If you don't come to Ningbo, you don't know there is Xiangshan here; I didn't know there was a radish ball until I arrived at Xiangshan. Taste radish balls, which are said to have the taste of Xiangshan; I caught a glimpse of the smell of Xiangshan, and I learned more about the richness and charm of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Radish jiaozi is one of the top ten famous foods in Xiangshan, which naturally makes sense.
When you go to Xiangshan, you must eat raw seafood and fish noodles, which are delicate to the bone. After that, you might as well try another radish ball, which can not only be used as a staple food to fill your stomach, but also taste Xiangshan local food with unique marine flavor.
As a foreigner, radish jiaozi is not only a dish, but also a meal. It is also a unique local snacks and snack.
Xiangshan people's feelings for radish balls are probably no less than seafood. It can be said that everyone in Xiangshan grew up eating carrots. Every household should make several pots of radish balls on holidays. When guests come, they can take them out at any time, steam them and serve them at the back end. It is said that in the past, radish balls were sold in many food markets, hotels and restaurants in Xiangshan, but now they are rare. For me, the taste of radish balls only exists on the Internet. If I hadn't followed the Xiangshan people to the local family, I'm afraid I wouldn't have a chance to taste radish balls with authentic Xiangshan flavor.
Eat at the seaside. Xiangshan is close to the sea, with vast waters and few mountains. It is a famous fishing village and fishing port. It is natural for Xiangshan people to eat seafood. However, just like eating too much meat will make you tired, eating very thick seafood every day will make you feel tired and gradually lead to other ideas; But they don't want to abandon seafood completely, so Xiangshan radish group seafood came into being.
According to legend, there is another story about the radish group, which was originally founded by the daughter-in-law of a family in Xiangshan. There are five brothers in this family. The boss bought a wooden sailboat, specializing in the most important bamboo and ramie business for fishermen, and went out all the year round. The following three brothers are still young and are taken care of by their eldest daughter-in-law at home. When they are busy, they help their eldest sister-in-law to do some field work and grow some radishes. In my spare time, I "go to Xiaohai" to pick oyster yellow (that is, oysters) and pick up snails and shrimps. This winter, the eldest brother who went out in recent years came back and the family was reunited. The two brothers embraced and were very happy. The eldest daughter-in-law ran into the kitchen and cooked a delicious meal for the whole family. However, in addition to the new late rice, there are some radishes and some little seafood that my brother-in-law picked up from the beach. In desperation, she had a brainwave and skillfully put these things together to form a white jiaozi, which was served while it was hot after steaming. I don't want my brothers to eat this novel food. They cheered in unison. They all say it is fresh, fragrant and waxy. It is both a dish and a meal. "How to cook?" Since then, seafood radish balls have spread slowly in Xiangshan.
This is, of course, a legend inherited from our ancestors. Radish balls symbolize happiness and reunion. Like red fish and pomegranate, it represents the simple wishes and unparalleled creativity of our ancestors.
In fact, there are many snacks (dishes) made of radish, such as radish lion head in Suzhou, radish cake in Jiujiang and radish steamed bread in northwest China, all of which have distinct local characteristics. Of course, the radish group in Xiangshan is named Hai, which is the biggest difference from radish snacks in other places, and the practice is also different. Therefore, if you think that radish meatballs are nothing more than processing radishes and adding some auxiliary materials to make meatballs, it is all wet.
The main ingredient of radish group is newly listed Xiangshan white radish. Unlike the radish in the north, it is crisp and juicy, sweet and fluid-producing, as if it contains the richness of the sea and inherits the richness of Xiangshan. In addition, there are glutinous rice flour and japonica rice flour. Glutinous rice flour and japonica rice flour are best ground bit by bit with a stone mill, so as to best interpret the charm of radish balls; Ingredients include fresh oysters (or other seafood such as shrimp skin), dried mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots (or other seasonal vegetables), onions, ginger, lard, salt and monosodium glutamate.
The specific method is to shred radish, blanch it in water, take it out, soak it in clear water for one hour, take it out and dry it for later use. Dried fragrant, winter bamboo shoots, onion and ginger are minced. Put lard in the pot, stir-fry onion and Jiang Mo in the pot, add shredded radish and other ingredients, stir-fry slightly, season, and then put in the pot. Mix japonica rice and glutinous rice flour (according to a certain proportion) evenly, use boiling water with a temperature of over 90 degrees to knead the dough, squeeze it into a small cake with a suitable size, and then wrap the fried vegetable stuffing into the cake. Of course, there are also very old mahogany molds here, which are very interesting. I remember that my family steamed jujube flowers in the New Year, and all kinds of patterns on them had to be pressed with chopsticks or the back of a knife, but there was no such mold. Xiangshan people are really blessed! After molding, steam 15 minutes or so, and then entertain guests.
This is of course a very general statement, in fact, the production process is quite particular. Mixing stuffing, kneading powder, filling, molding, and steaming in a cage. Of course, I just want to be fresh and curious. I do it slowly and clumsily; The master is skilled, but every step is solemn. He is more careful to do the craftsmanship handed down from the older generation.
On the hot pot, the old master opened the cage devoutly, and suddenly a cloud of water mist rose. The clouds of water mist, just like the clouds of water mist rising from the collapsed surface jar in their hometown, represent the gift given by this ancestor and involve too many of their descendants. ......
The color is bright and delicate, and the entrance is delicious. This is a radish ball. It not only has the crispness of radish, the sweetness of winter bamboo shoots, but also the freshness of seafood such as oysters. Hand-made rice noodles are glutinous, fragrant, tough and smooth, with peculiar taste, practical and nourishing, and unique. However, many Xiangshan people haven't seen this smell for a long time.
Jiaozi with red head, like jiaozi with radish, is one of the top ten famous foods in Xiangshan. Red head dumplings are also made of glutinous rice flour and japonica rice flour, but the stuffing is sweet, that is, red bean paste, with a little dried osmanthus; It's covered with glutinous rice and a little red on its head, which is really attractive. The entrance of the red head ball is tender and smooth, sweet but not greasy. There are both soft sand of bean paste and faint sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance, which are inexhaustible. Like the radish group, the red-headed group also carries the memories of too many Xiangshan people in the old foundation.
Of course, radish balls and red-headed balls can also create dessert platters, which are more distinctive. Jiaozi with red head and jiaozi with radish, sweet and salty, let people get what they need. There seems to be an old saying: carrots and vegetables have their own tastes. Don't rob anyone, there is always your share. It's cold, and I'm hungry after a day's work. Eat a radish ball! Ha ha laugh
In this noisy era, as a foreigner, I am really lucky to taste the local flavor of eastern Zhejiang, such as radish jiaozi and red-headed dumplings. Radish balls are like many old and traditional things. Although we seldom see each other in our daily life, they are like pit mud deposited in a wine cellar for thousands of years, which has been quietly fermented and brewed in our memory. One day, when the altar opens, it will make us cry.