In the hearts of Cantonese people, there is no cool powder in the summer,
It's not a perfect summer.
This year, did you eat cold powder?
"Cool powder is available for sale"
Every summer, from the streets and alleys of Hualiangkou Town, such shouts and sales will be heard, and the sound cavity is full of rural sounds and nostalgia, full of kindness and enthusiasm.
I saw that the uncle who was shouting to sell cool powder next to a box with the words "Xingji cool powder" was very eye-catching. Spend 5 yuan to buy a bowl of crystal clear cold powder, drizzled with white sugar, condensed milk or brown syrup, scoop a full spoonful, swallow it in a large mouth, sweet and not greasy cool powder slipped between the lips and teeth, the taste of the delicate Q bomb makes people can't help but suck a few more mouthfuls, a bowl of belly, cool mouth.
The neighbors told the editor that this uncle's name was Li Yongxing, and he had been selling cold powder in Liangkou Town for more than 20 years, and the neighbors called him "Uncle Xing" affectionately, and some children called him "Liang Powder Bo". Every summer, many children in the town listen to the sound of shouting and selling with their ears open, hoping that the "cool powder uncle" will pass by and sell cold powder in front of their homes.
Xing Uncle said that over the years he sold the cold powder are pure handmade, the raw materials required to make cold powder are called cool powder grass, also known as immortal grass, the production needs to go through the selection of immortal grass, boiling immortal grass, washing immortal grass, filtering cold powder water, boiling, adding rice milk and other steps, each program has many small details, the production process is very cumbersome, at least it takes about 8 hours.
Uncle Xing and his wife's day mostly opened at 5 a.m., "day and night to do, used to be 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning to make cold powder, now at 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning sometimes to help take care of grandchildren, they have to get up early to do it at about 5 a.m., our two in-laws have been doing cold powder for 29 years now." ”
Of course, in the past 29 years, Xingji cool powder is not open all the time, the cool powder of Xing Uncle and his wife is the "summer limited" food in Liangkou Town, which only opens in the hot summer every year, and the opening time is appropriately adjusted according to the degree of weather heat, which generally lasts for 2 to 4 months, and can sell about 200 pounds a day.
Limited-time sales, quality assurance, heat relief, long-established brands... These labels are the reason why Xingji Cool Powder is loved by the neighbors. Uncle Xing generously invited Xiaobian to visit his house on a selected day to observe the cold powder production process.
1
Pick the fairy grass
When xiaobian rushed to Uncle Xing's house in Liangxin Village, Liangkou Town,
7, 8 pounds of fairy grass has been boiled under the pot for nearly 3 hours,
The strong smell of cold powder pervades the kitchen.
Uncle Xing said: "The first step in making cold powder is to select immortal herbs. Taking advantage of the gap between the boiling of the immortal grass, Uncle Xing and the editor first came to the small warehouse on the roof to store the immortal grass, opened the warehouse door, and a pile of immortal grass came into view, occupying most of the warehouse, and each pile of immortal grass had different playing cards on it, writing "good", "poor, hard" and so on...
Uncle Xing told the editor that the quality of the fairy grass directly affects the quality of the cool powder, so he will purchase the fairy grass from different farmers, try many times, and select the best quality of the fairy grass to make raw materials, due to the large amount of procurement, so mark it on the playing card to avoid confusion.
He said that in the past, the immortal grass used to make cold powder was planted by home, and in order to better preserve and use it, the immortal grass had to go through procedures such as drying after picking. Later, the demand for immortal grass became larger, and life became busier and busier, and there was no time to distract from dealing with immortal grass, which could only be obtained through procurement. However, there are fewer farmers growing immortal grass in Conghua, and after many searches, Uncle Xing found that the Jade Pillow Village of Paitan Town in Zengcheng is rich in immortal grass, and the quality is relatively good, so every time he drives to Zengcheng to purchase, it takes two or three hours to go back and forth.
2
Lychee wood as fuel
In addition to storing immortal grass, Uncle Xing will also reserve a large amount of dry firewood as fuel for boiling immortal grass, "I sell cold powder in the summer, and in the winter I go up the mountain to collect dry firewood." Uncle Xing said that every year to reserve about 10,000 kilograms of dry firewood to be enough for the production of cold powder in the first quarter, "many people in the village grow lychees, recently the lychees have been harvested, the villagers know that I need dry firewood, more or less will leave the unused lychee wood and branches for me to use." "Clusters of flames, condensing the friendship and kindness of the villagers, bowls of cold powder, only to become more mellow and sweet."
▲ A part of the dry wood stored by Uncle Xing.
3
Rub the fairy grass
During the conversation, the immortal grass water in the pot has been boiled, and the boiled "super concentrated" immortal grass water is poured out for later use, and the immortal grass is fished out, and the "soul process" of cold powder production can begin - rubbing the immortal grass. Uncle Xing said that the boiled immortal grass actually contains a large amount of cold powder pulp, and hand rubbing the immortal grass can rub out the remaining pulp to maximize the value of the immortal grass.
