Speaking of Sichuan's cuisine, I believe that the first thing that everyone thinks of should be a variety of spicy cuisine. This is also a very normal thing, after all, Sichuan cuisine has always been known for being spicy. In the minds of foreigners, Sichuan people are very capable of eating spicy, and Sichuan's cuisine is all spicy.
Indeed, Sichuan has a lot of spicy food, and the most representative hot pot is a spicy food. However, although spicy plays a large part in Sichuan cuisine, it is not only spicy in Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan cuisine is actually a very rich taste experience, not only spicy cuisine, in fact, there are light cuisines, Sichuan cuisine is not only a single spicy taste.
When it comes to Sichuan snacks, it is actually more abundant, especially Sichuan's various pastries and desserts, which are very distinctive. For example, ice powder and cold cakes, which have recently become very popular all over the country, are desserts unique to the Sichuan region. When it comes to pastries, egg baking cake is also a kind of pastry unique to Sichuan, and different fillings are sandwiched in the baked cake, which is also very distinctive. Therefore, the cuisine of the Sichuan region is actually very colorful.
The kind of food that this article will introduce today is also one of the many snacks in Sichuan, it is also very unique, and it should be rarely seen in other regions, which is the iron cake from Pengxi.
<h1>First, the history of Pengxi iron cake</h1>
Pengxi iron cake has a long history, and it is said that locals have been making this cake since the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the iron cakes made by people were mainly sweet, and the cakes were also sweet fillings, but today in the Pengxi area, the iron cakes that people eat are basically salty. Nowadays, the iron cake loved by the people of Pengxi has been very different from the iron cake of the Ming Dynasty.
Today's iron cake is said to come from the Republic of China period. In the sixteenth year of the Republic of China, that is, in 1926 AD, Pengxi had to give a person named Xia Qixuan, he found that the pastries that people ate in the past were all sweet, and the types were similar, so he had a sudden idea, on the basis of the original popular iron cake in the local area, the filling inside was changed to salty, and some corresponding improvements were made in the production process.
Today, the pastry made by Xia Qixuan must be regarded as a dark dish, and many people at that time estimated that they also thought so, but what they did not expect was that the pastry created by Xia Qixuan tasted very good and was also popular in the local area, and this new method also beat the original sweet method, which has been passed down to today, so that today the locals basically do not eat sweet iron cake.
<h1>Second, the development of Pengxi iron cake</h1>
As we said earlier, in today's Pengxi area, basically no one eats sweet iron cakes anymore. So, what does this new type of salty iron cake rely on to beat the original iron cake?
The main ingredient used in this iron cake is rice. To make iron cakes, the rice is first washed and soaked for 4 hours, then steamed until it is half-cooked, then ground into rice milk, and then fermented with yeast. The resulting rice milk cannot be used directly to make iron cakes, and alkali needs to be added to the rice milk in order to remove the sour taste. Subsequently, it is necessary to add protein, lard and honey osmanthus flowers to the rice milk, and only here can be regarded as making a qualified cake pulp.
Once the paste is made, it is necessary to cook the cake in the pot. This branding is also exquisite, first of all, you need to pay attention to the heat, to bake the iron cake until golden crispy is the best, absolutely not overheated or not enough time. Secondly, you also need to add jam and cooked lard to the process of baking, on the one hand, to make the iron cake more delicious, on the other hand, you can also make the cake more crispy when baking.
At this time, add the filling to it. Nowadays, people in the Pengxi area often eat tempeh, pork, eggs, chives, bean sprouts, etc., and these ingredients are added to the iron cake, and the aroma is fragrant when you board. Such a fragrant filling, coupled with the cake body that has been added with lard, osmanthus and other materials before, can be said to be fragrant and fragrant, not only to eat fragrant, but also to bite crisp, it is simply very delicious.
From here, you can see that the production of a qualified Pengxi iron cake, the filling and the cake itself are a lot of effort, and it is not as simple as it seems, and it is precisely because of this effort that the entire iron cake from the cake itself to the filling is very delicious, and it can also replace the original iron cake in the long history and become people's favorite food.
<h1>Third, the value of Pengxi iron cake</h1>
The biggest value of Pengxi iron cake is, of course, its deliciousness. This kind of salty pastry is believed to be rare in many places, and The Popularity of Pengxi Iron Cake proves that such a pastry is also very delicious, which can also be said to be an innovation in food to a certain extent, so that people can taste a new taste, which makes the iron cake in addition to delicious, and has an additional layer of innovative value.
In addition, Pengxi iron cake is also rich in protein and various vitamins and iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and other minerals, it can be said that it is also good for the body, can play a role in nourishing the heart and kidneys, removing heat and thirst, strengthening the spleen and thick intestines.
<h1>IV. Conclusion</h1>
Pengxi iron cake is a very unique pastry not only in Sichuan, but even in the whole country. Because in the general people's cognition, pastries should be sweet things, in other words, pastries should be sweet, but Pengxi iron cake can be said to be a different way, creating a new flavor of pastry. Moreover, this kind of pastry is not a dark dish, but a real delicacy, which has been popular with locals for decades, which cannot but be said to be very unique.
Therefore, if you have the opportunity to travel to Sichuan in the future, and have the opportunity to go to Pengxi in Suining, then you must not forget to try the iron cake, a unique local pastry, although it may be a little unaccustomed at first, but soon you will fall in love with this special cuisine.
bibliography:
《Chronicle of Pengxi County》
Suining City Chronicle