Stone steamed bun is a traditional dish with a unique taste and cooking utensils. Lintao Shizi Bun preserves the multi-ethnic cultural symbols formed by history, and is accompanied by myths and legends with a long history and profound meaning.
Shizi steamed bun is located in the site of the prehistoric civilization Xindian, which is the living area of the ancient Qiang people, who have the characteristics of white stone worship, and the production method of stone bun is related to this characteristic. Some folklore researchers believe that the distribution area of stone steamed buns is concentrated at the foot of the Great Wall of Qin in the Lintao Warring States, which should be directly related to the lack of cooking utensils for soldiers who guarded the border pass during wartime, and because of their ugliness, they simply used local materials to make military food.
The stone steamed bun is specially selected, and only the stones taken in the 1.5-kilometer river channel of Zhujiagou in Xindian Town, Lintao County can be selected, with a particle size of 4 to 6 mm and stable performance. Stones in other places cannot be used to burn stone buns, and will explode into sand when heated.
The production process of stone steamed bun is very unique, it is best to use a pan to make it, to ensure that the stones are evenly heated, and each pot of stones is guaranteed to be about ten kilograms, which can fully cover the dough cake.
The taste of the stone steamed bun is extremely delicious, the fresh stone steamed bun that has just come out of the pot, the golden and brilliant appearance, evenly divided into concave and convex pits, the size is consistent, and it is the trace of the stone. The stone steamed bun in the mouth, while crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, has a burning taste, which is the taste that is unique to baked food. In human childhood, our ancestors used fire to grill food, so the taste of this roasted food is deeply rooted in our genes and is particularly kind.
The nutrition of stone steamed buns is different. The stones used to make steamed buns can only be used more than twenty times. The stones are old, and the steamed buns will not be delicious. Because the stone just collected contains a variety of trace elements, including potassium, selenium, aluminum, magnesium, iron, lithium, etc., the stone has been used for a long time, various trace elements have disappeared, the taste of the steamed bun has lost a special aroma, and the nutritional value has also decreased.
The people of Zhujiagou in Xindian Town are very devout in worshipping a deity: The Standing Immortal. Legend has it that the mortal immortal was a great filial piety who had no food in his family and turned the stones into wheat for his mother and neighbors to eat. Later, the station immortal feathers disappeared, and the people brought home the river sand he left behind, although it did not turn into grain, but it became the pride of the Zhujiagou people, and baked a strange and fragrant delicacy. Simple raw materials, simple production, simple steamed buns, and finally formed their own charm legend, with their own cultural appeals. If Shi Zi'er's steamed bun is given another name, it should be "filial piety and immortal steamed bun", which is the embodiment of the spiritual and cultural life of the Lintao masses.
Shizi steamed bun is a gift for Lintao people's traditional festivals, life etiquette, visiting relatives and friends, and is also a daily home food. It embodies the rich customs of Lintao's traditional farming society, and is also interdependent and nourishing with history and culture.