"Dang, Dang, Dang!" In Chengdu, there is such a snack that "before you see it, you must hear its sound first". Often, before you even see the stall, you can hear three loud noises. This is The snack is " three cannons ". And why do people often say that this delicacy can "perform"? What interesting folk stories does it have? Today, the "Chengdu Past" series of reports jointly launched by Shenniao Zhixun and Chengdu Municipal Geography Office will take you to get this Chengdu specialty snack that you can eat, hear and see.
The three cannons first originated from the local temple fair. They are made of glutinous rice. When glutinous rice dumplings are smashed on the chopping board, they make a "dang, clang, clang" sound, which are "iron cannon, artillery , and gun". Therefore, it is called the "Three Cannons". The way the Three Cannons attract diners is to make a lot of noise, which makes them interesting to watch and interesting to eat, making them unable to stop and watch and buy.
The main ingredients of the three cannons are glutinous rice, brown sugar, sesame and soybeans, which have a sweet taste. The glutinous rice is soaked and steamed, the same as pounding glutinous rice cake, but not too fine. Steam the brown sugar, stir-fry the soybeans and sesame seeds, grind and mix well.
As you can tell from the name of the Three Cannons, a portion of the Three Cannons only contains three lumps of glutinous rice cake. The snack seller took the glutinous rice dumplings out of the hot pot, divided them into three lumps, and then threw them vigorously in the middle of the chopping board. There were several stainless steel plates placed on the chopping board. When the glutinous rice dumplings were slapped on the chopping board, they would vibrate the stainless steel plates and make a loud sound. A metallic sound. Because there are three lumps of glutinous rice cake, you have to shoot it three times. You can hear the sound of "ding, clang, clang", like three blasts of a cannon.
The glutinous rice dumplings "jumped" from the chopping board onto the dustpan covered with soybean noodles. After tumbling twice, they were covered with soybean noodles. The boss puts it into a small bowl, pours the prepared brown sugar juice on it, and a portion of three cannons is handed to the diners. The high-quality and low-priced three cannons are sweet and delicious, not greasy, not sticky, and melt in your mouth. If it can be paired with Laoyin tea with Sichuan characteristics, it will have a unique flavor.
There is also a folk legend between the snack of Three Cannons and the Kangxi Emperor. It is said that one day, Emperor Kangxi fell ill, so the palace invited a Taoist priest to make " antidote " for Kangxi. When the Taoist priest arrived, he took out a bag from his waist and carefully poured some white particles from the bag into a shiny black jar. He also took out a holy water bottle and poured holy water into the jar. , then put the lid on and muttered something. Half an hour later, the jar was put into the alchemy furnace and the furnace began to be heated. Soon after, the Taoist priest said: "Your Majesty, the antidote has been prepared. Please take the medicine."
Kangxi sat upright all afternoon. Seeing that the antidote had been prepared, he stood up impatiently and was about to reach out to take it. Suddenly, the Taoist priest took out a white ball as big as an egg from the altar and smashed it on the big drum. The drum made a "dong" sound, and Kangxi was startled. The Taoist roared: "Welcome good luck and avoid evil!"
The ball bounced from the drum surface into a large bowl containing yellow medicinal powder that he had prepared in advance, and then he smashed the second ball on the drum surface, loudly He shouted: "The dragon body is in good health!"
After the second ball fell steadily into the bowl, the third ball bounced off the drum surface accompanied by the Taoist 's "Blessings and Longevity". After finishing the method, the Taoist priest took the balls out of the medicine powder and asked the emperor to dip them in sugar and eat them. Later, Kangxi recovered after taking this medicine. It turned out that the Taoist priest’s so-called medicine was actually dumplings made of glutinous rice, and the yellow “medicine powder” was soybean powder.
As a result, this famous snack that once cured the emperor became popular. A few years later, many welcome drums were installed in front of the door of the welcoming building. When a guest came, the owner would knock it three times and say an auspicious word every time, so that both the host and the guest would be happy. In order to attract customers, the louder the sound when the drum was struck three times, the better, so it was renamed "Three Cannons".
The Three Cannons not only please customers with their performances, but their softness and sweetness are also unforgettable for eaters.As the "famous star" of Chengdu snacks, Sandapao naturally has many stores, especially "Fu Luxuan Mouse Cave", which has a mellow flavor and excellent quality. In 1990, the Chengdu Municipal Government awarded Fuluxuan Mouse Cave’s Three Cannons the title of “Famous Snacks in Chengdu”.
The fame of the Three Cannons is not only well-known in Chengdu, but has also spread to Sichuan Province. The three cannons made by Li Changqing from Shuangliu District, Chengdu were passed down from his ancestors and have won many awards. In 1989, Li Changqing went to Guangzhou to perform. It was an instant hit and shocked Wuyang City. Cantonese who love sweets praised Chengdu snacks as "amazing everyone with their skills and surpassing all others in their art".
From street performances at temple fairs in the old days to now being actively sold in stores on ancient streets, this "resounding" traditional skill still has strong vitality. In 2019, the traditional craftsmanship of Chengdu's Three Cannons was included in the list of Chengdu municipal intangible cultural heritage projects. Chengdu has such vital snacks, which is really eye-opening!
The types of food ingredients in the world are limited, but people’s wisdom is infinite, and surprises can always be found in the ordinary. Just like this "Three Cannons" delicacy, it bursts into life with the sound of "Dang! Dang! Dang!", and the soft, glutinous and sweet taste is also engraved in the taste buds of Chengdu people!
Part of the content is quoted from the official website of Chengdu Municipal Geography Office
