Baba

Baba (pinyin: cí bā English name: cooked glutinous rice poured into paste; Glutinous rice cake is a kind of food made by steaming and mashing glutinous rice. Ciba is made by putting cooked glutinous rice into a stone trough and mashing it with a stone hammer or bamboo (some of them are replaced by bamboo because of local differences). Generally, this type of food can be called Ciba. It is a snack of all ethnic groups in the south, and it is a popular food in some areas of southern China.

Ciba, a snack of all ethnic groups in the north and south, is popular in the north and south of China.

Chinese name

Ciba

English name

glutinous rice cake

Main ingredients

Glutinous rice, sesame, soybean powder, peanuts

Classification

Snacks, cakes and snacks

Taste

Fragrance. Guizhou, Chongqing, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Hubei, Guangxi, Shaanxi and other provinces and cities, and Jiujiang in Jiangxi and Wuyishan in Fujian are the most popular, among which Wuzhou in Guangxi is the most special. It is also available in southern Anhui, mainly during the Double Ninth Festival, as a holiday food for guests to taste. Ciba [1] is made of glutinous rice and potatoes, which are soaked in water and steamed in a steamer, then quickly put in a stone spoon until soft and flexible, and then made into large or small balls while it is hot, and then rolled in a dish mixed with white sugar (or soybean fried flour mixed with white sugar) to eat. It tastes sweet. At present, street vendors often peddle with their feet on tricycles, and the rice paste is packed in a special iron drum with good thermal insulation. When the handle is shaken, the rice paste is drilled out of the round hole. Whenever there is a happy event, the local people should make brown sugar mixed with rice cakes to entertain guests to show good luck.

Practice

The custom of making Ciba in Chongqing: Usually in the Mid-Autumn Festival, steamed glutinous rice is introduced into a stone spoon, mashed with reed, and then sprinkled with soybean powder and sugar.

specific method of glutinous rice: soak glutinous rice for more than one day, drain the water, and steam it in a wooden steamer. Then pour in a stone mortar and mash it until it is gelatinous, sprinkle some glutinous rice flour on a clean vessel, add stuffing to the mashed glutinous rice and knead it, knead it into small balls or cakes, or use a special mold to print various patterns, and place it in a ventilated and dry place to dry in the shade. It can be soaked in water after drying in the shade and can be preserved for a long time. If the glutinous rice cake is pressed into a big round cake while it is hot, it will be cut into small pieces (about 2cm*6cm*1cm) with a sharp kitchen knife shortly after cooling. Because the cutter sticks when it is not completely cooled, it is too hard to cool for too long, and it is very laborious to cut. For example, in the cold winter, the round cakes are pressed at night and can be cut the next morning. There are many ways to eat, such as frying, boiling, roasting, boiling with sweet wine and adding sugar.

specific methods of potatoes: peel potatoes, clean them, steam them with a steamer fire, put them in a cool and ventilated place to let the rest mild water vapor emit, then quickly pour them into a special stone trough, manually pound them with a wooden hammer until they are fine and even, and finally put them into the basin with a shovel. According to the dietary tastes of different regions, white sugar and sesame seeds can be added, and some soup will be blended and sprinkled in some places in southern Shaanxi.