▲ Drain the fairy grass and scoop out the cold powder water.
Only to see Uncle Xing put a dustpan in a large basin filled with clear water, and then skillfully grabbed a handful of immortal grass and rubbed it quickly on the dustpan, like a funnel, the fairy grass pulp flowed into the basin along the dustpan hole, and the water gradually became thick immortal grass water.
During the period, Uncle Xing enthusiastically introduced the tools used in the production process of cold powder, each of which is a handy tool that Uncle Xing cherishes. Take the dustpan used to rub the immortal grass, this dustpan is also handmade by the bamboo weave craftsman, "Now there are not so many people who make dustpans by hand, my dustpan is very suitable for rubbing cold powder, both can initially filter the cold powder water, cover the large fairy grass slag, and it is quite strong, I soak in the water every day to rub hard, one can probably stick to it for two years." ”
▲ Uncle Xing and his wife rubbing fairy grass in the yard.
4
Husband and wife cooperate to filter fairy grass water
Rub the fairy grass, this side of the aunt to support the gauze, there Xing uncle poured the fairy grass water into the filter, the husband and wife action is orderly, with tacit understanding. Uncle Xing laughed and called them "old partners", 29 years of countless times to make cold powder, the couple has already carved the steps in the bones: "(We) need not say much, a look knows what the other party is going to do next, and I have to cooperate with what to do, so help each other to do it." Like the step of filtering cold powder water, sometimes it is difficult for a person to complete quickly, and it is necessary to divide labor and cooperate, a gauze, a cold powder water poured in, with tacit understanding, the speed is very fast. ”
The duo collaborated to filter the cool powder water
Filter the cool powder water
5
Boil the fairy grass water twice
Subsequently, the filtered fairy grass water is boiled twice, when boiling, add freshly ground rice milk, stir evenly and boil again to turn off the heat, wait for the cold powder water to cool and solidify, and the pure handmade cold powder will be made.
Freshly ground rice syrup
and filter
Delicious tips
"Whether it is boiled fairy grass water or hand-rubbed fairy grass water, including rice milk, it needs to be filtered by fine gauze before the second boiling, so as to ensure that the cold powder is smooth and grainy." Uncle Xing said that the added rice milk can help the cold powder water solidify, and the quality, delicacy and proportion of the rice milk directly affect the taste of the cold powder.
"The rice we use is our own brown rice, freshly ground and used to ensure freshness, and the ratio of general rice milk to cold powder water is 1:9." Uncle Xing also revealed to us the unique know-how of cold powder production, "When the filtered cold powder water is boiled twice, we will not all get off the pot, but will leave a bucket of cold powder water to mix the rice milk first, and then slowly pour it in when the cold powder water in the pot is boiled, so that on the one hand, the rice milk and the cold powder water can be mixed more evenly, on the other hand, the temperature in the pot can be quickly lowered, and the rice milk that has just been boiled directly into the pot will not be directly blanched." ”
Mother teaches craftsmanship, grandson has begun to "steal teachers"
While waiting for the cool powder to solidify, Uncle Xing told the editor that the craftsman who made the cold powder inherited his mother. According to Uncle Xing's recollection, when he was young, his mother would definitely make cold powder for his family every summer, a bowl of sweet and refreshing cold powder under the belly, relieve the heat and clear the heat. Uncle Xing, who watched his mother make cold powder in the kitchen every summer when he was a child, deeply remembered the taste and preparation method of cold powder in his heart. Over the years, Uncle Xing's craftsmanship has become more and more skillful and delicate after years of polishing and continuous improvement.
With superior quality, customers who buy cool powder are often endless, Uncle Xing said: "After doing so many years, we all know that our cool powder is good, sometimes on fire 'hot air', slight sore throat, swollen gums and pain, will come to buy some cold powder to eat, fire is very effective, more than twenty years of our reputation is still very good." There are also often regular customers who cross most of the city to buy dozens of pounds to take home to send home relatives and friends, and Uncle Xing said that his motivation to continue to make cold powder comes from the old customers who have supported his business for more than twenty years.
When the editor asked about the inheritance of the cold powder production skills, Xing Shu said that his son and daughter-in-law would come to work when they had free time, and the young grandchildren often "looked at the cold powder and stole the teacher in advance" on the side.
With the passage of time, Uncle Xing's dustpan washing immortal grass does not know how many to change, the old trade engraved with life memories is gradually disappearing, and the craftsmen who were once involved in the daily life of ordinary people are gradually difficult to catch up with the era of more and more modernization, and more efficient tools and more convenient and available new materials are competing for the first time.
Making cold powder can no longer require complicated craftsmanship, no longer need to take 8 hours, just need to go to the supermarket to buy a small box of cold powder, boil in household water to open the cold, which does give us a lot of convenience, but the "clumsy" gas of the pure handmade traditional method gives the "soul" to the inanimate cold powder.
No matter how times change,
Uncle Xing's 29 years of persistence,
It is the best interpretation of the spirit of craftsmanship.
It's hot,
Have a bowl of "summer limited" handmade cold powder?