Amaranth is a family dish in the south of the Yangtze River, the first growth is very tender, so there are fried fresh amaranth, do not need to be fierce fire for a long time; if you do a cold dish, the amaranth into the boiling water, a few stirring after the roll quickly fished out, and then put a little bit of sesame oil, vegetable aroma and oil aroma together as a whole, that is, for a fresh and tender vegetables. Amaranth is very easy to enter the rapid growth period, it will always be to the high side of the crazy growth. Ningbo, Shaoxing people generally do not eat this kind of amaranth is not old and tender. Therefore, farmers will simply let it stay in the ground, so that it grows into a thick pole as mold amaranth stalk material. Amaranth poles really grow into, its shape is also some spectacular: almost one person high, thick as the sugar cane in ponds, strong and as lettuce, Qi brand new as a wall of green barriers. Some of the leaves on the lower stalks have begun to yellow, signaling that the nutrients are being pulled upward. The top of the handful of young leaves are still swaying in the evening breeze, looking down from above, like a green velvet blanket (in recent years, the market has seen a variety of amaranth with purplish-red leaves, I do not know whether it can also grow into this amaranth pole). Once the amaranth is ripe, farmers uproot the poles, wrestle the soil that clings to the roots clean in the ground, and then use a cleaver to peel some of the little whiskers off the top.
To make moldy stalks, the stalks are first cut into inch-long segments and put into a large wooden pot with enough water to submerge each segment, a process that may be done to leach out a liquid called shao, which is known in our region as "shao". This process is probably to leach out a liquid called "shao", which is often thought to make people hungry and therefore needs to be removed. Ningbo Shaoxing folk have a lot of similar things, the older generation with experience passed down the requirement to do so, the descendants will do the same.
About a day and night time, the surface of the water will appear a layer of white foam, at this time the stalks will be fished into the bamboo basket, with water to rinse the white foam on the top, and then drain the water, you can enter the altar fermentation. Fermentation without salt, salt can be added when eating steamed. A number of days later, open the lid and smell, there will be flavor overflow. If you touch with your hand, you will feel a layer of smooth outer skin of the stalks, gently press it seems to have a soft shape, moldy amaranth stalks will have been made.
Fishing a bowl of pouring a little vegetable oil, put the pot of steam, with the boiling water in the pot of hot air rising, its long fragrance will begin to fight the nose. Out of the pot, you will see the color of the stalks is still the previous drop green drop green, a cut off as emerald staggered across the display, very nice.