According to the customs of Hakka people in the past, Hakka wine can only be tasted when women give birth, stay at home after childbirth or during the Spring Festival. Especially when women are confined at home after childbirth, there will be wine making, and the distiller's grains after wine making (also called distiller's grains or bad hemp) will be left to be distributed to neighbors and relatives. Hakka people are used to steaming chicken with brewed wine. This special food is usually eaten by lying-in women during confinement, because it has the effect of invigorating qi and generating blood.
Hakka's way of brewing and drinking wine is said to have a history of more than 1000 years, which inherits many wine culture genes in ancient Central Plains. At first, Hakka people used the roots and leaves of hawthorn trees, their own sorghum and dog-tail millet (millet) to make wine, and the brewed wine had the effects of relaxing tendons, driving away cold and keeping warm. Later, Hakka people used bagasse to make wine, which was called "sober up". In addition, Hakka people also steam glutinous rice, add wine cakes and red chrysanthemums to make wine. Because this wine is dark yellow, Hakka people also call it "hakka yellow rice wine".
Physique glutinous rice and black glutinous rice are selected as the main raw materials, carefully brewed by adhering to the traditional technology, aged for many years, sweet and soft, containing a variety of amino acids, glucose, vitamins and trace elements necessary for the human body, and having the effects of promoting qi circulation and blood circulation, nourishing and moisturizing, nourishing and strengthening the body. As early as 1993, the gold and silver Hakka Niang wine produced by "Guangdong Hakka Brewing Corporation" in Meizhou City was rated as a famous brand in Guangdong Province and the first in yellow rice wine. 1994 won the gold medal of the National Boutique Expo; 1995 won the title of "China Famous Trademark".
Hakka Niang liquor is one of the oldest liquors in China. It uses glutinous rice as raw material. First, peel the glutinous rice (commonly known as brown rice) and cook it into glutinous rice. Then cool it with a dustpan. Then use special yeast (commonly known as wine cake) to spread it evenly on the rice and stir it evenly. Put it in the ridge for saccharification and fermentation for about 20 days. Then filter out the distiller's grains after saccharification and fermentation, and put them into a crock. At this time, rice straw and chaff are placed around the tile, and the rice straw and chaff are lit to roast wine (also called fire roasting), and then the red yeast is put into the tile. After the wine in the tile is boiled for a period of time, it can be turned off after about 2 hours, cooled, and then sealed with toilet paper.
Hakka Niang wine is reddish brown and has a unique sweet and mellow flavor of honey. Hakka people have a special liking for Hakka Niang wine, which must be used for holidays and weddings. Hakka Niang wine has a low alcohol content, generally around 15%, which belongs to low-alcohol beverage wine. Hakka Niang wine has a soft taste and is suitable for drinking in all seasons, not only directly, but also for men, women and children.
The brewing technology of Hakka Niang wine has been handed down from the people. Niangjiu refers to yellow rice wine specially made from glutinous rice, which is often called "old wine" in Meizhou and has become a folk drink deeply rooted in the hearts of local people. There are many legends about the origin of "Niangjiu" in Meizhou.
Legend 1: the gods give wine.
In the era of "five disorderly flowers", the people in the Central Plains were in dire straits and moved south on a large scale. A group of women fled south together, crossed the Qianshan Mountain and entered Guangdong and Fujian provinces. They were too tired to walk any further and fell asleep in the barren hills. At this time, an elderly man with silver hair and red face took a bamboo container, poured a cup of reddish-brown transparent liquid from the container and handed it to the oldest woman: "Drink." The old woman took a sip gently, and the mellow and rich fragrance was refreshing, and then the fatigue disappeared, and she was not hungry or thirsty. The elders told them, "This is Niang wine made of glutinous rice." Then, the elders taught them how to brew Niang wine. Say that finish, the old man suddenly disappeared. Surprised and delighted, the women quickly bowed down and said, "God bless, God bless.
Since then, immigrants have lived and worked in peace and contentment here, and Hakka Niang wine has been passed down from generation to generation.
Legend 2: Niang wine sacrifices to the gods
A long time ago, when there was a drought in the toothless mountainous area of Hakka people, an old man who passed by came to this village to beg for tea. A peasant woman talked about the drought and explained that there was no tea, so she poured a bowl of wine for her daughter-in-law. The old man drank it in one gulp, and it turned into a white light and floated to the Toothless Mountain. The next day, it rained cats and dogs, and the villagers cheered. From then on, every time the villagers encountered a drought, they used confinement wine, that is, Niang wine, to climb Queqiao Mountain to burn incense and beg for rain.
Legend 3: Liao Hua invented it.
Liao Hua, whose real name is Chun, is from Xiangyang. He was the master book of former general Guan Yu, but he was defeated and returned to Wu. It is said that Liao Hua belongs to the State of Wu and wants to leave the State of Wu and return to Shu, but there is no chance, let alone bring 0 relatives.
Liao Hua missed Shu and felt bored, so he soaked some glutinous rice in clear water, then steamed it in a retort, put the steamed glutinous rice in a clay pot, put a dozen or twenty kinds of medicinal materials collected by the She nationality in the glutinous rice, and wrapped the clay pot with straw, which is euphemistically called: "Take medicine, purify yourself and bury it in the grass."
Pottery has been idle for a long time, but it has an intoxicating smell of wine, and "yellow rice wine" was born. Liao Hua gave this wine and its "prescription" to Sun Quan, who got drunk and sent Liao Hua home. So Liao Hua took his mother to the west overnight, and happened to meet Liu Bei on the road and went back to Shu with Liu Bei.
Some people say that this kind of yellow rice wine was not invented by Liao Hua himself, but was made by his mother. As a result, Hakka people call yellow rice wine "Hakka Niang wine" as a souvenir. Later, the Hakkas moved south, and this name has been used ever since.
Hakka Niang wine fried chicken, also known as Niang wine fried chicken, Niang wine wine chicken, ginger wine chicken, is a flavor snack made of chicken (the best cock), ginger and Niang wine in Hakka area. Its taste is sweet, tender and delicious, and it has the effects of invigorating spleen, stimulating appetite, promoting qi circulation and promoting blood circulation. It is a delicious food for Hakka people to nourish their bodies, and it is also one of the main nourishing foods for Hakka women after childbirth. When Hakka women are in confinement, their families will fry chicken and ginger slices, add some glutinous rice wine and cook them for the parturient. Now it is no longer just a special meal next month. You can do it whenever you want. Every New Year, in Meizhou, a Hakka area, almost every household has to brew several jars of Hakka Niang wine by hand to receive relatives and friends.