Text/Mengzhi
When you arrive in Wenchang, in addition to eating Wenchang chicken, there is also a must eat Baoluo powder.
Like Wenchang chicken, Baoluo powder can be seen in every corner of Hainan. It is no exaggeration to say that they can almost represent Hainan cuisine. Anyone who has been to Hainan will eat Wenchang chicken and Baoluo powder as a standard, and according to this, they will evaluate whether they have eaten Hainanese food.
However, like Wenchang chicken, although Baoluo powder is spread throughout the cities and counties of Hainan, if you want to eat authentic Baoluo powder, you still have to come to Wenchang because Baoluo powder is a specialty of Baoluo Town in Wenchang City. According to locals, hainanese people have long eaten Hainan flour. But since the Ming Dynasty, the people of Baoluo Town have improved Hainan flour, grinding rice into flour and then making soup powder, imitating Hainan flour and selling it in the market. Who knew that this powder was loved by diners as soon as it was listed, so people went home to grind rice into flour to eat, and over time, Baoluo powder became a regular customer on the table of every household. Because it originated in the town of Baoluo, it was named Baoluo Powder.
Yes, you're right, the flour is made of rice. After my brother learned this truth, he was surprised and asked me how expensive rice is, how expensive it is to make Baoluo powder!
However, it is not, to know that Hainan is a tropical region, all year round is hot as summer, this climate is the most suitable for rice growth, so Hainan rice harvest three to four seasons. Harvest rice 4 times a year, so how much rice you have to harvest! Therefore, rice is an inexhaustible ingredient for the people of Hainan. They use rice to make Baoluo powder, which just reflects the flexibility of the Hainan people in cooking and making food.
To eat Baoluo powder, go to Hainan; to eat authentic Baoluo powder, go to Wenchang; and to eat delicious Baoluo powder, you have to go to the streets and alleys of the seemingly declining old shops, because these shops are generally made by Wenchang locals to eat for the locals, so whether it is workmanship, heat and ingredients will be the most authentic; and those novel shapes of The stalls of Baoluo powder cannot guarantee that the stall owners have inherited the essence of traditional production technology.
In Wenchang City, there is an old shop that mainly sells Baoluo powder, named Wangcheng Lou Baoluo Powder. The older sister did not like to eat Baoluo powder, while the younger brother was soon conquered by a bowl of powder. And I, not only satisfied with the fans of this house, but also full of curiosity about this building. Because it is three or four stories high and has 6 doorways, the 6 large white pillars are like the corridors of the arcade, except that the corridor is closed.
The green and white walls and terracotta windows made me feel good about the building. I wonder what kind of story happened in this building?
Before waiting for the noodles to come up in the shop, we chatted with a local aunt next door. She told us that no one knows what year the building was built, but the Wenjing Bridge, which is far away from the building, has a story about the overseas Chinese surnamed Liu and filial piety.
Legend has it that during the liberation period, a family surnamed Liu was forced to survive and came to Malaysia to join his father, Liu Wenjing. Later, when they lived well, they remembered the dilapidated bridge in their hometown and funded the construction of this bridge. And this bridge has become a window for Wenchang people to look at the world.
The history of a bridge is so rich, there must be a story behind the Wangcheng Tower, which is full of vicissitudes, right? I chatted with the aunt, and she sighed and said, "You see that the street of Wennan Street is full of arcades, all of which were built by overseas Chinese who went to Nanyang and returned." Behind every arcade there is a poignant story of separation! ”
Before the aunt could elaborate, her little grandson finished eating the powder and was about to leave, so we waved goodbye. I had to eat The Powder while I fell into the infinite reverie of the story of the Wangcheng Tower.
Baoluo powder is indeed delicious, it belongs to the soup powder category, the soup is clear, the noodles are white, soft and smooth, but they do not lose their tenacity, and the mouth and the noodles are two completely different tastes. The baoluo powder itself is light and fragrant, which is just suitable for the taste of the younger brother. But I like the spicy taste, there is a local special chili sauce on the table, put in a spoonful of chili sauce, mix well, eat, that is called a cool.
I don't know if those overseas Chinese who returned from Nanyang would come here to eat a bowl of Baoluo powder and shout "cool"!