Hunan Ciba: First, wash the glutinous rice clean. Originally, rice had to be carried to a far well for washing, because there was not so much water at home to wash it. Later, the family dug wells, which saved the effort of picking rice. However, I found that some powerful people in my hometown are still far away from home, preferring to carry rice to a waterfall well far away from the village for elutriation. Perhaps it is because the water quality there is good and it is more convenient to wash! Drain the washed glutinous rice, put a wooden steamer on a large iron pot, and after the water in the pot boils, scoop the rice into the steaming wooden steamer and cook it over high heat. When the glutinous rice is almost cooked, cook it with slow fire for a while, and then it is ready to make rice cake. Playing Ciba is a hard work, and each person has a mallet. At first, two people hold the mallet to make the rice in the stone tablet rotten. Then raise the gavel to fight, you give me a look, one after another. Beat the rice while it is hot, and the sooner the better. For a long time, it is not only difficult to beat the rice when it is cold, but also difficult to pinch it when you pinch it. At the same time, you have to be skilled in making Ciba, and you should pry it up and turn it with a mallet from time to time, otherwise, some of the missed ones are still rice grains, and when you eat it, you will cough up. Also, you should have a good look and grasp the rhythm when playing Ciba, otherwise, you will hit the gavel on the other side's gavel or stone tablet, which will not only hurt you, but also make the gavel easily smashed. Therefore, not every man who has the strength will be awkward. When I first learned to play Ciba as an adult, I either hit the gavel on the other side's gavel or hit it on the stone tablet. After a Baba, I was panting like a cow, my arm was sore and my mouth was numb. After a "bang, bang" beating, the smashed glutinous rice was dug out of the stone tablet, and the women immediately gathered around the square table, each pulling a lock and picking it up. Of course, there are skills in kneading Ciba, but you can see that you flip your hands skillfully, and your right finger cooperates with your left thumb and forefinger for a few pinches. Then you twist your right hand, and a round, white, steaming glutinous rice ball is placed on the table. If you are not skilled, you will not be able to knead a circle, and you will not be able to knead one for a long time. Rub some butter and egg yolk on your hands from time to time during kneading, so as not to stick your hands. After Zanba is kneaded, turn another square table upside down and press it on it. This time is the happiest moment for children, who climb onto the table and jump on it. After the adults lifted the table, a thin round shape appeared in front of them. Then, the children scrambled to carve the five-pointed star or swastika seal with radish, and put red juice on it. At this time, even if it is made. Of course, what makes children happy is that they can still eat a lump of glutinous rice from time to time. When the adults pour the glutinous rice into Shijie, at this time, the greedy children will jump over and grab a handful in their hands, and then run to one side and eat it with relish. Sometimes, when adults don't pay attention, they steal the warm and soft Ciba that has just been made. Playing Ciba and kneading Ciba is a job that needs the cooperation of many people. Generally, several families fight together, men and women, old and young, laughing and making noise, which further sets off the festive atmosphere of the New Year. Children especially like this scene. You chase me, you tell me to shout, eat and play, and you are happy. Eating glutinous rice, serving rice on the table, and stamping rice with red stamps are all things that have a good taste in the New Year when I was a child.

Nutritional value

People in most areas are used to making Ciba in the twelfth lunar month; Every traditional festival or family celebration in Meizhou Hakka area; People in Sichuan made them before the Mid-Autumn Festival, symbolizing bumper harvest, celebration and reunion. They are a must-have for Mid-Autumn Festival and moon cakes. In some places in Sichuan, osmanthus flowers are added into Ciba to make Laurel Ciba, which is dipped in fried yellow bean and white sugar. It tastes quiet and elegant, sweet and refreshing, and has a unique flavor. In other places, bean products such as cooked red beans are wrapped in hot cakes, and appropriate amount of salt is added, and then cut into oval pieces and fried in cooked vegetable oil to make red bean oil cakes with good color, fragrance and taste. People in Hubei are also used to making Ciba in the twelfth lunar month, cutting it into long strips for preservation, and then cutting it into pieces when eating.

Hakka

In Hakka areas such as Meizhou in Guangdong, Longyan in Fujian and Sanming in Fujian, there is a custom of making Ciba during traditional festivals or family celebrations. The method of making Ciba is: take the first-class glutinous rice, preferably red glutinous rice with thin and soft shell, and process it into white glutinous rice. Soak glutinous rice with clear water, steam glutinous rice in a wooden steamer, put it in a stone mortar, and make it with a pestle and mallet. Therefore, Hakkas are called "Ciba". Use a smooth wooden pestle for a glutinous rice mallet, so that glutinous rice grains will not stick. After vigorous pounding, it is made into a soup shape, and then it is made into the size of an egg. Dip it in seasoning powder prepared from fried rice, peanuts, sesame seeds and yellow sugar, and it tastes flexible, fresh and smooth, sweet and delicious. There is a saying in Hakka rural areas: "In October, Baba was burning." It is said that on the first day of the tenth lunar month, the rice cake made by every household is steaming hot [2].

