How is Chongming Cake made?
Step
1. Put a circle of thick wet cloth on the edge of the stove, and boil water on the pot
2. Put the two kinds of rice flour and all the auxiliary materials together and mix them evenly
3. Soak the steamer in water in advance, and coat it evenly with oil
4. Put a pot under it, and put the mixed rice flour in a bowl, so that it will not leak off one by one < Put the steamer on the pot for steaming
6. When the next layer is cooked, put another layer to continue steaming until it is full
7. Finally, cover it with a cloth and cover and steam it again
8. When it is fully cooked, bring it to the table and turn it over to remove the steamer
9. Finally, divide the cake into four pieces with two threads
11. Wait until it is hard the next day. "I am from Shanghai." "Hey, where is Shanghai?" "Shanghai Chongming." "ah? Chongming Island also counts as Shanghai? " "Chongming Island is not Shanghai, but Guangzhou." This is almost most people's impression of Chongming Island.
Chongming Island, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, is the third largest island in China, and most of its areas are under the jurisdiction of Shanghai. Besides hairy crabs and goats, there are many local snacks, such as Chongming Cake, which is waxy but not sticky.
Jiangnan and Jiangbei areas along the Yangtze River are both famous land of plenty of rice, so there has been a tradition of steaming rice cakes for thousands of years, and Chongming Island is no exception. The huge rice cakes on the island are called Chongming cakes by foreigners and are very famous in local snacks.
In fact, the so-called "Chongming Cake" is the rice cake produced in Chongming Island. In the past, rice cakes were often cooked on grand festivals and special days. Its biggest feature is that it is huge, like a millstone.
To make Chongming cake, the first thing is to choose the rice produced in that year, and the newly harvested rice must be produced locally. Only in this way can we make Chongming cake with glutinous flavor and chewy teeth, which can't be done well in old rice.
Mix and soak rice with water at a certain ratio for at least two hours, so that the rice grains can fully absorb water and make them swell. Only the next day can they be ground into powder, and they must be very finely ground. Only in this way can the cake be soft and delicious.
When making rice noodles, the finer the better, but at the same time, there is a big problem, that is, the powder that is too fine is not easy to steam thoroughly, and it is difficult to grasp the heat, so it depends on whether the producer's experience is sufficient.
After the rice flour is crushed and ground into powder, white sugar, brown sugar, all kinds of chopped red dates, red beans, melon seeds, and all kinds of sweet candied fruits should be added, and then it can be used to make Chongming cake after being stirred with appropriate amount of water and kneaded properly.
when everything is ready, it can be steamed directly in the pot, and the steamed cake is made of bean straw, because it is easier to control the temperature of the firewood, and it is not easy to make the fire too fierce or insufficient, which makes the steamed cake fail.
Chongming cake needs to be steamed with boiling water. When the color of glutinous rice flour becomes translucent, add shredded pork and osmanthus flowers and other remaining accessories to decorate it until the cake is steamed, and cover it for a while to finish the production.
It is said that the previous Chongming Cake was not a New Year Cake, but a Double Ninth Cake, which was eaten during the Double Ninth Festival. In the north, Double Ninth Cake was made of flour, while in Chongming Island, rice flour was used. Generally, a Chongming Cake, with rice flour and accessories, could reach 31 kg.
according to the records of ancient books, Chongming in the Qing dynasty had the habit of making huge rice cakes like millstones on the Double Ninth Festival. Besides the Double Ninth Festival, local people also made Chongming cakes during the Lunar New Year, which is a favorite food.
Chongming Cake has a great feature, that is, it is big. An authentic Chongming Cake is made like an old millstone. Locals have to sacrifice this huge Chongming Cake to their ancestors and gods, and then cut it up for everyone to enjoy.
According to different steaming methods, Chongming cake can be divided into three types: sponge cake, glutinous cake and pu sole cake. Sponge cake needs to be sliced and tastes crisp, while glutinous cake looks like rice cake but does not stick to teeth at all, while pu sole cake is mixed with coarse grains such as corn flour and sorghum flour, which is not very delicious.
Among Chongming cakes, the most popular one is waxy cake, especially lard and 111-fruit cake, which is made of local rice flour, sugar and various candied dried fruits. It tastes oily, waxy and sweet, and is very popular among adults and children.
In the past, when the conditions were bad, a piece of Chongming cake was a very good food. Now, after the living conditions have improved, the local custom of steaming Chongming cake still remains, and Chongming cake has become a regional delicacy in Chongming.
