All memories of home are hidden in the narrow alleys of the early morning. One person, one carton, si flour, stove pot. A busy figure calmly walked through the path in front of every house, and for several years, it was repeated.
Si powder is an ancient snack in Putian, and it is also a well-known traditional snack that exists in the memory of every Putian person. No matter how many years have passed, no matter where you go, looking back, you still remember the most familiar scream and the taste of nostalgia.
"Vegetable balls are coming!".
Yang Warm Swallow Returns, full of emerald green, ushering in the moment of recovery of all things. In pursuit of the taste of the countryside in the spring, we came to a [Dragon Flower Danzhi Powder Transmission Institute] in Longhua Village, Huangshi Town, to visit the production of Si powder and its inheritors - "2020 Putian Top Ten Food Craftsmen" Lin Guohui Teacher Fu.
The vehicle arrives at Longhua Village, which is full of rural simplicity, with some red kapok and green trees planted on the roadside, quiet and idyllic, all you can hear is dogs barking chickens, birds and warblers.
After walking through a narrow alley, you will come to the location of the training center. Above the red brick gate hangs a large golden black plaque that reads "Dragon Flower Dan Zhi Powder Training Center", which has a separate courtyard, spacious and bright, under the wooden two-story building hangs a guise marked with the name of Dragon Flower Dan Powder, the stove is full of smoke, and the rising smoke is straight into the clouds, quite a breath of jianghu haojie.
The courtyard is full of spring colors and green grass. The flowers are fragrant and lush, and they are also an attraction for guests to enjoy the beautiful spring.
Entering the main house, you can see a wall of honor photos about the story of Master Lin Guohui selling Si Flour and the award-winning scene. Each photo is a testimony of the years, as the inheritor of Longhua Dan Si Powder, Master Lin not only picks up Si Powder on his shoulders, but also has a heart of love and awe for intangible cultural heritage snacks.
In front of the golden medal of "Putian Intangible Cultural Heritage Snack Merchant" is a shoulder-picking villain who is exactly the same as Master Lin, which was specially made by a craftsman in Quanzhou for Master Lin, and the materials are made of thick cardboard boxes. The two bamboo barrels placed on either side of the statue are the dragon flower dan. One with dishes and seasonings on top, and the other with a stove pot and a small wooden stool. The weight of the two burdens adds up to about 130 pounds, and Master Lin is carrying such a heavy burden every day to walk the streets and shout, and the flat burden goes up and down with the weight of the barrel, selling the old childhood time.
After learning the story of Master Lin, I came to the courtyard and saw that he had already begun to prepare to make Si Powder. The raw materials are local sweet potato powder, the powder and water are evenly stirred, filtered through gauze, and then precipitated and dried to obtain a fine and pure white sweet potato powder.
Master Lin said that sweet potato powder is divided into dry starch and wet starch, and the two are kneaded together to become the perfect si powder. Wet starch is a mixture of dried starch, which is added to dry starch before kneading, and can be softened when the viscosity is appropriate.
▲ Knead the starch
Kneading for ten minutes, only to see Master Lin pick up a small piece of starch in the palm of his hand and rub it, the starch became a long, unbroken "rope", and did not stick to the hand, did not stick to the basin, so that the first process was completed.
Next is to boil the water, the water in the pot is boiling, Master Lin will knead the si flour dough to the stove, pick up the si powder bucket to put the si powder dough, instantly the si powder dough becomes a rope-like white line from the bucket into the boiling water in the pot, Master Lin said that this is also the reason why the si powder is called "so powder", shaped like a continuous rope.
After the flour is formed, it will float on the surface of the water, and the white will turn into the yellow color of the sweet potato, then it can be drained with a bamboo frame and chopsticks, and put into the prepared cool bucket to prevent the starch from sticking together.
▲Si powder cylinder
After waiting for about twenty minutes, Master Lin took out the powder board, sprinkled water on it, and then fished out the si powder from the water, formed a small ball and placed it on the wooden board, arranged it neatly, and let it ventilate back to the soft agglomeration.
After about two hours, the naturally cooled and molded si flour is complete! At this time, it is the best time to get off the pot, and it is also the time to reach the best taste.
▲Molded si flour
How can the cp of dragon flower dan si powder be less than bean pills? Bean balls are also a traditional snack in Putian, and it always appears on the table during the festive season. The ingredients for bean balls are tofu, fried peanuts, green onions, coriander, seasonings, starch, etc.
First, the green onion and coriander are cut into foam, the peanuts are fried and crushed, and then the tofu is all put into a bowl containing the shallots and coriander, and then the peanuts and seasonings are added in turn, and then the tofu is kneaded by hand to make the tofu and the ingredients mix evenly.
After the filling of the balls is kneaded, take a small ball and knead it into a small ball, and then use your fingers to pull out the small balls. The production of vegetable balls is also a process of inheritance, the mother-in-law is making vegetable balls with her daughter-in-law, and the conversation and laughter are overflowing, and there is true feelings in the world.
