My grandpa’s hometown is in Ganzhou. The last time our family of sixteen went to southern Gansu together, I will never forget it.

In the car, my mother told me some basic Hakka customs: Because the Hakka people moved from the Han people in the Central Plains to Guangdong, Fujian and southern Jiangxi and lived together with the local indigenous people, their language was gradually influenced by the local indigenous people. , gradually formed a unique Hakka dialect, and also formed their Hakka customs, such as: on New Year's Eve, you have to kill geese, and you can only eat reunion dinner after paying homage to your ancestors; on New Year's Day, you must eat vegetarian food and not eat greasy meat. They are all very different from the Chinese New Year in the Central Plains.

When I arrived in Ganzhou, what impressed me most was the food in Ganzhou. Among them, my favorite is Huang Yuan Rice.

Huangyuan rice cake is one of the unique foods of the Hakka people in southern Jiangxi. It has a long history and was listed as a tribute as early as the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty. Making Huangyuan rice cakes is also an important folk activity of the Hakka people in southern Jiangxi, and the traditional hand-made method is still preserved. Making Huang Yuan rice cakes is usually carried out during the twelfth lunar month of each year during the slack season. The making process can reflect the spirit of unity and cooperation of the Hakka people, because making Huang Yuan rice cakes cannot be done by a single family, and usually requires several families to work together. . Therefore, the places where Huang Yuan rice is usually sold are often also places where children like to gather.

Grandpa pointed to the Huang Yuan Rice on the plate and said: "Huang Yuan Rice is made from the glutinous 'Big Rice' native to southern Jiangxi. It is named after a type of rice that grows in the mountainous areas of southern Jiangxi. The small shrub called "Huang Yuan Chai" was burnt to ashes and then soaked in water to soak the mixture. Then the mixture was steamed in a large wooden basin, and then the cooked rice was poured into the stone pot. A dozen men worked together to use Huang Yuan Chai. Finally, the master kneads the pounded Huang Yuan Rice into a cylinder, separates the Huang Yuan Rice into pieces with a thickness of about five or six centimeters, and shapes them by hand. Round or oval yellow-orange and golden Huangyuan rice cakes are made. The dried Huangyuan rice cakes are placed in a large vat and soaked in alkaline gray water. They can generally be stored for three to four months. It goes bad and can be taken out and eaten at any time, which is very convenient.”

During New Year’s and New Year’s Eve, when people visit relatives and friends, they always give a few pieces of golden yellow rice as a gift, which means good luck and wealth. When guests come to the house, take out the Huang Yuan rice dumplings from the storage vat, cut them into strips, fry them, and steam them to create a unique flavor. As for the freshly beaten Huang Yuan Rice, you can grab it into a ball with your hands and dip it in some soy sauce or sugar, and then eat it while it's hot.

I like Ganzhou, I like Ganzhou’s food, and I like the Hakka customs.