Rice rice rolls are not considered a traditional delicacy of Chaoshan, although the current Chaoshan rice rolls are unforgettable.
The predecessor of rice rolls is "Huiji Ci", which was named by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. "Hui Ji Ci" is not the original appearance of rice rolls. The original appearance of rice rolls was called "Youwei Ci", which appeared in the Tang Dynasty. Later, Huineng and Huiji made changes unintentionally. The changed oil-flavored glutinous rice cakes are too thin, unlike the original ones, which can be divided into pieces. They can only be shoveled back and cut into sections or not. In order to distinguish this oil-flavored glutinous rice cake from the original oil-flavored glutinous rice cake. The newly made oil-flavored glutinous rice cakes are called ‘oil-flavored glutinous rice cakes’. Later, Huiji further improved the oil-flavored rice cakes, so monk Huineng simply named them Huiji rice cakes. At first, this kind of Huiji Ci was only spread in Longzhou (now Luoding City, Guangdong). Since Huiji Ci originated from Longkan Taoist Temple, some people locally call it Longkan Ci.
When and for what reason was the name changed to rice rolls? It was all Qianlong, the emperor who loved Jiangnan. It is said that Emperor Qianlong once went to the south of the Yangtze River and was bewitched by his minister Ji Xiaolan. He went to Luodingzhou to eat dragon rice cakes. After eating it, I was full of praise and commented casually that this rice dumpling is not really rice dumpling, but rather resembles pig intestines, so why not call it rice rolls? That’s how the name of rice rolls was decided. When I was a kid, when I first heard about rice rolls, I thought they were also made from pig intestines. When I ate it for the first time, I was very puzzled. It had nothing to do with pig intestines.
It is said that there are two types of rice rolls, one is Bra rice rolls, Guangzhou Xiguan rice rolls are the most famous; the other is drawer type rice rolls. Braised rice roll rice noodles is just a legend to me. I haven’t tried it yet. I will try it when I have the opportunity to go to Guangzhou. Chaoshan rice rolls are drawer type. A special cabinet with several drawers that can be placed on the stove to steam the rice milk in the drawer. After the rice milk is cooked, add the fillings, steam it again, roll it into rolls and put it on a plate, then pour the sauce on it and it's ready. The fillings vary from store to store, and there are roughly three flavors: seafood, pork, and beef. The seafood flavor has the richest fillings, including oysters, shrimps, eggs, bean sprouts and vegetables. Needless to say about the taste of pork, add eggs, bean sprouts or vegetables to the pork. Beef does not need to rely on other ingredients to enhance its flavor, so the taste of beef is the simplest, mostly just beef plus vegetables.
The sauces are also varied, each showing its own special abilities. The protagonists of the sauce are soy sauce and peanut oil. There are many supporting roles, such as peanut butter, sesame sauce, sand tea sauce, dried radish... Chaoshan area has a saying that there is a hometown and a different accent, and this taste is probably the same. If you go to a neighboring town, the taste will be a little different. When I eat it now, in addition to the sauce poured in the store, I also like to mix in some chili sauce. My "bad habit" after returning from a trip to Tibet, I only did it occasionally before, but now I basically mix it with every dish.
I love the rice rolls at the entrance of Jinshi Middle School the most. It's not that their sauces are the most delicious, nor is their fillings the most delicious, but that their rolls of rice rolls are delicious. The rice milk used in their steamed rice rolls is ground using a traditional stone grinder, but I don’t know if that’s the case or not. The rice roll skin is thin, tender and tough. This toughness is different from other rice noodles or other ingredients, and it also has a rice aroma. Ordering a plate of rice rolls with skin is a habit I developed at that time. He said that he wanted to run more than ten kilometers just for a plate of rice rolls.
I miss the rice rolls at the entrance of Jinshi Middle School, and perhaps even more miss the simple and worry-free days I had.
Quit 365 Extreme Challenge Camp? Day 19