1. Picking reed leaves in the wild

Reeds generally grow in shallow water beside ditches. The grass is deep and the ditches are slippery. When picking reed leaves, you must first pay attention to safety, firstly to prevent falling into the water, and secondly to prevent mosquitoes. When dealing with snakes, it is best to wear long clothes, long trousers and galoshes, and go in groups. Reeds grow wild. Anyone who wants to eat rice dumplings can pick them. There are also some diligent people who pick reed leaves and take them to the vegetable market to buy. Those that are easy to pick along the roadside are always picked first. Good reed leaves are hidden deep in the reed forest, out of reach of your hands. If you don’t want to go into the water, it’s best to carry a hoe before setting off.

When picking reed leaves, two people can work together. One person uses a hoe to hook the reeds in the distance, and the other person grabs the reed pole and picks the leaves. Be selective when picking leaves. Firstly, aim for broad, long and undamaged leaves. Secondly, focus on the middle and upper leaves. The old leaves at the lower part have yellow spots and are easy to break. When hooking a reed stem with a hoe, be careful not to break the reed stem. The young leaves at the top of the reed stem can be picked again when they grow up. You should be considerate of those who come after you. Maybe you will pick again. It is best to pick reed leaves on a cloudy day, or when the sun is not too strong, because the picked reed leaves will quickly become curled up in the sun. Try to cover the picked reed leaves with a towel or the like. .

2. Boil water to boil the leaves quickly

After picking the reed leaves home, you can boil water to boil the leaves. After the water in the pot boils, you can put the reed leaves in Boil it in boiling water and stir it with a spatula to make the reed leaves boil evenly. When the color of the reed leaves turns dark green and the leaves become soft, the leaves can be taken out. Drain the water from the reed leaves, then put them in cold water to cool down, and turn the reed leaves to cool them quickly.

If you don’t have a large pot or stove to cook reed leaves at home, you can also adjust the water temperature of the water heater to the highest setting first, put the reed leaves in a large basin, and spread the reed leaves without bending them. . After the water in the water heater boils, put the boiling water directly into the large basin until all the reed leaves are submerged. Turn it over several times and soak it for about 5 minutes. Then you can take it out and put it in cold water to cool down. When the weather is fine, you can also soak in hot water from solar energy, as long as the water temperature reaches about 80°C.

3. Trim and wash the rice dumpling leaves

After cooling, the reed leaves become bright green, soft and not easy to be damaged. At this time, the reed leaves have completely turned into rice dumpling leaves. There is a hard petiole at the end of the rice dumpling leaves to prevent them from being punctured when making the rice dumplings. You need to cut them off with scissors. The thin tail tips of the rice dumpling leaves affect the appearance, so you can also cut them off. In order to save time, you don’t have to cut them piece by piece. You can straighten out the rice dumpling leaves and stack several pieces together to cut them.

Reed leaves grow on their own in an ownerless wasteland. Who would manage them? If not for making rice dumplings, who would patronize them? There will inevitably be some dust and bugs on the rice dumpling leaves. After trimming the rice dumpling leaves, the last step is to clean the rice dumpling leaves. Use a clean brush to wash both the front and back sides of the rice dumpling leaves. At this time, don't wash them casually just to save trouble. You must wash them one by one, taking into account both the front and back sides.