Smell the joy of boiling cakes
Take a taste of the old taste of memory
Reporter He Xuemei
China is a country of etiquette, Chinese attaches importance to the exchange of courtesies and gifts, and giving food to relatives and friends is our most subtle and simple expression of happiness. Like other foods, Wenxi boiled cake conveys people's good wishes for thousands of years. Smell the joy of boiling cake, shaped like a full moon, the shape of the circle, the delegation reunion round, the cake filling can pull out a few centimeters long honey silk, the length of the honey silk means affectionate, its skin is stained with sesame seeds, the number of sesame seeds indicates many blessings and longevity, and has a peaceful and happy cultural connotation. Wenxi boiled cake is crispy and sweet, not greasy and sticky, and is deeply loved by the people. In the local area, whenever there is a wedding and birthday celebration, ancestor worship, people will use this auspicious food to treat guests.
When it comes to cooking cakes, many people will think of the sweetness and beauty of their childhood. In all parts of the country, Wenxi produces the best taste of boiled cakes, and many imitators of the past generations have not been able to seize the reputation of Wenxi boiled cakes. So, how is this delicious boiled cake that has been passed down for a hundred years made? What is the story behind the sweet smell of boiled cakes?
It is rumored that Kangxi gave the name delicious and far away
Smell the delicious flavor of the cake, rich in nutrients, bite down, the fragrance of sesame seeds mixed in the fluffy crust, mixed with crisp sand honey filling, constantly teasing the limit of the taste buds, sweet but not greasy taste is endlessly evocative. Because the Jinnan folk call "fried" "boiled", Wenxi boiled cake is actually a kind of fried dim sum, it is flour, sesame seeds, sugar, sesame oil, etc. as raw materials, after filling, blank making, frying (boiling), cooling, juice, sticky sesame and other processes processing, storage of 100 days of color aroma unchanged. It is rich in protein, vegetable fat, sugar and mineral elements such as calcium, phosphorus and iron, and is a nutritious food with nourishing and fitness effects.
Wenxi boiled cake in the ancient Zuoyi (Wenxi, ancient Hedong County Zuoyi) has a hundred years of history, according to the "Shanxi Data Compilation" record, from the Qing Dynasty Jiaqing period to the 300 years before the War of Resistance Against Japan, Wenxi boiled cake is not only famous in Tianjin, Beijing, Xi'an, Jinan, Taiyuan and other surrounding areas, but also exported to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hainan and other places. In some county towns and market towns in southern Jinnan, generally grocery stores are hung under the guise of "Wenxi boiled cake" to attract customers.
As one of the eight famous points of Shanxi tradition, Wenxi boiled cake has the reputation of "the king of cake points" in Shanxi, and is also known as "the best of the national pastries". According to legend, when the Kangxi Emperor was passing through Wenxi on a tour, Wenxi's officials and gentry chose famous teachers to rule the banquet in order to receive the holy car. During the banquet, Kangxi felt that the other dishes were light and tasteless, only the cooked cake had a unique taste and a long aftertaste, and could not help but ask his name, because the emperor suddenly asked questions, and the officials and eunuchs could not help but be speechless for a while. When the emperor saw this, he smiled and said, "Let's call it boiling cake." As a result, the Wenxi boiled cake named by the Kangxi Emperor became famous and has been passed down to this day.
Since ancient times, Wenxi boiled cake has been known for its "sweet and delicious, crispy sand is not greasy", with good color, aroma and taste, and is famous in the sea, and was once listed as a tribute. Mr. Lu Xun in his famous book "Wandering Lonely", there is a sentence "I carry two packs of Wenxi boiled cake to see a friend", which shows that the reputation of Wenxi boiled cake is impatient, which has been shaped by the pen of the famous artist. During the Period of The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the secretary of the Wenxi County CPC Committee carried more than 20,000 boxes of Wenxi boiled cakes to the DPRK with singer Guo Lanying and others to comfort the most lovely person, the soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.
