A true city of carbon water, where people cannot do without glutinous rice, a city in Huzhou, Zhejiang | Colleague | City of Carbon Water

On a business trip to Huzhou, the local colleagues were very enthusiastic. That afternoon, everyone's eyes were sore and their minds were sluggish while looking at the massive data, when she brought in a bag of food. She said, you can try the local summer Dim sum in Huzhou. Little Dim sum? Everyone raised their tired faces, indicating that they were not very interested. Small Dim sum is often associated with cream and cake. In summer, the spleen and stomach are weak, and it seems that they can't carry them. She said that you must have never eaten this little Dim sum. Not found elsewhere, only in Huzhou. Oh? A few people gathered around. What is it? When I heard that the main ingredient was glutinous rice, I hesitated. I like glutinous rice, but it's not easy to digest. I usually only eat it in winter and eat it while it's hot. Now, the opposite is completely true. But thanks to her willingness to buy Dim sum under the scorching sun, colleagues sometimes feel like comrades in arms because they work together on the same project. Seeing her playing with small bowls one by one, we went to share and eat. Unexpectedly, it was stunning upon entering: cool, sweet, so refreshing! My mind instantly becomes clear. Hurry up and look back at the raw materials. In a small bowl, the bottom layer is glutinous rice, sprinkled with mung beans, jujube seeds, kumquat slices, sweet winter melon, and garnished with red and green threads from the preserved fruit. Just pour in cold mint ice sugar water to make it. Isn't it too convenient! Why bother pounding the drum? Because glutinous rice has good viscosity and needs to be stirred and dispersed with a spoon. Strangely enough, the glutinous rice is cold, but it doesn't feel hard in the mouth. Instead, it has both chewiness and a refreshing sensation that has not been tasted in other glutinous rice products.

My biggest feeling about the cuisine in Huzhou when I came here is that the people of Huzhou cannot do without glutinous rice. The breakfast in the hotel and the self-service area were all made of glutinous rice: osmanthus cake, Zongzi, black rice, Dingsheng cake, Shaomai, meat cake, etc; Go out to work and order breakfast on the streets and lanes. It's made of glutinous rice, such as fried rice, crackling, and glutinous rice pudding; Go back to Hangzhou at the weekend to buy some Huzhou featured snacks, cakes with various colors and shapes, durian flavor, blueberry flavor, wormwood flavor, orange flavor, etc., all of which share the same feature of glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice is a noble type of rice, not only has a good taste, but also has stronger nourishing functions for the human body than other types of rice. But the yield of glutinous rice is relatively low, the price is high, and it is not suitable as a staple food, so it is usually eaten during the Chinese New Year and holidays. In the lives of people in Huzhou, glutinous rice is everywhere, fully reflecting the profound foundation of the land of fish and rice. The people of Huzhou have a superb control over glutinous rice. Salty and sweet coexist, paired with crispy and glutinous. The Xiankou glutinous rice in Huzhou is very famous. For example, Huzhou Meat Dumpling is different from ordinary Zongzi. First, its shape is long, commonly known as pillow zongzi. A small one, gentle when eating, also known as scholar zongzi. Not only is it heated evenly during cooking, but it also ensures that every bite of meat can be eaten; Secondly, the glutinous rice inside is not white, but thick oil and red sauce, with a soaked taste; Once again, the meat inside is exquisite. Choose black pork belly with a fat to lean ratio of about 20/80, and add a little cured meat to the fresh meat to give it a thick and rich taste. The bacon should be Guangdong style, which tastes sweet. It is used to make Little pan rice, which is more suitable for matching with glutinous rice in flavor; Also, we need to add a little seafood to make it fresh. But the fusion of fish, shrimp, and pork is not good, and they can affect each other. Only light mouthed scallops can lift the freshness of meat the most. Huzhou is located on the south bank of the Taihu Lake Lake, and the whole the Taihu Lake Lake Plain is a typical "sweet spot". In the past, sugar extraction used to consume a large amount of grain and cost a lot. However, the the Taihu Lake Plain, where "Su Lake is ripe and the world is abundant", is rich in grain and affordable. Moreover, sweetness is the most blissful taste, which is also the foundation of gentleness in the personality of Jiangnan people. Although Huzhou cuisine is not as famous for its sweetness as Wuxi cuisine, the understanding and application of sugar are also natural. The raw materials of various soups include candied fruit, kumquat slices, wax gourd sugar, jujube grains, etc. Most of the glutinous rice cakes in Huzhou are also a combination of these materials. Sometimes, some flowers and plants are added, such as osmanthus, plum blossom, rose, mugwort, mint, etc. The fine sand in Zongzi in Huzhou is added with lard. Don't think that the fine sand is cheap material. Huzhou people never tire of making fine sand. Red beans should be soaked in advance, boiled with water, crushed, filtered out residue, and then put into a pot. Stir fry with lard and sugar continuously, and the heat must be controlled well. If it is not cooked enough, it will not come out and melt in the mouth. Too familiar, there will be an "old flavor". Truly, it is both physical and meticulous work. Why add lard? One is to enhance the fragrance, and the other is to make the taste more rich and sweet. There is one more detail, the people of Huzhou say that sweet zongzi should be wrapped loosely, otherwise the glutinous rice will swell into the bean paste. However, when it comes to the most magical combination, it's still the "diverse soup" of cold water pouring glutinous rice. At first glance, "glutinou