▲ Video: Using Sansheng as a soup to make this bowl of fragrant tea
Mr. Wang Zengqi said, "Four parties eat things, but a bowl of fireworks on the earth". Every time I went to a place, I tasted some of the most representative local delicacies, and I understood the people and sophistication here.
▲Overlooking Jiexi County, Jieyang City from the air, the oily greenery is refreshing. Picture/COLOR CHINA
When I came to Jiexi County, Jieyang City, Guangdong Province, when I approached a homestay, there was always a burst of fragrance. The aroma contains a variety of familiar flavors, and when mixed together, it can fill up the hungry after the journey and refresh people. While thinking about it, the hospitable host smiled and held out a bowl of Leicha.
▲ Treating guests with a bowl of Leicha is a tradition passed down by the Hakka people to this day. Picture/COLOR CHINA
Regarding the origin of Lei Cha, one talk comes from the street food sold by He Po, an old woman in Nanguan Town, Hepo Town, Jiexi County. At that time, Nanguan City was the only way for Chaoshan and Huizhou to do business. He Po's Leicha healed the intestines and fatigue of the merchants, so his reputation spread far.
Liu Chaoxing is the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Jiexi Lei Cha. He showed us how a bowl of authentic He Po Lei Cha is made in Ocean International Eco-Tourism Resort.
▲Liu Chaoxing, the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Jiexi Leicha, demonstrates how to make Leicha. Photo/COLOR CHINA
When making Leicha, the beater sits down with an ancestral pottery bowl in front of him, grabs a handful of green tea and puts it in the bowl, holds a half-meter long wand, and frequently pounds and rotates . During the pounding process, various vegetable leaves are added from time to time, so that the verdant greenness gradually blooms in the beating bowl.
▲The process of making Leicha requires skilled craftsmanship. Picture/COLOR CHINA
Next, the challenger adds some sesame, peanut kernels, and herbs (such as vanilla, yellow flower, fragrant leaves, vine grass, etc.) to the beating bowl while beating. When the contents of the bowl were pounded into sand-like green mud, the tea was ready. Then, use boiling water from a copper kettle to pour it into the crushed mud and mix well. In an instant, the whole house smells sweet.
▲ A series of meticulous handicrafts show the enthusiasm of the Hakka people for hospitality. PIC/COLOR CHINA
Leicha is not only delicious, it is said to have detoxification effect. Lei Cha has the elegant name of "Sanshengtang" because it uses three raw materials: "raw leaves, ginger, and raw rice". A bowl of Leicha, both medicine and food, invented the food culture that represents the Hakka people. It can not only quench thirst, but also satisfy hunger, and savor the taste, which is particularly rich and long.
▲ Leicha is both medicinal and food, with a strong and long flavor. Picture/COLOR CHINA
Guests from afar, holding a bowl of hot tea, adding fried rice according to their own preferences, adding various side dishes from the eight companion plates, it is a delicacy that is both relieved and fruity. If the bowl is put down in the middle, the host will fill you up with tea diligently, and the hospitality will be difficult until you are really full.
▲ When eating Leicha, add ingredients according to your own preferences, and you will have different flavors. PIC/COLOR CHINA
The enthusiasm of the Hakka people is like the lingering smoke of this bowl of hot tea.
Coordination | Dong understands
camera | Tang Wenqin
editing | Tang Wenqin
recording | Wang Junfeng
narration | Wei Hang
text | Shen Yuewei Pan Wenjie
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