Shaanxi is the paradise of Chinese noodles, and it is said that in all parts of Shaanxi, there are more than 300 kinds of famous snacks with various specialties, which can be called the first province in China to eat. And Shaanxi people also have a special love for steamed buns, meat sandwich steamed buns, lamb steamed buns and other kinds of steamed buns to make you look dazzling. In Foping County, Hanzhong, a 40-minute drive from Xi'an, I wandered the streets early in the morning and saw locals making Kang dumplings for sale.
Kang Kang Bun has a Kang character, which will always remind northerners of the kang where they live in the countryside, but this bun seems to have little to do with kang, but it is not a little related, but there is a pyrotechnic smell. Kang Bun, also known as sesame cake, is a round or rectangular scone. The round one is called Yuan Kang Kang, the long one is called Long Kang Kang, made with flour, hairy noodles, rolled into a small agent, rolled into a bowl size round, sprinkled with sesame seeds on the bun, brushed with rapeseed oil on the pot, and then baked.
The traditional Kang Bun is grilled with charcoal, and when it is done, it is baked in an iron chain of charcoal fire on both sides, and turned once or twice until the cake surface is yellow and the sesame seeds are crispy and fragrant. However, the pace of modern life is accelerating, the sales volume is large, and now it is difficult to see the traditional baking method, most of which are baked by electric cake bells, which is more convenient than charcoal fire, simple and fast.
When he was talking about the difficulty of seeing a traditional baked kang bun, an octogenarian was moving its old furniture with his back hunched over, and the smell of cakes came from the store. It turned out that the old man had used the ancient method to bake kang kang steamed bun out of the pot, and he was lifting the lid of the pot. It was the first time I saw the soil oven, and it turned out that the old man used a tool called "tweezers", which was a craft handed down by the older generation.
Next to the pot, there was also a long pair of large scissors, very windy, watching it quietly on the side of the pot did not see the old man move it, has not understood what it is used for.
It is said that the old man used the ancient method to bake the Kang Kang steamed bun on the outside and soft on the inside, and the smell of sesame seeds was very sought-after, and tourists from outside the country liked to eat this old craft baked out. Although there are not many people who adhere to the ancient method of baking, the price of the old man's Kang Kang steamed bun and the electric cake bell made by others is 1 piece and 5 pieces. Someone advised him that he should raise the price, and the old man insisted that he was an old customer and could not go up.
In another store not far away, I saw a chef baking with an electric cake bell.
Seven or eight pieces in a pot, usually a pot of about 20 minutes can be cooked. Some will add butter when grilling, so the color of the roasted bun will be better. However, some people don't like the taste, but prefer the ancient method of baking without adding anything.
The origin of Kang Kang Bun is said to be a kind of dry food brought by local people for going out for a long trip or marching to fight during the Republic of China, which has the characteristics of long preservation and is not easy to deteriorate, and later developed into a folk snack. From the appearance and characteristics, it is somewhat similar to the Naan in Xinjiang.
Nowadays, Kang Kang steamed buns can be seen in many places in Shaanxi, but most of the shops are only round and not square, and the round ones are for the convenience of carrying and do not occupy the place. It is said that the square Kang Kang bun is more fragrant and crispy than the round one, but it has not been eaten, and Xi'an has been shopping for several days, and I have not noticed that there is a square one.
[Special statement: original graphics, copyright for my own picture storytelling 520 all, can only be forwarded strictly prohibited to reprint or embezzle, violators will be investigated! 】