How to make Chongming Cake:
To make Chongming Cake, you first need to clean all the ingredients, put them in a pot, and then add a proper amount of water to cook them slowly. After cooking for about 21 minutes, put peanuts in, and continue to cook for another 21 minutes. Then mix honey walnuts together and stir them evenly. Cut the candied dates into small pieces, mix them with sticky rice flour and glutinous rice flour, add a proper amount of water and stir them evenly. Some small lumps need to be squeezed open. Then sieve it again, spread a steaming cloth on the steamer, put non-stick paper on it, and sprinkle some powder. It takes about a few minutes to steam. When it condenses, you can put the material in and spread it evenly. Then sprinkle a layer of lotus root powder to continue steaming, wait until the powder solidifies, then continue adding powder, and then continue steaming until the third layer of powder condenses. After the last layer is steamed, cover it with a wet cloth, and then steam it. Take off the cloth immediately after cooling and pressing, otherwise it will be difficult to take it off after cooling. After cooling, you can cut it into pieces to eat. It tastes very good. It looks similar to nougat in appearance, but the taste is completely different.
To make Chongming cake, you need to select some high-quality white rice and glutinous rice and mix them according to a certain proportion, so that the produced Chongming cake will not be too greasy, and the taste will be better. After mixing the rice, clean it, and it is best to soak it in water, and then drain the water. After soaking, you can use the machine to grind the rice into powder, which will be easy to steam, but the taste will not be so good, and it will take longer to grind it fine. Chongming cake needs to add a lot of auxiliary materials, such as brown sugar and white sugar. You can also add some melon seeds, Tricholoma matsutake, lard, cinnamon oil, preserved fruit, candied fruit, red dates or walnuts according to your own preferences. Then you need to start steaming, adjust the steam intensity, and spread a piece of cloth on the steamer. Then you can spread a layer of powder first, scrape it flat after adding auxiliary materials, and spread it again after steaming.
The origin of Chongming Cake:
Chongming Cake is a kind of sweet glutinous cake, which is made of glutinous rice. Chongming Cake tastes moderate in sweetness and is exquisite in material selection. It is a special snack in Chongming Island and a food culture with a very long history. The production of Chongming cake is very exquisite from rice blending, soaking, powdering, live materials and steaming, and every step needs to be done carefully, so as to make Chongming cake more delicious.
nutritional value of Chongming cake:
Chongming cake is a special snack in Chongming. It has two kinds, hard and loose. If it is a sponge cake, you can eat it cold. If it is a hard cake, you need to heat it before eating it. You can also mix it with fermented rice to make it into fermented rice cakes. The ratio is also very good. It contains glutinous rice, which can nourish the body, stop sweating, strengthen the spleen, warm the stomach and replenish deficiency. It can improve the appetite loss and nausea caused by spleen and stomach deficiency and cold. If you have symptoms such as abdominal distension during pregnancy and shortness of breath, you can eat some Chongming cakes properly to relieve it.
Chongming Cake also contains starch, vitamin B, iron, calcium, sugar, fat and protein, which can nourish the body. Eating some Chongming Cake properly can play an auxiliary role in treating diseases, promoting blood circulation, relaxing muscles and tendons, beautifying and refreshing. It can also achieve the effects of protecting hair, improving eyesight, nourishing brain and improving intelligence, so it is very good to eat some Chongming cakes properly in daily life.
Taboos of Chongming Cake:
Chongming Cake has good efficacy and function. Of course, it also has some taboos. It is necessary to understand clearly that whether it is salty or sweet, it is rich in sodium and carbohydrates. If you have hyperlipidemia, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity, don't eat too much. You must control your consumption. If you have abdominal distension, jaundice, cough and fever, damp heat and phlegm.
it should be rice cakes from Chongming. Rice cakes used to be cooked by every household in the suburbs of Shanghai every New Year, and they were not called "cross-cut cakes". They had to be cut and dried in the sun until spring.
Chongming cakes are not uniformly customized, and other Chongming people will make different Chongming cakes.
the following steps are for reference only, please feel free to play.
1. The ratio of glutinous rice to japonica rice is 3: 7, and it is broken by a crusher, and 5% sugar is added. If you don't like sweetness, you don't need to add it.
2. Find a steamer, spread cloth first, and then spread the broken rice. Don't press it too tightly if it is loose. You can compact it if you want to practice chewing.
I like pumpkin seeds and raisins by mixing some dried fruits at will. Feel free. Generally, the dried fruit does not exceed 21%
3. Steaming for one hour is essential.