Fragrance in the deepest memory
—Remembering the sesame burnt bun in my hometown
Text: Wang Mingjian
Family and relatives and friends come to visit and bring me a gift— burnt bun produced by Henan Liuxin Food Co., Ltd. I was not polite either. I opened the packaging in front of my friend and broke it apart. I took it down with a bite, the crisp, scorched, salty and fragrant breath suddenly awakened the best memory left in my mind in my hometown:
When I was a new sesame , after harvesting, my mother always had to bake sesame charred buns for us. My mother scooped out a little wheat flour from the dough tank, added salt, mixed it with clean sesame seeds, and kneaded the dough. Then I weighed the glass from under the chopping board. My father went to the corner of the house to get three bricks, set up the glass in a corner of the kitchen or in the yard, and lit a handful of wheat straw. After a while, the glass became hot.
Mother gently pushed, pull and rotated the small rolling pin in her hand, and the lotus leaf-shaped sesame grains were made. She picked up the noodles and spread them on the glass. After two or three times, the steamed buns would be cooked. After the steamed buns were cooked, my mother put the steamed buns around the pan and baked them slowly until they were burnt, and the browned and delicious "seeds burnt buns" were made.
When eating, I can’t bear to eat a big stutter. I take a bite, or break a small piece into my mouth, chew it slowly, taste it aftertaste, and the mouth is full of fragrance.
Eating scorched buns and listening to my father telling the story of sesame scorched buns that have been passed down from generation to generation is the warmest memory in my life. According to legend, a long time ago, there was a mother and daughter dependent on each other in Shangshui, Zhoukou, eastern Henan, and very poor, so I had to let my daughter be a rude girl who cooks for the rich man’s family. This year, there was another drought, and the family couldn't bear the blame. My mother was old and sick, and she was about to starve to death. My daughter came up with a solution. On the grounds that she went home to take care of her mother, she often ran home without caring about washing her hands. After she got home, she washed off the sticky scabs on her hands and cooked half a bowl of noodles soup for her mother to fill her hunger and save her life.
My mother's life was saved, but God didn't know which sacred memorial was heard, saying that the evil girl actually asked her mother to drink her own handwash water, so she issued a jade order, and struck her unfilial daughter on June 6th.
Her Kitchen Prince in her dream told the mother and daughter the murderer. Although my mother knelt in the courtyard every day and kowtowed to the sky to argue with her injustice, it was useless.
June 6 It was almost noon that day, and it was indeed dark clouds, and lightning and thunder. The daughter had to go to the yard to die. The mother pounced on her daughter several times and wanted to replace her daughter, but she was finally locked into the house by her daughter. The mother looked at her daughter who was kneeling in the yard and waiting for death through the window, calling for the sky and the earth, and was in great pain.
is coming at noon, and Thunder God is about to be executed, but when he opened his eyes, he didn't dare. His daughter was covered in ants . If she executed her sentence like this, she would hurt a lot of lives. If it violates the laws of heaven, she would be punished.
After hesitation, noon had passed, and Thunder God had to truthfully report Jade Emperor . The Jade Emperor secretly felt fortunate in his heart that an ant guarded this woman, and there must be injustice inside. So he asked Taibai Jinxing to investigate carefully, and then he realized that this was a filial daughter. Not only did he pardon the crime and punishment, he also ordered the Dragon King to set the rain for the filial daughter to commend him.
Since then, the Zhoukou Shangshui area has been in good weather and good harvests, and people have lived and worked in peace and contentment.
Why do ants save their lives? It turned out that my daughter went home with her hands on her gnocchi every day. When she opened the hospital and closed the door, she inevitably knocked her sluts to the ground. The ants on the ground have benefited from it repeatedly, so of course she was very grateful. Once you know that Thunder God is going to strike your benefactor, you will naturally protect him enthusiastically.
Ants saved the girl, and the people were grateful for the little ant's kind behavior and set the sixth day of the sixth month as the ant's birthday. On June 6th, every family is baked with scorched buns, and some people crush them, which are specially for ants to enjoy.
Now I think about these folk stories and legends are widely circulated in Shangshui and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It promoted "filial piety culture", "family culture", "good culture", "cherishing life concept", etc., which greatly enriched the treasure house of Chinese traditional culture.
The sesame burnt bun tastes exquisite. If you visit relatives and friends, you will be more harmonious in the neighborhood and stronger in family affection.A thin sesame burnt bun spreads out a warm and harmonious landscape painting of the hometown, playing a simple and profound folk song.
Nowadays, although there are many convenient and fast foods, we Shangshui people still love sesame burnt buns. It is a little baked every few days, which is good for stomach-enhancing and digestion, crispy and delicious, which is both casual and health-conscious, and also makes people feel the taste of childhood and enjoy the inheritance of culture.
sesame burnt buns are simple to make. Although they are small foods, they are the best delicacies among small foods.
sesame burnt buns have beautiful color, round shape, delicious taste, rich nutrition, suitable for all ages and young.
sesame charred buns are resistant to storage and do not change mold. They are both daily food and good products for visiting relatives and friends.
Sesame burnt buns are made of wheat, chicken gizzard, etc., which are not only easy to digest, but also can treat gastrointestinal diseases such as indigestion in children and anorexia in the elderly. They are a necessity for the elderly, weak women and children, and are also a reflection of the survival wisdom of Chinese people.
Shangshui native Liu Jianxin has already operated sesame charred buns on a large scale. With the help of some current technological means, vacuum packaging and marketing, it has become a food business card with very local characteristics. The sesame burnt buns sent by a friend are the main product of "Henan Liuxin Food Co., Ltd." founded by Liu Jianxin. I am sincerely pleased that the sesame burnt buns in my hometown can leave the Central Plains and go to the world and the broader world.
Nowadays, the pace of society is getting faster and faster. The ancient delicacy of sesame burnt buns has been added with the wings of technology and has kept up with the pace of the times, and will surely embellish our days even better!
[Author Profile] Wang Mingjian, a native of Shangshui, a member of Henan Writers Association , and a director of Zhoukou Writers Association . He has published books such as the novel "Sanchakou" and the story compilation "Shangshui Place Name Story". There are also poems, essays, novels, and scripts scattered in media at home and abroad.
