If you don’t eat meat cakes in Shahe, you haven’t arrived in Shahe! Shahe was called Zen Hall in ancient times. It got its name from the ancient Zen Hall temple. Shahe is the junction of three provinces and three counties. Because of the cold weather in the high mountains and the fact that mountain people go out a lot, there has been a habit of making snacks commonly known as "dry food" since ancient times. So meatloaf has become a food that makes people miss their hometown. Zhang Han, a writer in the Western Jin Dynasty, resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown because he missed Wuzhong wild vegetables and seabass and clams. Although it was an excuse, it also showed the power of his hometown's delicacies.

Adults look forward to farming, while children look forward to celebrating the New Year. What adults and children alike look forward to is eating the freshest and most delicious New Year’s delicacy - meat loaf. Because the production process of meatloaf is complicated and time-consuming, ordinary families do not have the energy to make it. After people work for 360 days a year, it is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. Remove bones and skin from fresh fish, remove bones and skin from pork and hens, and chop them all into meat slurry. Put sweet potato starch, water, and salt into a basin in proportion to the meat slurry, stir it into a round or square shape, and put it in Steam the meatloaf in a steamer over high heat. Cut the meatloaf into rectangular slices after it comes out of the steamer. When it is almost cooked, put it on a bowl and brush it with egg puree. Then boil the diced tomatoes, pepper, chopped green onion, shredded mushrooms, and fungus slices, take them out of the pot, pour them on top of the meatloaf, and serve. When you look up, you can see the three colors of yellow, white, green and red, which are very beautiful; when you taste it, it is even more fragrant and smooth, and your mouth is full of flavor. The aftertaste is long. It can be eaten cooked, or can be packed and taken away. Eat it while it is hot. It tastes extremely delicious, soft and chewy!

When it comes to meatloaf, there is an interesting story. According to legend, the King of Chu was addicted to fish, but he was often annoyed by fish bones stuck in his throat. He often had the chef beheaded for deceiving the king. Later, when a chef was cutting open the fish, he accidentally discovered that the fish bones were easily separated from the fish meat, so he mixed the separated fish meat with pork, chopped it into a paste with seasonings, and steamed it into cubes. The king of Chu was overjoyed with the food. He named it "Imperial Cake" and ordered that it should be enjoyed exclusively by the emperor and should not be spread among the people. It is said that a brave chef named Li escaped from the palace with his family because he did not want to live in the forbidden areas of the palace. Living in a remote place called Shahe. He had to reveal his meatloaf skills to survive. The name was changed to meatloaf to prevent the palace from tracing it. Master Li is not only skilled in skills, but also kind-hearted. And taught the technology to the local people in Shahe.

Shahe Meat Cake was praised by Comrade Xiaoping. In August 1947, Liu and Deng's armies marched eastward, kicking off the People's Liberation Army's nationwide strategic offensive! At that time, Commander Liu and Deng's command post was located in the Zhou family's old house in Loufang Village, Shahe Township. According to local villager Zhou Shihuang, his grandfather was a boy scout in the Poverty Association at the age of 15 and often checked roads at the entrance of the village. This year's Spring Festival, local squire Mr. Zhou personally made a bowl of meat loaf and gave it to the command post cooking class. During the meal, Chief Liu and Deng learned about it and refused to eat, and asked to give the meat loaf to the sick and wounded. Comrade Xiaoping took the money himself and asked the cooking team leader to give it to the local fellows. At the repeated request of the cooking team leader, Deng Zhengji took a little bit with his chopsticks and said repeatedly: The taste is very good!

When I was in my twenties, I was transferred from Nanxi to Shahe Post and Telecommunications Station to work as an operator. My wife lives in Nianwan Village. Telecommunications lines at that time were all steel wires. In order to ensure that the communication circuit is open, I am on duty every year, and I spend the Chinese New Year at my parents-in-law’s house. And what I look forward to eating the most is the meatloaf that I must eat during the Chinese New Year. I heard from my father-in-law that in the early 1970s, even meat was distributed according to population during the New Year in the city. There was no meat allocated in the countryside at all, so it had to be raised at home, and the pigs raised were not allowed to be slaughtered privately. All the meat had to be turned over to the food station, and they were called Submit the task. One year my father-in-law gave the pig a task. There was no meat for the Chinese New Year, so I only went to the food station to buy some frozen suet on the Chinese New Year day. At that time, even sweet potatoes were banned due to the "cutting off the tail of capitalism" policy. That year, my father-in-law used kudzu powder from the mountains, chopped suet, ginger, and wild garlic to steam the meatloaf that was the favorite of mountain people. He said that although life has gotten better, what I miss the most is the meatloaf made with suet during the difficult times.