- Hengdong is located in a small town in the south of the eastern part of Hunan Province. It is known as Yumi Township and is the only county in Hunan with famous local dishes. Hengdong Lijia Rice Wine is a famous small rice wine workshop in Hengdong. The rice wine produced by Lijia Rice Wine has a sweet aroma and is not only favored by the neighbors, but also a drink for ordinary people to drink at home. It is a condiment for Hengdong local dishes to enhance the freshness and flavor. Hengdong is a well-known county for local dishes in Hunan Province. The local dishes that everyone loves are inseparable from the rice wine of Lijia Rice Wine. Therefore, some people call Lijia rice wine the vegetable wedge of Hengdong local cuisine.
The key point of the taste of Lijia rice wine lies in the koji. The koji is the soul of rice wine. The koji of Lijia rice wine is boiled from green plants. Harvested intensively in July and August every year, and then dried and preserved.
The dried green plants are boiled in water, and the boiled water is mixed with the noodles to make the Li family’s characteristic rice balls. Good koji not only affects the fermentation of the wine, but also determines the depth of the wine. After the koji jar is ready, steamed white rice needs to be placed underneath. Hengdong brewed rice wine mostly uses mid-season rice. The cooked rice is placed in dustpans to cool down, and the distiller's yeast is pressed into powder and put into the rice. After the koji is mixed, the rice is placed in a vat for sealing fermentation. The fermented rice is placed in a water basket, and the steam rises and leaks into wine.
Dapu Blood Duck, Dapu Blood Duck is a unique Hengdong local dish. It is unique because it is served with fresh duck blood when it is cooked. Hengdong County is a well-known land of plenty in Hunan Province. It is located to the east of Nanyue Hengshan Mountain. It is surrounded by water on three sides and has numerous mountains and rivers. The forest coverage rate is as high as 51%. The Weishui River is clear and is known as the Little Li River.
Hengdong local cuisine is characterized by freshness, spicyness and earthiness. Most of the local produce, livestock and poultry are used as ingredients, and the rural delicacies of local dishes and local recipes are in the line of Hunan cuisine. Hengdong cuisine has three treasures: rice wine, camellia oil and white heart pepper, which are the key points of the flavor of almost every local dish. Dapu Blood Duck also combines these three treasures of local vegetables. There are also certain things to pay attention to when cooking the commonly used domestic duck. The production of Dapu blood duck requires the use of domestic ducks produced in the local Xialiu Town. Xia Liu is particularly famous all over the country. It is at the intersection of Xiangjiang River and Eishui . The water rises, the sun sets off, and the red clouds are flowing, so it is called Xia Liu. Due to its abundant water resources, there has been a tradition of raising ducks here since the Ming Dynasty, and it is a national-level poultry heritage protected resource. Shelduck has a high egg production rate, so every household in Xialiu salts duck eggs. The duck egg processing capacity here ranks first in the central and southern region of . Every Mid-Autumn Festival, one out of every five duck egg yolk mooncakes sold in Guangzhou is likely to be produced in Xialiu. Making Dapu Blood Duck pays great attention to technique. Once the duck blood coagulates, it turns into blood tofu when it is put into the pot and cannot stick to the duck meat. Therefore, the duck blood should be left when slaughtering the duck and quickly added with rice wine and mixed. Such fresh goose blood not only prevents it from coagulating for a long time, but can also remove the fishy smell.
Peel the duck, remove the intestines, remove the bones, and cut it into pieces the size of the head of a chopstick. The blood duck is cut into a moderate size, which makes it easier to absorb the flavor and ensures chewiness. In the past, when supplies were scarce, a duck could chop into pieces the size of a grain of rice, and a large pot of duck blood and duck offal could be made without wasting any waste. How dignified it was to receive guests. Pour tea oil into a hot pot and heat it to 70% heat. Add chopped duck and stir-fry for a minute or two, then pour in fresh duck blood. Turn to low heat, sprinkle with green onions, pour in tea oil and green onions. yellow tribute pepper stir well and serve.
