Raw materials, technology, taste, address and historical origin of rice cakes (folk)

Rice cakes are usually made of glutinous rice flour, and the rice cakes made in different regions of China are different. After rice cakes were spread to neighboring countries, different production methods and tastes were extended according to their eating habits. Rice Cake North Rice Cake North Rice Cake can be steamed or fried, mainly sweet. Beijing rice cakes include red dates, 100 fruits and white rice cakes made of glutinous rice or yellow rice. Shanxi people are used to making rice cakes with yellow rice flour, frying them, and filling them with bean paste or jujube paste. Hebei is used to adding jujube, adzuki bean and mung bean to rice cakes and steaming them together, while Shandong rice cakes are steamed with jujube and yellow rice. Northeast rice cakes are mainly steamed with sticky sorghum rice and beans. Rice cakes in the Yangtze River valley The rice cakes in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are white and light in taste. They are made of japonica rice and glutinous rice in a certain proportion and can be adjusted according to personal preference. Those who like to eat soft rice can increase the proportion of glutinous rice, while those who like to eat hard rice are the opposite. Cooking methods can be steaming, frying, slicing and frying or boiling. Among them, the rice cakes in Cicheng, Ningbo are the most famous, and the common practices are shredded pork soup rice cakes and shepherd's purse fried rice cakes. Shanghai's ribs rice cake is also a must. In addition, some rural areas in the south of the Yangtze River use the pedal method to make rice cakes, which are called "pedal cakes". [1] Fujian New Year Cake Fujian New Year Cake, namely sticky cake, is a natural amber color, which is mainly used for festival sacrifices and gifts in the New Year. It is made of glutinous rice and taro. Generally, it is sliced and fried in cooked food, or it can be fried with egg juice, white powder (corn flour) or sweet potato powder. Taiwan Province Province New Year Cake The traditional Taiwan Province New Year Cake in Taiwan Province Province is commonly known as sweet cake (sticky cake), which is mainly used for sacrifice. The traditional etiquette of giving gifts with rice cakes in Taiwan Province Province means that the recipients are in mourning, and people from different cultural backgrounds live in Taiwan Province Province. Therefore, when giving gifts in Taiwan Province Province, we must pay attention to each other's cultural background and etiquette, which is the easiest way to avoid this annoying gift-giving taboo. The method of making desktop rice cakes is not exactly the same in north and south. In the north, rice cakes are more influenced by late immigrants from Chinese mainland, including peanut rice cakes, brown sugar rice cakes and red bean rice cakes. They are all ground into powder with glutinous rice, dried in the sun to remove excess water, and then steamed with peanuts, brown sugar or red beans. The rice cakes in central and southern Taiwan Province Province were made by early immigrants from southern Chinese mainland. The method is simple. Glutinous rice can be boiled into a paste with sugar and cooled. It is chewy after cooking. The practice of rice cakes in northern Taiwan Province Province is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Firstly, the glutinous rice is ground into rice slurry and put into a rice bag to dry, then sliced into a cauldron and boiled with syrup. After cooking, it is pulled up with long bamboo pieces and put into a container. This process is called "making sweet cakes" and tastes soft and delicate. In addition, it is worth mentioning that in the north of Taiwan Province Province, there are rice cakes made by immigrants from Fuzhou in southern Fujian, which are naturally amber. The difference is that Fuzhou Rice Cake in Taiwan Province Province is made of pork, taro and peanuts, which completely subverts the original taste. Usually, it is sliced and fried to make cooked food, and it can also be fried with egg juice, white powder (corn flour) or sweet potato powder, which is quite delicious and can be regarded as a successful improvement of the traditional Taiwan Province rice cake. Guangdong rice cakes Guangdong and Hong Kong rice cakes are orange-red sticky cakes, which are sweet and made of glutinous rice, sliced sugar and lard. Generally, it is sliced and fried to make cooked food, which is greasy. In addition, cakes such as water chestnut cake, taro cake and radish cake will also be regarded as rice cakes. In Hong Kong, there is also a kind of "coconut milk rice cake", which uses coconut milk instead of candy and is white. Japanese rice cake Japanese rice cake is also called mirror cake. It is also popular to eat rice cakes when celebrating the New Year in Japan (the Japanese New Year has been changed to solar terms since the Meiji Restoration). Japanese rice cakes are white and have a light taste. Traditionally, rice balls are put in big wooden barrels and hammered constantly. Korean rice cakes are similar to those in Ningbo, southern China, but the cooking methods are different.