At the end of February every year, children at home carry baskets and follow their mothers or grandmothers to pick the leaves of chicken manure.
In the south, at the end of February of the lunar calendar, flowers are in full bloom, leaves are thick and everywhere is full of vitality. In the fields and at the end of Potouling, pig excrement beans can be seen everywhere. These vines are either long or curved. "Guangdong New Language, Grass Language and Rattan" contains: "Everything governs vines, spreading between wild trees and wild walls, more than a foot long, and leaves are like mud vines.
Why does Paederia japonica have such a strong name? The adult's explanation is that the leaves of chicken manure vine give off a special taste, similar to chicken manure. However, in my opinion, it is both strong and fragrant. Strong because there is no mint flavor; Fragrance, because after all, it is the smell of plants, as if smelling the sun and rain. At first, it seemed a little smelly, and then, I felt that the fragrance smelled refreshing, and the integration and contradiction between thick and fragrant made people want to stop.
After picking the paederia, clean it and put it in the sun for a day or two. Go to the village at this time, and the leaves of Celastrus orbiculatus are drying in the dustpan of every household. The heat of the sun makes the unique taste more intense, indicating that the food on March 3 is about to debut.
On March 3, women in the village began to cook delicious food. The practice of chicken manure vine cake is also very simple. Mix glutinous rice and japonica rice in proportion, grind into powder, add water and knead into dough. When the water boils, you can either make balls with water or cut them into strips with a knife and throw them into boiling water. When cooking for 7 or 8 times, add brown sugar or white sugar and cook again. You can eat.
It is estimated that the leaves are rich in anthocyanins, the snacks are dark green and the appearance is not eye-catching. But food doesn't depend on appearance. The unique taste of chicken manure, the fragrance of rice flour and the sweetness of sugar are mixed into a delicious cake.
In my memory, the memory of spring is not flowers, not young leaves, but the bowl of chicken excrement rattan. Every spring, I pick it, watch my mother knead the dough, pull it into the pot, put sugar in it, and slowly put out two big bowls. Dad carefully and seriously took two bowls to the ancestral hall and respectfully worshipped his ancestors with his uncles. You can't eat until after the ancestor worship ceremony.
Chicken dung vine snacks seem to be a kind of ceremony in spring. Only when you eat them can you really experience the spring of this year, otherwise it will be fake spring.
Just as all festivals in China are "eating" festivals, March 3rd is also an eating festival. The reason why there is a saying of eating chicken manure vines is because it is said that just after the Spring Festival, big fish and big meat have eaten too much, eating green plants and clearing the stomach. In particular, Paederia asiatica is a kind of herbal plant that can be used blindly as medicine, and has the effects of expelling wind, promoting diuresis, relieving pain and detoxifying, promoting digestion, promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling.
Of course, these are the reasons that future generations are looking for. The formation of a custom has its own reasons, but this is only the beginning. Now no one knows it, or even legends it.
As a tradition, Beihai, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Hainan and many other areas have the tradition of eating chicken manure, but the practice is slightly different. For example, in Hainan, shredded ginger will be added. According to the cognitive theory of cannibalism, in the distant years, people in these areas may live very close and even belong to the same tribe.
Later, I went to Shanghai, where green meatballs were popular around Tomb-Sweeping Day. Qing Tuan is a cake made by squeezing the leaves of wormwood into green juice and mixing glutinous rice flour. It is also similar to chicken manure. Later, it was discovered that this traditional food was found in many places in China.
Perhaps the best way to love spring is to eat it. Those memories related to eating, across regions and years, have become the best memories. This is also the unique culture of our nation!