Hunan people like to eat and know how to eat Hengdong chopped peppers. Hengdong local cuisine is deeply rooted in the essence of Hunan cuisine. It pays attention to the flavor and spicyness. Every July and August, the brightest color in the farmer's market comes from the yellow specialty product here. Tribute pepper. This type of golden Chaotian pepper only grows one season a year and is the focus of the fragrant flavor of Hengdong local dishes. In addition to garnishes and chopped peppers, it is almost an indispensable household reserve for Hengdong people. Hunan people like to make chopped peppers, and most areas use small peppers .It can be said that chopped pepper is to Hunan people what hot pot is to Chongqing, beef is to Inner Mongolia, and noodles are to Shanxi. It has long become an indispensable taste in daily life.
Hengdong people prefer this type of yellow pepper when making chopped peppers. In addition, the raw materials commonly used in their sour peppers are also unique. Rice wine once again exerts its magical effect, and it interacts with Chaotian pepper to create a unique taste. The purchased Chaotian peppers should not be exposed to water, including when making chopped peppers. All Chaotian peppers should be washed cleanly with rice wine. Chaotian peppers that are exposed to water are perishable. Spread the rubbed Chaotian pepper on a big bamboo dice, wait for the alcohol to evaporate, then chop it into pieces, add salt and stir evenly, then put it in a jar and seal it with rice wine. The rice wine will not cover the Chaotian pepper. It can be eaten after about 20 days of sealing.
Hunan people are as addicted to Chaotian pepper as life, and different types of Chaotian pepper are produced in different areas of Hunan Province. Spicy peppers, yellow peppers, hot peppers, meat peppers, millet spicy, all in one place, colorful. Then, chili powder, dried chili peppers, chopped chili peppers, sauce chili , etc. were displayed on the dining tables of Hunan people. The Hengdong local cuisine makes the best use of Huanggong pepper. Fresh, dried, and pickled Chaotian peppers can be eaten in different shapes.
Hengdong native tea oil is pressed from the soil. Hengdong native cuisine chefs prefer the local specialty tea oil when cooking. Not only boiling oil for frying, many dishes will also add a spoonful of raw camellia oil when boiling to make the dishes more golden and gorgeous, and the aroma will be mellow. The tea tree has a planting history of more than 2,300 years in Hengyang area, and now the planting area is nearly 2,000. With an area of 400 square kilometers, it is the largest tea tree planting area in the country. Hengdong County alone has nearly 70 square kilometers. Autumn is the harvest season for Camellia oleifera trees. When the fruits of Camellia oleifera trees are brown, harvesting is extremely important. After the best harvesting period, the oil content will decrease.
In Hengdong, the ancient oil-pressing technology and special tools are still preserved. Put the dried oil seeds into a stone mill, grind them into tea powder, and then use wheat straw to tie them into cake rings to make cake tea. The impact of the hammer on the cake drives the oil to leak out. In addition to using tea oil for cooking, local people also use tea cakes after pressing the oil to wash their hair.
Home cooking Pig's trotter skin , use a spray gun to remove the hair from the fresh front legs of pig's trotters, burn the pig's trotters skin until it turns yellow, and then separate the skin and meat bones. Remove the bones and set aside to make bone soup. The skin and meat are cut into shreds along the lines, and the raw pork is thin and translucent, chewy and easy to rot. Pour the tea oil into the cold pot, put the pig's trotter skin and shredded pork into the oil pot and fry. Stir-fry the pig's trotter skin until it is dry, add a spoonful of rice wine, wait until the alcohol evaporates, add the large bone soup that has just been cooked with fresh bones, and simmer for a while. Add the yellow pepper cut into rings and shredded celery, pour a spoonful of raw tea oil and stir-fry evenly before serving.
Farmhouses in Hunan Province are full of vegetables in the front and back rooms. Vegetables picked in one’s own fields are washed, stir-fried cabbage and pig’s trotter skin are added. This is the most common way Hengdong local dishes are presented. The most simple food produced in this land, such as rice wine, tribute pepper and camellia oil, creates a unique taste and has become the taste of hometown that Hengdong people who travel far and wide never forget.
