very authentic. I don't know if the taro buns in my hometown are famous, or maybe the Hakkas all know their preference for taro buns and come out to comfort their homesickness.

Hometown people have great feelings for taro. In the past, people lived a hard life, and there was a saying that "sweet potatoes and taro can be eaten for half a year." Taro is edible as well as edible. I remember when I was a child, I often made taro soup for dinner because I couldn't afford oil. Because taro is sweet, waxy and slippery, it is delicious without oil. Mother told us such a short story more than once. A man couldn't carry anything halfway up the mountain, so he sat down to have a rest. At this moment, just another person came back from behind empty-handed. This person mysteriously said to the latecomers: Brother, please help me pick a shoulder. When I get to the top of the mountain, I will tell you a secret that no one else knows. So this brother readily agreed, and when he reached the top of the mountain, he asked him what the secret was. I saw that the man attached it to his ear very seriously and said, "taro doesn't teach people to pour rice." The brother was very angry after hearing this, and immediately fell for it. He said loudly, Is this a secret, too? Who doesn't know taro is delicious? Whether the story is true or not, it shows the proportion of taro in the life of hometown people. There is also a story circulating in our local area. A long time ago, there was a temple where monks planted a lot of taro, which they couldn't finish every year, so they steamed it and smashed it into a wall. Then there was a famine, and countless people starved to death in the mountain village, but all the monks in the temple survived. It turns out that they all make a living by eating taro walls. Later, people decided that taro was a treasure, so they ate taro, taro jiaozi, taro rebellion and taro buns in different ways. Taro rebellion has become a famous dish of Hakka banquets: pork, noodles and taro rebellion, one of the three major items.

Taro steamed stuffed bun is a rural food derived from taro by clever and capable Hakkas. It is a traditional snack in Yongding and a famous Hakka snack. Mainly composed of skin and stuffing. Taro, cassava flour, salt and oil are used to make the foreskin. Fillers are rich, such as pork belly, dried sweet potato, dried squid, winter bamboo shoots, dried bamboo shoots or radish (only one of the three can be selected), scallion, celery, soy sauce, oyster sauce and pepper. Cut the material into pieces, add monosodium glutamate with oil and salt, stir-fry, and put it in a pot for later use. Then do wrapping, choose taro with plenty of meat and water, wash it and steam it on a firewood stove for more than half an hour. After steaming, peel it while it is hot and put it in a dustpan. Peel and mash one by one. When my mother and I usually do it, we always smash it with the bottom of a beer bottle. Then add tapioca powder, the ratio of taro to tapioca powder depends on feelings and experience, appropriate amount of salt and oil or boiled bone soup, and rub it hard, repeatedly until it is fine without pimples, and knead it to three lightness (light hands, light basin and light face). The whole process is very tiring, and it takes strength and time. After kneading the dough, divide it into small doses of similar size and spread it slowly in the palm of your hand to form a small bowl. This is a technical process. If it is too thin, it will crack easily and the packaging is not good. If it's too thick, it won't taste so good. After sealing, put it into a small bag for easy storage, and it will not stick together when steaming, and then steam it for 20 minutes on high fire. The taro package that just came out of the pot is smooth and shiny, soft and glutinous, and the Q bomb makes my mouth water. If it is a holiday, it will be more warm for the family to get together and pack. The shape and size of the bag are secondary. What's important is that everyone is in harmony with each other, which includes the mutual understanding and support of family members over the past year.

? What I remember deeply about taro buns is that when I was a child, my family was poor, and eating taro buns was a luxury, which could only be eaten during the New Year. And when I was a child, the stuffing of taro bag was not so extravagant. There is no superior three-layer meat, and there are not so many accessories. The "cockroach shell" I often say is lard residue. This lard residue is usually hidden by my mother. One is afraid that my brother and I will get angry if we eat too much, and the other is to keep it for our guests. Chopped lard residue and shredded radish, fried with salt and monosodium glutamate, were delicious fillings at that time. Mom said that when I was a child, I was very talkative, not only stealing keys, but also eating lard residue. Another time, a distant aunt came to visit, and my mother took out the lard residue locked on the top of the kitchen and made a big plate of beans and taro buns. Before dinner, I sat on the stool early and stretched my neck. As soon as the taro package was served, it was quickly put into the bowl. While exhaling to cool down, I wolfed down my sweat, my mouth burned, and then it hurt. Every time my mother talks about it, everyone laughs at my gluttony.

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? It is not so rare to eat taro buns after a good life now, but there is always a special feeling every time I eat them. At home, when it rains, people will invite three or two women to make taro buns. Guests will make taro buns when they come, especially on holidays. In my opinion, taro buns are not only a delicious enjoyment, but also a spiritual and cultural heritage.

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