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Kunming, February 26 (Xinhuanet) -- On the occasion of the Lantern Festival, the Huangxin Farmers' Market located in downtown Kunming is crowded, and from early morning to evening, the shouts of hawkers are incessant, the colorful fruits and vegetables and a variety of fresh department stores are overwhelming, the authentic snacks in the alleys are wafting with the aroma of wisps, and the fragmented details are full of the strong atmosphere of "old Kunming". Mr. and Mrs. Kou Wei are busy in the market every day, and it is the busiest time of the year for them.
The exclusive childhood memories of the old Kunming people
Kou Wei is an authentic Kunming native, from his ancestors to pass on the method of handmade tangyuan, eight years ago, Kou Wei opened a tangyuan shop in the Zhuxin farmers' market, with pure handmade tangyuan attracted many elderly customers. Among them, there are old people who reminisce about the taste of old Kunming, and there are also young people who are looking for taste.
"Bean noodle dumplings seem to be just a simple snack, but it is really necessary to restore the taste of childhood, paying a lot of attention, from the skin to the filling to the cooking is a knowledge." Kou Wei's wife, Lei Jie, said.
and hanging pulp noodles (photo taken on February 22). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Chen Xiaoyang)
The skin of the bean noodle soup balls is a hanging pulp noodle, the glutinous rice is soaked for more than 5 hours, soaked until it is soft, ground into rice milk with a stone grinding, and then lifted with a cloth bag to drain the excess water. Subsequently, in the process of adding appropriate water to the noodle process, when kneading the dough, you must constantly adjust the strength of the palm, so that the skin of the tangyuan is more chewy, so that the cooked tangyuan can emit a faint rice flavor, the taste is soft and sticky and non-sticky.
Nowadays, there are many kinds of tangyuan fillings, but the traditional flavor fillings are still mainly peanuts, sesame seeds, and bean paste, the most distinctive of which is tangerine peel peanuts. The tangerine peel that has been dried for a year is matched with peanuts, ground into granules, the taste is layered, the taste is fragrant and greasy, and then fried and solidly cut into pieces, so that the size of the tangyuan can be better grasped during the packaging process.
During the process of packing, the feel is very important, which requires a little accumulation. Lei Jie introduced while wrapping: "The small piece of filling should be wrapped in the center of the 'agent', if the filling is biased, it should be 'exposed' when cooking." Then knead the rounds tightly and prepare to get out of the pot.
Tangyuan and ingredients in a refrigerated cabinet (photo taken on February 22). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Chen Xiaoyang)
Small pieces of filling with different flavors (taken on February 22). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Chen Xiaoyang)
Seemingly simple cooking, but also requires skill. After the water boils slightly, let the tangyuan float up and down in the pot, warm and slow cooking can not only ensure that the tangyuan will not be deformed or broken, but also cook the strength of the glutinous rice, and then fish out after the tangyuan is bright and soft.
The "soul" of bean noodle dumplings is naturally bean noodles. Lei Jie said that when she was a child, most of the tangyuan was not stuffed, and what she ate was the aroma of bean noodles and the sweetness of sugar. The production of bean noodles also requires "slow kung fu", the washed soybeans are first fried over high heat to dry the water, then slowly stir-fried over low heat, fried until the fragrance changes color and then put out, cooled and then finely ground, and then placed in the basin to press tightly, and then put the cooked tangyuan into the basin to slowly roll, evenly wrapped in bean noodles, and finally drizzled with syrup made of brown sugar, a unique childhood memory of the bean noodle soup balls are ready.
Pressing bean noodles (photo taken on February 22). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Chen Xiaoyang)
Finished bean noodle dumplings (photo taken on February 22). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Chen Xiaoyang)
"Bean noodle dumplings we went from snacks to large, but making them ourselves is time-consuming and laborious, and if you want to eat them, you can buy some noodles and fillings, and the family will wrap them together, or the taste of the past." An old man who often comes to buy tangyuan said.
A little bit of sweetness in the life of the city
Customers buy sling noodles (pictured on Feb. 22). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Chen Xiaoyang)
The original intention of the "post-80s" couple to open a shop was very simple, "At that time, it was because I had to take care of children, and my family had always been making raw materials for tangyuan, and I would do this craft, so I simply wrapped myself up and sold it myself, which was an entrepreneurship and a heritage." Lei Jie said.
At the beginning of the store, this small shop only sold the most grounded sweet wine tangyuan, bean noodle tangyuan and tangyuan raw materials, and the purchasers were mainly the elderly, and slowly the husband and wife began to try to innovate, catering to the tastes of young people, and developing and producing coconut tangyuan. As the name suggests, it is to stir-fry coconut and sesame seeds together, and to change the bean noodles into coconut paste, attracting many young customers and gradually booming business.
Boiled floating rice balls (photo taken on February 22). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Chen Xiaoyang)
There have been relatives and franchisees who have come to study with Kou Wei and his wife, but dealing with TangYuan day after day is always boring. With the progress of the times, more efficient machine production occupies the market, and fewer and fewer people insist on hand-made, but they always feel that the cold machine cannot replace the temperature of the palm, and the noodles kneaded by the hands will be more powerful and transparent, and the real material can carry the taste of memory.
Every winter solstice, Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, the shop is particularly lively and busy, and Kou Wei's family goes out to make tangyuan to provide a reunion flavor for many families. "In the past, I used to work outside the home, I rarely spent time with my family, but now I have a small shop that has a sense of belonging, and the income can maintain my life, and the family reunion is the most important." Kou Wei said.
Red lanterns and blessings hanging in front of the store (photo taken on February 22). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Chen Xiaoyang)
Although this small shop has no superfluous decoration, it is very warm, and the sweetness of the tangyuan and the happiness of the small family are always filled with it. In the new year, Mr. and Mrs. Kou Wei hope that the epidemic will end as soon as possible, and tourists from outside Kunming will come to Kunming to take a look around and taste the taste of "old Kunming". (End)