How is the rice cake made?

The method of grinding glutinous rice into cakes is also very early. The Book of Qi Yaomin written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty can prove this point. The production method is to screen glutinous rice flour with silk, add water and honey to knead it into hard dough, attach dates and chestnuts to the dough, wrap it with bamboo leaves and steam it. This glutinous rice cake has the characteristics of the Central Plains.

Rice cakes are mostly made of glutinous rice flour, which is a specialty of Jiangnan. In the north, sticky grain like glutinous rice was the first to popularize sticky millet (commonly known as millet) in ancient times. This shelled millet powder is yellow, sticky and sweet after being steamed with water. It is a delicious food for people in the Yellow River valley to celebrate the harvest. The article "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of Jingshi" published during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty recorded that Beijingers at that time would "eat millet cakes and have New Year cakes on the first day of the first month". It is not difficult to see that "rice cake" is a homonym of "sticky cake" in the north.

The experienced rice cake master said that the most important thing to make a good rice cake is to pay attention to water and oil. In addition, whether glutinous rice flour is pure or not is also very important. Most glutinous rice flour bought in the general market is mixed with other rice flour, which is not soft enough to eat. Therefore, rice cakes should be made directly from glutinous rice, so as to ensure the purity and original taste of rice cakes. Making rice cakes is very simple. Rice cakes can be made into many flavors, but they are all based on the most basic original rice cakes and other materials that people like.

Rice cakes are not only a kind of holiday food, but also bring new hope to people every year, which means that everything goes well every year. As a poem in the late Qing Dynasty said, "People's hearts are high, and food is harmonious, so that the year is better than the year to pray for the year."

Around the rice cake:

China has a vast territory, different customs and habits, and a wide variety of rice cakes. Typical ones are the white cake in the north, the yellow rice cake of farmers in Saibei, the water mill rice cake in the south of the Yangtze River, and the glutinous rice cake in the southwest. Red turtle cakes in Taiwan Province Province. Rice cakes have different flavors from north to south. There are steamed rice cakes and fried rice cakes in the north, both of which are sweet; In addition to steaming and frying, southern rice cakes are also sliced and cooked in soup, which is both sweet and salty.

The rice cake in Beijing is the representative of the rice cake in the north. It is yellow and white, symbolizing gold and silver, which means "high every year". Therefore, there is a poem by predecessors, which called the rice cake: "The meaning of the rice cake is slightly deeper, and it is as white as silver and gold. I hope that when I get old, I will be profitable, and I sincerely hope that my wealth will come. " In fact, tracing the history of rice cakes was recorded as early as the Zhou Dynasty in China. "National Zagreb? 6? The "powder meal" in 1 Notes is a cake meal steamed with rice flour. The rice cakes in Beijing snacks are steamed with yellow rice or glutinous rice flour and various accessories. There are many kinds of rice cakes, such as jujube rice cakes, bean rice cakes and rice cakes. Boutique rice cakes include ginkgo, assorted, crystal, ruyi and so on. Cooking methods are mostly steamed, but also fried and dipped in sugar, which are sweet and sticky.

Beijing's rice cakes are generally supplied by Muslim snack bars, except for the Spring Festival, but the quantity and variety are less than during the Spring Festival. Rice cakes are snacks for Muslims and sacrifices for Manchu people to jump on. Manchu's name is Heiafeng, Shi Fei. There was a poem in Zhao Shen in the Qing Dynasty: "This cake is called fat, solid and black, and it is greasy as fat. Xiang Jie must know that God is paid, and Jane is with Jin Ju and Furong. " The note said: "The offerings of Manchu jumping are flying stones and black peaks, as well as sticky rice cakes. The color is yellow as jade, the taste is greasy as fat, the oil powder is miserable, and the honey is quite fragrant, so as to give back to the neighborhood. Jin Ju and Furong are both cakes. " It can be seen that rice cakes were Manchu snacks at least in the Qing Dynasty.

The rice cakes in the south are different. Guangdong rice cakes are generally made of glutinous rice flour, sticky powder, crude oil, melon seeds and bamboo leaves. Its color is golden red, soft and sweet, and delicious. Hainan rice cake has smooth surface, yellow and soft color and sweet taste. According to local customs, every household makes rice cakes as holiday gifts in the twelfth lunar month to celebrate the New Year. Its main raw materials are glutinous rice, sugar, sesame, red dates and water. There are many ways to eat Hainan rice cakes, such as baking or soft eating, burning cake soup and slicing and frying. New Year's custom in Jiangsu and Zhejiang must have rice cakes. There are many kinds of rice cakes, such as sweet-scented osmanthus sugar rice cakes, lard rice cakes, water mill rice cakes and eight-treasure rice cakes. Jiangsu rice cakes are typical Suzhou rice cakes, made of glutinous rice, mainly sweet-scented osmanthus sugar rice cakes and lard rice cakes; Zhejiang rice cakes are common in Ningbo, mainly late japonica rice, which is milled rice cakes. Taiwan Province compatriots also eat rice cakes every year. When making rice cakes, they first mix glutinous rice and Penglai rice, wash them, soak them for three hours, grind them into rice slurry, press them dry, add sugar and banana oil, and knead them evenly. Spread a layer of cellophane on the bottom of the steamer, put the kneaded rice flour on it, and put a bamboo tube at each corner for ventilation. Steam for about two or three hours, insert chopsticks into the rice flour to see if there is any raw flour, add water to the pot at any time until it is cooked, then cut the rice cake into pieces and eat it slowly.