In my memory- "The things that rolled leeks in the countryside when I was a child"

In my memory - "the things that rolled leeks in the countryside when I was a child"!

My hometown is in Chengde. Chengde has a famous scenic spot Twin Pagoda Mountain, it is said that the Qianlong Emperor once let people build a ladder to climb to the top of the mountain to find the immortal grass is now we eat leeks, true or false can not be verified. However, in traditional Chinese medicine diet, leeks are commonly known as "Yang Grass", for people who often have cold limbs and insufficient qi and blood transportation in their hands and feet, appropriate intake of some leeks can play a good role in stimulating qi and blood circulation and yang qi promotion.

Leek flower is a condiment commonly consumed in urban and rural areas in northern and southern China. Leeks are rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, riboflavin, ascorbic acid and other health-related ingredients, which can be eaten to make an appetizer, enhance appetite and promote digestion. In our hometown, "leek dipped in tofu" and "leek stewed tofu" are famous hometown dishes; eating "water tofu" and drinking the condiments of "tofu brain" are also necessary for leeks; eating "shabu lamb, fat beef and barbecue" is also necessary for leeks.

Chengde's paddocks, Fengning Dam grassland has a piece of wild leeks, autumn leek flowers bloom a white, people will harvest a large number of wild leek flowers processing leek flowers to sell, in order to increase income. But we Zhang Baiwan Village does not have this luck, the leeks in the mountains are also sporadic, so the leeks are planted in each family in the vegetable garden of the reserved land or courtyard a few ponds (Luanping hometown dialect, the meaning of qi) leeks, the first stubble of leeks in the spring to do "leek scrambled eggs" This dish is particularly fragrant, June is "stinky leeks", at this time generally do not eat, its taste is particularly smoky, not delicious! Autumn leeks are delicious, and when they are about to blossom but not flowering, the leek core is pulled out and scrambled eggs and fried bacon are particularly fragrant. Of course, it can't be pulled out all, because some of the leeks must be left for use.

The leek flowers used for rolling leeks cannot be too tender, so there is no taste, nor too old, so it will lose its umami taste, so the mother must master the picking time, at this time the flowers are still there, and the black shell of the leek seed has just formed. At this time, it is necessary to cut the leek flowers and put them in the basin to wash and spare; because the leek flowers are small, but also to cut off all the leeks, remove the old core and old leeks, leave the tender leeks, wash and cut into fine minced for later; and then pick a few green fresh peppers in the vegetable garden and chop them for later, which depends on whether the family can eat spicy, like to eat spicy and strong, you must put more peppers, if you don't like it, you can also not put peppers; if the population of the family is large, and they all like to eat leeks, but there are few leeks, sometimes they will add some green radish tassels, Do not stalk, radish tassel stem has more moisture, radish flavor is strong, eat will lose the fresh flavor of leeks. Note: Add other dishes should never be added to other colors, such as red pepper, red stem of radish tassels, to ensure that the main color of the rolled leeks is green, sporadic visible black leek seeds The leek color is authentic.

Next up is the rolling leek flower. The first step is to brush the stone mills. The stone mill in my house has long been gone, because now it is used less. In addition, the mill plate is thin, that is, 10 centimeters thick, and it is a mill at the blue stone. At that time, coarse grains were used for corn flour, sorghum rice noodles and other "pressed dumplings" delicacies, and one of the important and necessary raw materials was elm bark noodles to increase its strength. This elm bark is to the elm tree on the mountain to "steal" the pickpocket, this is generally not OK, by the brigade to see the mountain can not be caught, the risk is too big! Normal is to find where to put (the meaning of cutting) elm trees, many women will take kitchen knives, axes and other things to "grab" elm bark, that is really "wolf more meat less", go late or slow hands and feet will not get this good thing. Elm bark to take home to cut it into small pieces with scissors, dry and then on the mill to crush, because the mill plate is thin, rolling elm bark will form a great bump and impact force, a long time, the mill is mounded in half, my father in the comprehensive factory to find someone to make a hoop with an iron plate, the two ends are connected with screws, tightened, the ground is built with stones, cushioned, to deal with the use, from then on we will watch, all are not allowed to roll elm bark.

The second step is to mix the ingredients. Put the leek flowers, leeks, peppers and radish tassels (now no one mixes this radish tassel) in a large pot and stir, and add the right amount of salt; you can also put and sprinkle salt with various ingredients when you put the mill.

The third step is to roll the leeks. Strong labor pushes the mill, our family's mill can only be pushed by one person, two people push is also a mill stick; those with a mill frame can put two mill sticks, two people push. Our children think it is fun and push the mill from time to time, and the mother takes a rice spatula from time to time to turn over the semi-finished products of the leeks under the rudder, and constantly sweeps the crushed soup with a new cooking broom to prevent it from flowing under the mill. Because our mill has cracks, we try not to put raw materials in the cracks to prevent the soup from leaking. Rolling back and forth, flipping, sweeping... Until the raw materials are crushed and turned into thin porridge, the leeks are put away, placed in the jar, and then re-placed the raw materials for the second milling process until they are all completed.

Next, you also have to brush the mill with clean water, put less water when brushing the mill, brush back and forth with a cooking broom, and use a shovel to put the juice down the brush into the jar, because the soup of the leek itself is not enough, you must add water, so the soup juice of the first two brush mills will be put away and put into the jar. Then, put some alkali noodles on the mill and brush them several times with a cooking broom until the brush is clean, and the water will flow down at will. Until the brushing is until others can use the rice and rolling noodles, see that the mill is green at that time, but do not delay the crushing of other rice noodles or something.

The leeks in the altar can not be filled too full, to leave room for air, but also to add salt, but more, must not be less, less leeks will be bad. It depends on experience and craftsmanship. The altar seal is placed in a cool place for a few days, see the leek hair (leek and salt, air fully integrated, leek look bulging a lot, like the appearance of the face launch) can be eaten, can last for a long time, if there is a change, that is, a long time, the leek will become a little yellow, the taste lacks some fresh fragrance.

Now people roll leeks in large quantities will be processed by a crusher for tofu, vacuum preservation; family eating leeks, pay attention to the autumn to the morning market to buy leeks and other raw materials home with juicer processing; no matter when there are leeks and peppers, you can process "leeks", and then placed in the refrigerator to save, the color and taste of leeks will not change.

It may be because of old age, now as long as you eat leeks, from time to time you will think of the scene of rolling leeks when you were a child and the fresh aroma of eating leeks... And the sound of the mother's smile!

November 4, 2021