This article is a shortened version written for "Shimei Wenling". Huang Xiaohui (kunqu@126.com)
Stuffed cake (also written as embedded cake, sandwich cake, fresh cake, water rice cake, pounded mortar cake) is the favorite delicious "convenience food" of people in Wenling, Zhejiang. ”, many people’s busy and fulfilling day starts with a tube of stuffed cake. In the streets and alleys of Wenling, you can often see stuffing cake shops (stalls), with seven pots and eight bowls (or stainless steel square plates) of stuffing heads placed in front of a long wooden (or stainless steel) case. To prevent flies, there are There are also glass or gauze covers. The fillings include meat and vegetables, such as pork, fried dough sticks, onions, carrots, celery, shredded potatoes, fried noodles, pickles, eggs, spicy cabbage, oil fruits (called "pickled shrimp" in some places), etc. Some stalls are The pork is cooked on a small stove, and some are served with a stall of soaked avocado on the side. The cake is wrapped in a quilt to keep it warm.
The customer comes and stands next to the cake shop (stall) owner to give instructions. The boss lifts a corner of the quilt and cuts out a piece of fresh cake suitable for the diners' appetite. He kneads it into a ball on the chopping board, then rolls it into long thin slices. After folding it in half, he pinches the tail a few times and seals it. Then, he adds various kinds of cakes according to the taste of the diners. Fill the meat and vegetable stuffing (sometimes you choose meat, chop it on the cutting board and wrap it), then pinch the two sides of the cake tightly like making dumplings, leaving an opening at the top. Generally speaking, pork, avocado (usually chopped first) and scrambled eggs are added separately. The same cake has many different tastes due to different fillings inside. Each tube of stuffed cake has a slightly different taste due to the different tastes of diners, making it a "personalized" customized food. Sometimes, some people who are good at eating stuffed cakes will pour a few spoonfuls of broth into them, which will make the stuffed cakes even more delicious.
In Wenling, people can eat stuffed cakes with raw tofu or mung bean noodle soup (crushed bean noodles), or dried tofu bone soup. Raw tofu can be eaten in two ways: salty and sweet. To eat it, add seaweed, pickled mustard, cooked skin, chopped green onion, etc. For sweetness, add brown sugar (candied sugar paste) or white sugar, it is up to you to choose.
Stuffed cakes are not unique to Wenling. There are stuffed cakes in Huangyan, Luqiao, Yuhuan, Jiaojiang and other places in Taizhou. People in Dajing Town, Yueqing City, Taiping District also like to eat stuffed cakes, just like the Chumen people in Yuhuan. The stuffed cake is called "cake head". Wenling people like to eat stuffed cakes, and they have also made bold innovations in traditional stuffed cakes. In recent years, some shopkeepers have used machines to pound cakes or hydraulic presses to press cake crusts. The fillings have also become more diverse based on tradition, enriching people's taste. taste.
Not only are the production methods new, but the sales methods of stuffed cakes are also advancing with the times. "Every time I feel homesick, my mouth will water, and how can a thing be in front of me?" This is a poem written by Dai Huihu, a patriotic poet of the Southern Song Dynasty in Wenling Township. Although that poem is about seafood, it is also appropriate to use it on stuffed cakes. The delicacy of stuffed cakes often fascinates Wenling people outside of China, because the thoughts of many Wenling people outside (and perhaps some non-Wenling people who have tasted stuffed cakes) actually gave birth to the business of selling stuffed cakes on Taobao. A few years ago, when I was searching for the sales of local agricultural products in Wenling on Taobao, I talked with a Taobao store owner who ran this business. At that time, he said that this product was not bad in winter, and it could be delivered by express delivery and reheated. Taste the flavor. I once saw a newspaper report saying that a Wenling person was innovative and purchased a vacuum packaging machine, which can extend the shelf life of stuffed cakes. His customers "are all over Shaoxing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Guangdong and other places, and most of them are Wenling people who are away from home." . ”
Traditional production materials: stone mortar, firewood, wok, rice steamer, briquette stove, table, tray, bowl, etc.
The ingredients are japonica rice (late rice), pork, potatoes, radish, dried tofu, celery, pickles, poached eggs, spicy cabbage, onions, fried dough sticks, pickled shrimp (oil fruit), rice noodles, salt, etc.
Production method:
To make cakes, use japonica rice (late rice, generally Northeastern rice is used now). Soak high-quality rice in water for 10-20 minutes (depending on the time) Winter and summer, weather conditions, etc. will determine the time. The time will be shorter in hot weather and longer in cold weather.) Then drain the rice, grind it with a flour machine (previously it had to be ground with a stone mill), and then steam the beaten rice in a rice steamer. , place it in a mortar and pound it for about 10 minutes to make it tough and firm.
There are two main sources of stuffing. One is fried or cooked by housewives, such as potatoes, radishes, celery, onions, etc. Pork can be cooked in a wok (Zheng Minfang’s family in Taiping Street uses Braised with anise, cinnamon, etc.). The other type is supplied by other sellers, such as fried dough sticks and pickled shrimp (oil fruit). Tofu raw, which is eaten with stuffed cakes, is often served by others.