I am from Huanggang, Hubei.

To be precise, they should be from Macheng, because I don’t know when we were divided into counties and cities.

There is such a dish that is deeply rooted in the heart of every Macheng person. It represents the taste of hometown and the taste of the New Year.

For us, no dish in the world can replace its place in our hearts.

Although it is not a peerless delicacy, for Macheng people, especially for us in a foreign land, it is the delicacy we long for every day.

Some people may say, since you want to eat it so much, why not buy it?

"This thing should only exist in the sky, and it is rare to find it in the world." This sentence is the most appropriate way to describe it.

Because it is really impossible to buy it outside. Although it is now sold online, the taste is still not as pure and authentic as at home.

There it is – meatloaf.

Meatloaf has a long history. According to legend, the King of Chu was addicted to fish, but he was often annoyed by fish bones stuck in his throat. Many chefs became victims of this.

Later, a chef accidentally discovered that the fish bones were easily separated from the fish meat when cutting open the fish, 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 ate it and was very surprised.

Meatloaf was born and became famous.

From then on, after the chefs retired and returned home to spread their skills to the people, people praised meat cakes as the best in the "Emperor's Banquet". Therefore, many Hubei people, especially those in Macheng, still have the habit of eating meat cakes.

Never fade.

When we eat meatloaf, we generally like to cut it into rectangles and arrange them neatly and orderly on the plate. After steaming, sprinkle a layer of chopped green onion on the surface of the meatloaf. The fragrance is already fragrant before it is served on the table.

When you look carefully, you can see the three colors of yellow, white and green, which are very beautiful; when you taste it, it is even more fragrant and smooth, and your lips and teeth will be fragrant.

There is a saying in banquets that "there is no feast without cakes". Meatloaf is an indispensable dish at banquets. We also call the banquet "meatloaf banquet".

It is said that "the most delicious food is the food cooked by mother", but in Macheng, the most delicious food is not only the food cooked by mother, but also the meatloaf made by father.

I don’t know why, but the meatloaf is all made by men. Is it because the meatloaf is passed down from male to female?

Haha, actually not.

Because making meatloaf is a physical and technical job, women can't do it.

Due to the complicated process, meatloaf can only be eaten during the New Year and banquets. Therefore, every time it is Chinese New Year or relatives hold a banquet, we are very excited because we can eat meatloaf again.

At the banquet, the chef will fold the meatloaf into a square shape, which is very high and is commonly known as the "Great Wall". The meaning is to tell us to behave uprightly.

During the Chinese New Year, meat loaf is a must-cook dish for every household, because to us, having meat loaf is called Chinese New Year.

But it is not an easy task to do. It takes a year of careful calculation to prepare.

This starts with the ingredients of meatloaf. Meatloaf is made by peeling and deboning fish and pork, mincing it into minced meat, adding a corresponding proportion of sweet potato starch, salt, and water, mixing it evenly, and then steaming it over high heat in a basket.

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Whenever guests come to the house, they will bring you a bowl of meatloaf cooked with lean meat sprinkled with chopped green onions for you to try, and you will also be asked to comment on how it tastes.

Of course, there are many ways to eat it. It can be cooked in hot pot, steamed, pan-fried, deep-fried or stir-fried.

In the early spring of each year, the villagers will use the wild rice seeds left over from last year to raise seedlings. When they are mature, they will be cut and transplanted. In the autumn harvest, the juice will be washed and squeezed, allowed to settle for a few days, and dried into wild rice powder.

Pork is also raised for more than half a year before being slaughtered. Generally, a pig weighing more than 200 kilograms is divided among 4-5 households, and most of them are used to make meatloaf.

Every year after the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the whole village is busy. The ponds and rivers in the village are full of people killing fish and washing cages. While cutting open the belly of the fish, they talk about meat cakes.

, as if the whole world was busy making meatloaf.

If fellow villagers meet here, the first words of greeting will no longer be "Have you eaten?" but "Have you made your meatloaf yet?" "How many squares of meat loaf do you want to make?" and other similar topics.

I remember when I went home for the Chinese New Year last year.

Dad said: "If I had known you were coming back, I shouldn't have made the meatloaf yesterday. I would wait until you came back." The uncle next door was also at my house at that time. I asked: "Uncle, have you made the meatloaf at home?" "No.

"Tian'er hasn't come back yet, I'll wait until he comes back to make it." Actually, it was approaching New Year's Eve, and the peak season for making meatloaf was already over.

But they were willing to wait in order for their children who were away from home to have a hot meal of meatloaf when they got home.

For those of us who have returned home, all our longing is in that bite of fresh hot meatloaf.

When the taste enters the stomach, it becomes an endless feeling of nostalgia, and when it is engraved in the heart, it becomes a lifelong love knot that cannot be untied.