Place the kneaded balls on top of the bamboo lotus, sprinkle two layers of starch, and you can start shaking. Shaking the balls is a skill, don't look at it is just a simple back and forth shake, you need one hand to put under the bamboo lotus to support, one hand to grasp the side of the bamboo lotus, and then shake evenly clockwise. Wait until the surface of the wet and sticky tofu is dipped in starch to become a smooth round ball, and the bean balls are ready.
The method of boiling bean balls is similar to that of Sifen, the firewood is exuberant, the hot water in the pot is boiled, and the white bean balls are put in. Stir the spatula a few times to prevent the balls from sticking and then cover the lid. Wait a moment, lift the lid of the pot, the heat rises, the yellow and white bean balls float on the water, and the green onions are dotted with bright eyes, which is extremely cute. Baskets are scooped up and placed in cool water, waiting for the delicious sedimentation.
Once the two protagonists are ready, they can start the highlight of the game - boiling si powder. First, the fried oil tofu and star anise and other spices are boiled in water, then add soy sauce and salt to taste, wait for the soup base to boil, you can put in the bean balls to cook, and finally invite the main protagonist Si Powder to appear, when the whole pot is boiling, it is the best time for the birth of delicious.
▲Camellia oil
The order in the bowl should not be messed up, first fishing for si flour, then adding soup, and then adding oil tofu and bean balls, but also put on the chopped green onions and fried peanuts. You think that's it? No, there is another most critical step, that is, be sure to add a spoonful of dragon flower dan si powder soul - toon oil! The toon was grown by Master Lin himself, so this oil has a unique fragrance. At this point, a bowl of authentic, fragrant, colorful dragon flower Dansi powder is officially completed!
First drink a soup mixed with the smell of toon oil, the special taste of toon opens the taste buds, and the whole stomach is comfortable. Pick up a chopsticks of si powder, crystal clear, inhaled into the mouth, smooth and chewy. After cooking, the bean balls are soft and salty, the aroma of tofu mixed with the crisp and crisp texture of peanuts, and the wetness of the surface starch, full of mouth fragrance. Another bite of the oil tofu soaked in the soup is simply the best delicacy in the world that the gods and immortals are willing to taste!
In the quiet and leisurely countryside, this training center silently guards the intangible cultural heritage of Putian. These craftsmen have exhausted their life's mental strength, rain or shine, simple and tenacious. Maybe one day, on the road, you see a man carrying a dragon flower burden, wearing a bamboo hat, shouting "Vegetable pills and si powder are coming"! When you are a teacher, please be sure to stop and taste this bowl of delicious Si powder with him that precipitates the story of the years.
The historical origin of Si powder
Dragon Flower Dansi Powder is also known as Zhi Powder, Suo Powder, And Suo Cake. The raw materials used must be combined with putian local sweet potato powder and skilled production techniques to produce Si flour with a thick, elastic and flexible and smooth appearance.
Sources of Si Powder (also known as Shi Powder, Soo Powder, Soo Cake):
First, the Puxian dialect has preserved a lot of ancient sounds of the Central Plains. Therefore, the appearance of the noodles is like a snot, "si" in ancient times is the meaning of snot, so it is named si powder.
Second, most of the Puxian people migrated from the Central Plains, and there is a river called Surabaya in the Central Plains, which originates in Nanyang, Henan, flows through Jiangsu, Shandong, etc., so it is named Si Powder, which has the meaning of remembering the ancestors.
Third, Puxian is the land of Kejia Dingwei, folk worship Sizhou Wen Buddha, Sizhou Wen Buddha is the sangha master, is the great poet Li Bai's enlightenment teacher, called Si Fan probably also pinned on the child's smart blossoms, examinations and the first expectations.
The word Suo Fan was first mentioned in the Song Dynasty Wu Zimu's Mengliang Record Volume III "Zaizhi Prince Nanban Hundred Officials Entered the Inner Shou Feast." The fourth cup goes into the imperial sake under the wine glass to peel the bones, soda powder, white meat, and beard cake. "Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Dream Hualu" Volume II "The so-called tea and rice eating fruits are among the ancient books such as Baiwei Soup, TouYu, Xinfa Crane Soup, Three Crisp Soup, Two-ColorEd Waist, Shrimp Qin, Chicken Qin, Hun Robe, Spiral Cord Powder, Jade Tool, Qunxian Soup, False River Pure", as well as Lu You's "Notes on the Old School" Volume I, Su Shi's "Rough Talk on GeWu" drinking and other ancient books. The raw material of the soup powder at the time is mung bean and other legume starch.
Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, "sweet potato" (sweet potato) was introduced from Luzon (present-day Philippines) by Chen Zhenlong, a merchant from Changle, Fujian, from Luzon (present-day Philippines) to Quanzhou and other parts of Fujian, and sweet potatoes were planted all over the world in Putian, and the starch produced was very much. Therefore, starch, the main ingredient for the manufacture of Si powder, has gradually been replaced by "sweet potato powder".
Si fan, which has a great historical origin in Putian culture, has become a household name in Putian in the 70s and 80s through the inheritance of many generations represented by Longhua Village.
——The above information comes from [Longhua Dansi Powder Training Institute]
(Source: Putian Cultural Tourism Author: You Xiaoting Editor: Huang Bin)