In the early autumn of each year, there are customs of eating grass paste (another traditional cold drink) and Shi Lian paste to cool off the heat in Xinhe and Zeguo in Wenling. At that time, almost every household ate grass paste and Shi Lian paste. Wenling also has a place where grass paste and Shi Lian paste are sold, that is, the theater shed head (in front of the stage). In summer and autumn, when performing in rural areas, there are often two or three stalls, three or four stalls of grass paste and Shi Lian paste.
The raw material of Shi Lian paste, Shi Lian seed, is actually the fruit of Ficus pumila L., also known as wooden steamed bread, ghost steamed bread, steamed bread fruit, bean jelly fruit, ghost ball (Suzhou native name), fat cattail, Manglietia, etc. The top of Ficus pumila is flat, as big as a small one. Because of its winding stone walls, it is more appropriate to call it Shi Lian.
As for why it is called ghost steamed bread and ghost ball, the author speculates that it may be related to the legend of Manglietia japonica saving her mother. "Two Essays on Qiuyu Temple" records: "Ficus pumila, crawling on the wall, commonly known as Parthenocissus tricuspidata, is more common in valleys. It's true that "Miss Luo was brought here" in Shan Gui, a poem written by Chu. The Vatican says it's a hungry ghost. It's a letter from the Tripitaka. Yu Yangshan's "Xiang Zu Zhu" contains it. Because of thinking about the fruit of Ficus pumila, it is called ghost lotus. Hangzhou people have their own origins in the name of their son Qin Wei cold dish and lotus tofu. " Ningbo, Jinhua, Hangzhou, Shaoxing and other places call "Shi Lian" Mulian, and "Shi Lian Tofu" is also called "Mulian Tofu" accordingly. In fact, it may be "Manglietia Tofu", which corresponds to ghost steamed bread, ghost meatballs and other aliases.
As for this kind of Ficus pumila fruit, Wenling people generally think that there are actually two kinds, one is called "swelling", some books say it is "bump" and "ice collapse", and the other is Shi Lian. "Empty" can't be Shi Lian paste. Ficus pumila has the same characteristics as Ficus, that is, cryptoflowering plants Flowers hidden in cones. There are three kinds of flowers in banyan: male, female and gall. Ficus pumila is a special case of Ficus, which is dioecious. The male and female plants of Ficus pumila have the same flowers, but the hidden flowers are different. Male plants of Ficus pumila bear male hidden flowers and fruits, that is, "expansion", while female plants bear female hidden flowers and fruits, that is, ten consecutive fruits. Shi Lian sauce can be processed after seed picking and drying.
The processing method of Shi Lian sauce is relatively simple. Shi Lian seeds are put into gauze, soaked in cold water, kneaded, pectin in Shi Lian seeds is melted into water, and then coagulant is added and frozen into shilian paste.
You can go to the supermarket, buy ready-made black bean jelly and white bean jelly, and make your own Shi Lian paste according to the instructions, but the taste may not be as good as the traditional method.
There is a riddle about Shilian ointment in Wenling: "Deng (homophonic vine) is an aunt, water is a husband, cloth towel is the medium, and Miss Sugar is the companion." Very vivid.
The story about the paste of shilian, as well as books.
Ningxi, Huangyan County, Zhejiang Province, is a famous writer Zheng Jiuchan, who has lived in Luqiao for a long time. In his works, he once described three local cold drinks in Taizhou (Shi Lian paste, grass paste and cabbage paste).
Zheng Jiuchan's Collected Works Volume VII: Scratches (Volume I)? In a book, he wrote: "The surrounding walls ... are covered with green vines. One kind of vine, I don't know its name, is covered with green fruits the size of a fist. Open it and see that it is full of pink seeds. " He asked the adults, "What is this?" The answer is "Shi Lian", which is the material for making Shi Lian paste. He is determined to make Shi Lian paste himself. As a result, after he inquired about the practice, he put the Shi Lian seeds he got into a pot. "However, after soaking for three days and nights, the pot of water really stinks-Shi Lian paste is still not made."
Zheng Jiuchan also wrote bean paste (another traditional cold drink). He wrote it as "Douban Cake". He wrote: "This is made of watercress in the sea. This kind of thing is really simple. I bought watercress in a Chinese medicine shop, put it in a thermos and poured boiling water into it. About half an hour, I poured out the residue with gauze and put it in a basin. It's very cold. I didn't know until I got married and my wife did it once. If you add spices such as honey, sugar and mint, it will have the same effect. " "However, the cabbage cake is not as delicious as the Shi Lian paste I ate when I was seven years old."
Regarding grass paste, Zheng Jiuchan wrote: Grass paste is made of licorice, how to make it ... It is said that it is similar to shilian paste. The seasoning in the grass sauce is similar to that in Shi Lian sauce, except that there is a little more osmanthus. In summer, these two kinds of food are delicious, and they are the best-selling drinks. Every child has nothing to eat and is not noisy. The only difference is color. Shi Lian paste is white in color and translucent if frozen; The grass paste is a black piece. I still don't understand why our parents allow us to eat grass paste instead of Shi Lian paste. "
When it comes to these three traditional cold drinks, most Taizhou people who have tasted them will have an inexplicable intimacy.