Minqing

In Bandong Town, Minqing, Fuzhou, where there are many ancient houses in the Qing Dynasty, Ciba is made by soaking local high-quality glutinous rice, steaming it in a rice cooker and pouring it into a stone mortar. One person uses a wooden pestle to stir it, and one person flips it until the rice is sticky and muddy. Then put it into a basin, add sesame oil to moisten it, rub it into pieces by hand, rub it into pills, put it in a bowl filled with fried and ground sesame seeds, peanuts, beans and sugar, roll it and eat it. The taste is fragrant, sweet and delicious, soothing the qi and stomach, and eating more is not greasy. The elegant way to eat it is to rub it into balls and stir-fry it with sliced meat, vegetable stalks, mushrooms, cuttlefish, garlic and peppers. It is spicy and delicious, and it is a good dish on the table.

In the past, every household in the rural areas of Minqing, Fuzhou, had wooden pestle, stone mortar and other tools for making Ciba. Every household would make Ciba on holidays. At this time, the children watched the adults playing Ciba with joy, until they saw the adults putting the made Ciba in the basin and rubbing it into meatballs. The golden and translucent Ciba was really appetizing, and they couldn't wait to eat it immediately. The prepared Ciba should be presented to the ancestors first, and a root incense should be burned. When the incense is burned out, everyone can start eating Ciba. It really takes a lot of effort to eat Ciba, which is sticky and thick, and can't be opened for eating. It happened that country people like to eat large pieces of meat and drink heavily. Naturally, they also like to rub Ciba balls into giant ones, which makes them taste delicious. This has made it hard for gentle city people to face this giant Ciba. However, the chef thought of this, and refined the traditional Ciba Shuo pill into a small pill the size of an apple, but he could still break it and eat it without losing its original characteristics. However, if you want to taste the sticky taste of Ciba, you'd better try eating big Ciba pills, accompanied by large pieces of pork and a big bowl of soju, and experience the farm life.

Xinyang

Xinyang Ciba, a traditional famous food in Xinyang, is mainly produced in Shangcheng, Xinxian, Huangchuan and Guangshan. "Kill the pig, make rice wine, make Ciba, and bacon!" Ciba is a popular custom in Xinyang. For Xinyang people, the symbolic meaning of Ciba is more than the material meaning. Playing Ciba is often the same as killing pigs. Eating fresh pork, eating fresh Ciba, that fresh energy can light up the whole year. Nowadays, the traditional customs of Xinyang are losing.

Ciba is an old custom in Jianghuai area. Ciba was once one of the necessary foods for Xinyang people in every household during the New Year. Years ago, every family had a lunch, and relatives and neighbors came to help. Before making Ciba, clean the glutinous rice and soak it for two or three days, then put it in a wooden steamer and steam it over high fire. In order to prevent the boiler from boiling dry, water should be added to the steamer from time to time along the edge of the boiler.

Take out the steamed glutinous rice and put it in the "ground pit". The "ground pit" is made of red stone, 8 cm square, and the middle is cut into a semicircle. Men keep pounding the glutinous rice in the ground pit with jujube sticks. The sticky rice is too hard to pound, and it is often a group of men, who sing chant songs while pounding in circles. When the glutinous rice is completely turned into dough without rice grains and sticky, it is ready. The freshly made Ciba is steaming, smelling fragrant, soft to the touch, white to the eye and tender to eat.

Pick up the whole lump of Ciba and put it on a big board, flatten it to a height of about 5 cm. After it cools and hardens, cut it into pieces with a knife and soak it in a crock or a bucket of fresh cold water. During the Spring Festival, you can fry, roast and make soup to greet guests or eat by yourself.