Wenxi boiled cake The reason for the centuries-old tradition
Wenxi boiled cake can be passed down for a hundred years, and has a lot to do with the local raw materials and environment, which is also the fundamental reason why it can maintain a long-term and unbroken, even if there are many foreign merchants who have copied the original technology, but still can not make the taste of Wenxi boiled cake.
First, the honey quality is high. Wenxi terrain is complex, four seasons are distinct, the sunshine is sufficient, the rainfall is moderate, the frost-free period is long, there is a good ecological environment, the flowers are complete, apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, plum blossoms, jujube flowers, persimmon flowers, locust flowers, alfalfa flowers, roses, etc. are everywhere, and the honey quality of the boiled cake is excellent.
Second, there is water quality suitable for cooking cakes. Yuncheng Shuishui River and groundwater contain the right amount of alkaline, there is alkaline water to make the boiled cake pine sand without loose, unique flavor, is the best leavening agent.
Third, the characteristic sesame oil. Wenxi farmers have had the habit of planting sesame seeds and squeezing sesame oil since ancient times, using sesame oil to make boiled cakes, and the cooking cakes are colorful and fragrant.
Fourth, the flour used to make the cooked cake is of good quality. Wenxi is a variety of food crops such as wheat, corn and millet, with sufficient flour sources and many sugary raw materials.
Wenxi boiled cake selection is exquisite, the process is exquisite, the operation of many processes, are based on the experience of successive generations of masters orally taught by heart, so far some key processes still need to be completed by hand, which condenses the wisdom of hundreds of years of craftsmen, is a valuable intangible cultural heritage.
For hundreds of years, Wenxi's craftsmen who make boiled cakes have inherited and innovated this ancient production technique, making boiled cakes with conscience and winning customers with integrity. Many boiled cake brands continue to innovate in the traditional skills of their ancestors and develop more flavors suitable for the public, thus making Wenxi boiled cakes sell well.
How to make a hot cake
How to distribute raw materials
Leather: cooked flour, brown sugar, cooking oil, caramel, baking soda, water
Filling: cooked flour, sugar, honey, osmanthus flowers
Syrup: sugar, caramel, honey, sesame seeds
Preparation method
And skin noodles: pour the cooked flour in a clean container; then melt the brown sugar with water, pour the caramel and cooking oil and stir well, heat and boil, pour into the cooked flour and stir; add baking soda, and form a soft and hard dough.
Filling: Mix the cooked flour, sugar and osmanthus flowers, and then add the honey to warm water and pour in, stir well.
Blank making: cut the reconciled noodles into equal-sized agents; brush the surface of the cut agent with a layer of cooking oil for a while; open the dumplings and wrap them into the filling, wrap them into a round ball shape and wait to be fried.
Frying: add sesame oil to the pot, heat, wait for the oil temperature to rise to about 200 degrees, the made cake blank under the pan frying (before frying, the cake blank is first passed through cold water, the purpose is to soak the floating surface, reduce the impurities of the oil pan; at the same time can prevent the dew filling, peeling). Drain the cake blank after cold water, put it in the frying pan and fry for about 3 minutes, fry until it floats, the color is date red, and the surface can be fished out when there is a small crack.
To make syrup: On a separate heat, add honey, sugar and caramel to the pot and boil the honey syrup.
Hanging paste sticky hemp: the fried cake blank is left to cool (just fried boiled cake, the temperature is relatively high, the skin is crisp, in the case of no cold thoroughness, in the process of rolling sesame seeds on the hanging pulp, the crust is easy to break); the cooled semi-finished product is poured into the honey syrup in parts, soaked for about two minutes and fished out; put into the cooked sesame seeds and tumbled, and after the sesame seeds are sticky, the cake is cooked.
The cooked cake is evenly sized, brownish yellow, and when eaten in the mouth, the crisp sand is fluffy, non-skiny, non-sticky, sweet and not greasy, and there is a residual aroma of osmanthus and honey after eating.