Ciba can be baked, boiled, fried and fried, especially during the Spring Festival, when friends and relatives visit, the best gift is to cook a bowl of poached egg Ciba. If Ciba is wrapped with various fillings and fried and fried, the flavor will be more unique and delicious. The stuffed Ciba should not be stored for a long time. If it is cut into blocks and dried for a long time, it can be soaked in clear water and changed frequently, which can be stored for more than 3 months.

Guilin

Ciba is made with fine craftsmanship. After steaming the good glutinous rice, beat it vigorously until the glutinous rice is completely melted like a cotton ball, then take out the glutinous rice paste and make it into a round ball, and steam it in a steamer. Put more stuffing in the rice cake, such as bean paste, lotus seed paste, sesame sweet-scented osmanthus sugar, etc., the texture is delicate, flexible, white and crystal-beautiful. If it is steaming when it comes out of the cage, it will be delicious in color and smooth and sweet in taste if it is wrapped with some white sugar or cooked bean powder. It is one of the famous snacks in Guilin.

Guizhou

Nahui Village, located in Xiawutun, Wan Fenglin Scenic Area, on the outskirts of Xingyi, Southwest Guizhou, is a village inhabited by Buyi people. There are not many tourists in Nahui Village, so you can learn to play Ciba at any one of the villages. The local people said that if you want to make Ciba, you should soak the selected glutinous rice in a bucket with clear water the day before, and then put it into a special rice steamer-retort for steaming. The retort is made of thick wood chips, usually about half a meter in diameter, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and a bamboo strip is placed at the lower part to weave a peaked hat-shaped partition, which can not only keep the rice from getting wet in the pot, but also facilitate the steam to enter.

The thick rice fragrance has started to overflow from the kitchen. When it is cooked to 9: , take the pan and pour the steamed glutinous rice into the stone mortar. Playing Ciba looks easy, but it's really not easy. Generally, beginners' sticks are either stuck by sticky rice for a while and can't be lifted, or they "fight" with each other for a while, and it won't be long before they feel their arms are limp and weak. The local villagers firmly said that making Ciba is actually a technical job, and that it should be fast, accurate, steady and hard, so that glutinous rice can be beaten evenly, porcelain solid and sticky and tough.

Hunan

Ciba is wrapped with large fragrant leaves, which is a local specialty.

1. Rice is steamed with glutinous rice.

2. Glutinous rice is beaten into a sticky shape with stone tools.

3. The leaves of a large leafy plant, which is a local specialty, are palm-sized.

4. Wash the leaves, wrap sticky glutinous rice into palm-sized, and make it into Ciba.

Making Ciba

5. Store in a cool place, which can be kept for about 15 to 3 days. It may be related to the special function of leaves.

6. When eating, soak the chaff in water for a while, then bury it in the ash fire and take it out in 1 minutes.

at this time, the leaves outside are torn off, and the rice cake is soft and fragrant. It is related to the fragrance of leaves.

Ziquejie, Hunan —— Waterwheel Ciba is played at the end of the twelfth lunar month when the Spring Festival is coming. According to the records of local chronicles, "Glutinous rice is as muddy as mud in a stone trough, pressed into a ball shape and shaped like a full moon. The largest one is 1 foot 5 in diameter, the ordinary one is about 4 inches, and the thickness ranges from 3 to 8 minutes. "

The glutinous rice is dried, washed, put into a wooden steamer and steamed. When the steam was cooked to 9: , the pot was cooked, and the two men carried the retort, hurried into the courtyard and poured their heads into a huge stone mortar. Two burly men raised their big jujube sticks with thick wrists and shouted hey hey. This boxing is very particular, and it pursues the words "fast, accurate, steady and ruthless". Two people surrounded the stone mortar, each standing on one side, the stick in their hands should be put down quickly and put away quickly, and the sticky rice is too strong to prevent the stick and rice from sticking together; The aim should be sufficient, and two wooden sticks should be hit in the same place one after another, so that the glutinous rice can be beaten evenly and solidly; What is stable is that the hand holding the stick is important, and the force should be even. You can't have a flurry in front of you, and the strength behind you is exhausted, so the glutinous rice is useless. ruthless